Darlington Provincial Park, Provincial park in Regional Municipality of Durham, Canada.
Darlington Provincial Park is a provincial park on the north shore of Lake Ontario, in the Regional Municipality of Durham, Ontario, Canada. It includes sandy beaches, wooded areas, open meadows, nature trails, camping facilities, and the sheltered waters of McLaughlin Bay.
The land was acquired in 1818 by Samuel Burk, and his family cemetery is still found within the park today. It is one of the few visible traces of the early settlers who farmed along this stretch of the Lake Ontario shore.
The park is a well-known stopover for migratory birds and monarch butterflies during their seasonal journeys along the Lake Ontario shoreline. Autumn is when this movement is most visible, and many visitors come specifically to watch the monarchs gathering before they continue south.
The park is open year-round, but camping is only available from May through October, so the type of visit you can plan depends on the season. Entry permits are required, and summer weekends tend to get busy, so arriving early in the day gives you more time on the beach and trails.
McLaughlin Bay was naturally cut off from Lake Ontario in the 1990s when wave action built up a sandbar that eventually closed the connection between the two. Many visitors head straight to the main beach and never realize there is a separate, shallow body of water just behind it.
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