The Village Squire, 1981-08, Page 13by Susan White
to be, or perhaps that's a small kid's
memory talking. But there are still some
very nice hideaways beneath the trees
that grow where sand starts and soil
ends. If you come from above, there's a
large parking lot (but lock your car, a
friend of a friend had his cleaned out
last summer) at the top of the hill.
There's also an awfully long series of
stairs, but the slope is slight and there
are a couple of stop, rest, and enjoy the
view points.
No facilities here- it's just you, the sun,
sand and water.
For the singles, or those who wish they
were, Grand Bend's beach is the place to
be. It's also one of Lake Huron's best
equipped beaches, with washrooms,
changerooms, barbecues, lights. benches
and playground equipment.
The sand is gorgeous. wide and it
seems to stretch for miles. It's also
packed in summer and that can be a plus
or minus, depending on your inclinations
(see above). Lots of food is readily
available from nearby restaurants and
takeouts, and heavens to mercy, there's
no hill at all.
You just pull up your car, walk a few
feet, and you're at the beach. Grand
Bend's minuses, for the con templative
among us, are lots of noisy cars, blaring
radios and sand to surf people. As a
three-year-old with us commented suc-
cinctly: "it's a zoo."
Don't get the idea that the town
beaches are the only ones on this
particular stretch of Lake Huron. The
strip of beach at the end of all the
concession roads in the area is public: the
township's road allowance goes right to
the water. Just be careful that you're on a
township road, not a private one cottag-
ers have built at their own expense.
No doubt you'll be told if you're
infringing on cottagers' territory: the
issue of what's private and what isn't
along the shore is a touchy one.
According to Warren Knight of the
Ministry of Natural Resources in Wing -
ham. the beach in front of private
cottages is sometimes privately owned.
sometimes not. In Stephen. Hay, Goder-
ich, Stanley and Colborne Townships in
Huron County the original crown grants
went to the Canada Company and
beaches were reserved as public land.
Onus is on (cont. on page 32)
VILLAGE SQUIRE/AUGUST 1981 PG 11