Village Squire, 1980-07, Page 19as family and group camping.
The official season runs from mid-May to
mid-October.
POINT FARMS
Many camps take advantage of one of
Western Ontario's natural resources, Lake
Huron. Point Farms Provincial Park, a
598 -acre park six kilometres north of
Goderich on Highway 21, is no exception.
Park superintendent Doug MacEachern
said the official season runs from May 9 to
September 2.
Point Farms has two campgrounds,
Colborne and Huron, with 200 tent trailer
sites. Each site has a picnic table, fire grill
and space for a car, and each campground
has a comfort station with flush toilets, hot
water and laundry facilities. Water taps are
located conveniently throughout the camp-
grounds.
A vehicle permit costs $2; bus permit,
$10, and annual vehicle permit, $20.
Campsite and vehicle permits for overnight
range from $5 for an unserviced lot to S7
for a site with electrical hook ups.
Separate group camping areas are
provided for youth groups under the age of
18, such as Boy Scouts and church
organizations. Senior citizens are admitted
free of charge, and Sandra Currie, district
information officer, estimates 30 per cent
of the park's campers are seniors. Visitors
come from centres such as Kitchener,
London and Stratford, and Michigan. Local
campers are usually day or week -end
users.
The sand and pebble beach with its
shallow water is a natural drawing card. No
beach patrol is provided; families and
groups are responsible for supervision.
Motorboating, sailing and canoeing are
popular. No boat launching ramp is
available within the park, but boats can be
launched and rented in Goderich. Fishing
is good at the mouth of the Maitland River
in Goderich and rainbow trout are caught
in the spring at Port Albert Fishway, 13
kilometres north of Point Farms. Bass,
rainbow trout, perch and pike are most
likely catches in Lake Huron.
Marilyn Wightman, visitor services
programmer at Point Farms, explains
recreation is geared to campers of all ages.
The park has a softball diamond, soccer
field, horseshoe pits, children's play-
ground and two -kilometre fitness trail.
Corn roasts, group campfires and hayrides
to the beach are popular as well as slide
and film programs, shuffleboard and table
tennis on rainy days.
A weekly newsletter announces demon-
strations of outdoor skills, arts and crafts
programs, barn dances and plays.
In 1974, a 90 year old barn on the park
was renovated into an Activities' Centre.
Barn dances are held weekly; with a live
band and caller as many as 250 people
have attended these dances. Each Sunday,
a local minister holds a church service.
Puppet shows are staged; Blyth Festival
performers appear at Point Farms
occasionally, and Lambton Youth Theatre
performs in the park three or four times a
summer.
For sixteen years, Point Farms' staff
concentrated on an ambitious rec program,
and now they're also highlighting the site's
historical value. In the 1870's, Point Farms
Hotel was a popular resort with a five -story
central observation tower, landscaped
lawns overlooking the beach and a stage
coach carrying passengers between the
hotel and Goderich. Only remaining evid-
ence of the resort is a giant spruce
identified in early photos at the southwest
corner of the hotel.
Preserving the pioneer barn was the first
step in combining recreation and history at
Point Farms Provincial Park.
SUGAR BUSH
Three kilometres south of Bayfield on
Highway 21 is Sugar Bush Inn, owned by
John and Gail McIntyre. Just off the busy
highway is a motel, restaurant, ice cream
stand and trailer sales and service. Behind
the buildings, campers find a different
world, quiet and peaceful, among 80 acres
of woodland and gullies that stretch to the
shores of Lake Huron.
The 200 sites with electricity, water,
sewers average 40 feet in width and 70 feet
to 200 feet in depth. They accommodate
everything from small tent trailers to large
luxury models. Visitors come from centres,
like Burlington, Chatham and Toronto,
while local campers from Clinton, Hensai:
and Kippen also camp at Sugar Bush. Gail
McIntyre has discovered many people, who
stop in for the night, stay for a week and
return next year.
About 65 per cent of the campers are
retired people using the trailer as a
cottage. Some spend winters in Florida;
summers at Sugar Bush. Permanent
campers can lease lots on a one or five year
basis. They maintain their own sites,
planting flowers and vegetables in the
spring and mowing lawns in the summer.
New trailers with efficient furnaces allow
some to return through the winter for cross
country skiing.
Singles and families with young children
also camp at Sugar Bush, and overnight
and weekend sites are always available.
Facilities include a swimming pool, sauna
bath and large recreation hall. The
basement of the hall is reserved for
children to enjoy music, games and films.
Upstairs in the hall with its large fireplace,
adults gather for card games, parties and
dances. The Hallowe'en party is the most
popular, although it comes after the close
of the official season.
Shuffleboard, horseshoes, summer
barbecues and an annual golf tournament
at nearby Bayview golf course are other
activities enjoyed by Sugar Bush campers.
LO OK
THE GIFT THAT...
KEEPS ON GIVING
EW E LLE RY
KIT FORM - MAKE 11
YOURSELF
CUSTOM MADE - AT LOW
COST
STONES ARE NATURAL
MINERALS IMPORTED
FROM ALL OVER THE
WORLD. NO GLASS OR
PLASTIC.
Tiger Eye, Carnelian,
Amethyst Quartz,
Garnet, Moonstone,
Jade, Opal, and Tots more.
Rings, Pendants, Beads,
Necklaces, Belt Buckles,
Bola Ties, Bracelets,
etc.
VISIT...MINI MINERAL
MUSEUM - NO CHARGE.
o�'IL,Yti CMS
51 ST. DAVID ST., GODERICH, ONT. N1A 1l4
511-9972
McLeod
Fisheries
Wholesale and Retail
Fresh Fish
OPEN DAILY
9:00 a.m. to 5 p.m.
NORTH DOCK
BAYFIELD
Props.: Donald &
Kathryn McLeod
565-2470
VILLAGE SQUIRE/JULY 1980 PG. 17