Pinery Provincial Park: the Hickory Nature and Bittersweet Trails

For our second full day at the Pinery, my Mom suggested hiking the Hickory and Bittersweet Trails.  Both are short loops through the forest along the Old Ausable Channel.  The Hickory Trail starts right from the parking area west of the of the road, while the Bittersweet Trail is on the east side of the road and is accessed via a short crosswalk.

Pinery Provincial Park: the Heritage Trail

 

Frankie and I joined my mother and her husband on their annual Memorial Day camping trip to Pinery Provincial Park in Ontario.  The park is located on the southeastern shore of Lake Huron, near the small town of Lambton Shores.  Mary and Keith have been going there for many years, and told us many wonderful things about it, but this was our first time.  What a place!  We loved it.  Our campsite was in the Dunes Campground -- it is an enormous park with three separate campgrounds -- and as the name implies, it was a very short walk from our campsite through the dunes to the shore.

Clark in May

I've worked part time since Frankie was born, initially just 20 hours per week, then increasing over the years to my current four days per week.  On my day off, usually Wednesdays, I drop him off at school at 8:15 am and pick him up again at 11:45 am.  It was a gorgeous day, so after dropping him off, I returned home and went out for a bike ride (12.7 miles).  After showering, I packed a trail lunch, and went to gather the boy.  He is transitioning away from naps, which frees some afternoons up for other pursuits.  We went directly to Clark Reservation.