Guest post by Karen Friesecke of DoggieStylish.

For the last long weekend of Summer, I decided to visit Awenda Provincial Park to check out the dog friendly beach. Awenda is located near the town of Penetanguishene, which is approximately a 2 hour drive north of Toronto. It has many amenities that include car and RV camping, hiking and beaches. A day use permit is $14 per car.

The dog beach is sandy and rock free BUT very small. It is probably 300 meters wide by about 200 meters deep. The weather was not very nice when we were there, so we practically had it to ourselves. On a nice summer day, you would be hard pressed to find space to put down a blanket. I could also see dog fights breaking out due to a lot of dogs being in such close quarters.

There is a second dog beach, that was a considerably farther walk down the shore. We did not go there, but I asked passing hikers about it. The consensus was that it is about the same size as the first beach.

One complaint I had about the park is that the beaches are not easy to get to. The parking area is a good three to four minute walk away from the dog beach. I know that it isn’t very far, but when you are walking with coolers, chairs and other stuff, it’s quite a hike. The washrooms were a problem, too. On the map it said that they were close by, but we just couldn’t seem to find them.

Awenda itself, is a beautiful park, but the dog beach simply is not worth the drive for a day trip. So until Wasaga re-opens or relocates it’s dog beach, I will be taking Jersey to Sibbald Point if we want a day of beach fun. ===> Update on Wasaga Beach!

Karen Friesecke is a dog lover and guardian to a Vizsla named Jersey.