Day 6 of my 9-day, 770-mile Ontario cycling adventure saw me rolling down the Millennium Trail in beautiful Prince Edward County and serendipitously encountering the blinding white majesty of Sandbanks Provincial Park on the shores of Lake Ontario.
I parked my car at the trailhead in Carrying Place and then headed southwest through Consecon, a narrow strip of land between Wellers Bay and Consecon Lake connecting the upper part of western Prince Edward County with the lower. The trail runs about 50 km from Carrying Place east to Picton, making use of an abandoned rail line spanning wetlands, woods and open fields. Photo opportunities abound on the wooden bridges that line the gravel trail.
Unlike most of my routes, this one did not lend itself to a natural loop and I did not want to simply go out and back on the Millennium Trail. So I meandered my way back west after touching down in Picton, riding alongside Picton Bay until I made a hard right just before Glenora, making my way down Mountain Road and past an outdoor art installation called the ‘Lit’Lest Gall’ry in the County.’
From there I continued southwest past East Lake to a sliver of land that connected me to Sandbanks Provincial Park, with its stunning white sand dunes and spectacular waterfront views. The park sits on an 8-km sand ridge between Lake Ontario and West Lake and features the world’s largest baymouth barrier sand dune formation, with some dunes stretching more than 20 metres of 65 feet high!
I veered slightly east and north to make my way to Bloomfield, where I crossed the Millenium Trail I had cycled earlier, and meandered on whatever quiet road made the most sense before arriving back in Consecon and finishing my route on the Millennium Trail back to where I had started in Carrying Place.
Prince Edward County, especially the unanticipated discovery of Sandbanks Provincial Park, was an exceptional ride with some glorious views and I can’t wait to go back and spend even more time there as there are still large swathes for me to enjoy and discover given enough time.
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