Welcome to Port Burwell Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. Port Burwell Provincial Park overlooks the tiny fishing village of Port Burwell along the shores of Lake Erie. The park contains a wide variety of environments, from wetlands to woodlands, from cliffs to meadows. Many of the landforms that you see in the park today are a result of the Glacial Lakes that once covered the entire area more then 12,000 years ago. The parks’ upper camping area was formed from glacial silt and sediment deposited here forming the Norfolk Sand Plain.
The steep bluffs, jutting up from the meadows near the waters’ edge were created by the waves and currents of Lake Erie. A popular feature of the park is the two kilometers of beach. A stroll to the eastern edge of the bluffs will provide the visitor with a sample of plant life in the area. Maple, beech and oak forests can be found growing in the shelter of the cliffs.
The history of Port Burwell Provincial Park is varied. Different groups of native Indians inhabited the Norfolk Sand Plain. The Neutral Indians in the 16 th century were eventually replaced with the Iroquois in the 1600’s. European settlers began arriving in the mid 19 th century. By 1850 Port Burwell was boasting a total of 29 sawmills that were producing lumber. After the down turn in logging, commercial fishing became the major industry in the area. Realizing the tourist potential by the 1900’s the town was equipped with a hotel, a dance hall and a bandstand.
