Pinery Provincial Park

This park of 2,532 ha (6,330 acres) is located along the Ontario shores of Lake Huron. Early settlers avoided farming here because the sandy soils. In 1929, an American developer wanted to create a million-dollar resort with golf course, clubhouse, and yacht harbor; but he could not obtain the necessary financial support to complete it.

The land for Pinery Provincial Park was purchased in 1957 and opened to the public in 1959 to provide recreational opportunities. In the early 1960s, pine plantations were established in the park. The planting of 3,000,000 pines caused problems for the oak savanna here.

Over 99% of the oak savanna in the world has been destroyed or altered. However, through prescribed burns and extensive pine cutting programs, Pinery has restored its oak savanna ecosystems. About one-half of this type of ecosystem in the world is located in the park. An oak savanna is a community of scattered oak trees above a layer of grasses and forbs. The trees are spread out enough so that there is no closed canopy, and the grasses and forbs receive plenty of sunlight. The savanna is a transition ecosystem between the tallgrass prairies and woodlands.

See map of the park. (Click on General Information, then on Park Map.)

We would like to thank the authorities at Pinery Provincial Park for providing information for this page.

Flora


Fauna