Darlington Provincial Park

Located on the shores of Lake Ontario and just south of the Hwy 401 between the cities of Bowmanville and Oshawa, lies Darlington Provincial Park (PP). Considered to be small in comparison to the many other PP in Ontario but a very important park to birds and monarch butterflies for spring and fall migration.

Darlington Provincial Park is open year round offering a variety of recreational activities such as camping, birding, hiking, swimming, boating, and snowshoeing in the winter. This was a quick stopover on our way further east.

It was a bit of an ugly cool/rainy day but I was still able to get out and explore on my bike. The first place I hit was the campstore to get my sticker and register. Know one was around when we arrived. I hung out at the store since it was raining cats and dogs.

After the rain stopped I continued on towards the Campground and Waterfront Trails. These trails are flat, wet and not very long. The sumac is just starting to change colour. Fall is coming.

Lake Ontario was looking a little angry today, pretty but definitely not happy. There is a long sandy beach for swimming in the summer time. No lifeguards are provided.

Ontario is home to eight species of bats. Four of which are listed on the endangered list. It was nice to see a bat house on my adventures. Not sure which kind of bats hang out here possibly Little or Big Brown Bats.

The waterfront trail leads to the Darlington Pioneer Home. This particular cabin dates from the 1830's and restored in 1967 as a centennial project. The cabin was probably larger than the ones built in the early days.

In 1792 the Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe divided Upper Canada into 19 counties. To encourage settlers to the area, Simcoe offered land free to any man over 18 years of age. In 1794 three loyalist families moved to Darlington Township from New York State. In the spring of 1795 the new settlers had a monumental task of building on the new land. Land was cleared, logs were dragged to the home sites and cabins were built. These first homes proved to be cold, damp, and smoky.

The final trail that awaits is the 2.25 km Burk Trail which includes a pioneer cemetery and viewing platform. The cemetery contained a single gravestone containing the names of Samual Burk, his wife Mary, their son Peter, his wife Barbara, and three children Sylvester, Harvy, and Sarah.

All in all it was a great day of exploring. Having my bike to ride was fun. Made getting around easier on a dark and dismal day.