The best family-friendly hikes and walks around Brighton

Presqu'ile Provincial Park is a stunning swath of protected Lake Ontario waterfront spanning 937 hectares. There's a massive 2.5-kilometre sandy beach, freshwater marshes, thriving secondary forests, and it's a major migration hotspot for over 335 species of birds and thousands of Monarch butterflies every fall. With hiking and biking routes, there are also over 300 campsites spread across 8 distinct campground loops. Be aware of the time of the year you visit as all visitors entering the park require a valid vehicle permit, and busy summer weekends and autumn migration periods get quite impacted. During crowded times, reserve your Daily Vehicle Permit (DVP) online up to five days in advance to guarantee entry here https://ontarioparks.ca/dayuse/getapermit

The Owen Point Trail is a short but stunning trail exploring the tip southern of Presqu'ile Provincial Park. It is a famous bird and shorebird-viewing trail in the park, offering front-row views of the expansive Lake Ontario shoreline and Gull Island. The trail is easy, flat and family friendly, made up of a mixture of packed dirt paths, sand, and wood chips passing though a coastal mix of dense dogwood shrubbery, with spur trails to open gravel beaches. The trail also features five numbered viewing stations placed at strategic lookouts along the shore for birdwatching.

This rocky, narrow peninsula extends out toward Gull Island, giving a nice view of it while still staying on the mainland. You will often find photographers here with cameras on tripods capturing photos of birds and scenery. Gull Island is a small, low-lying limestone and gravel island. The island has huge bird colonies, and during the peak spring and summer nesting season, Gull Island and High Bluff Island become home to an estimated 250,000 birds. It's also a critical sanctuary for seven colonial waterbird species, including ring-billed and herring fulls, double-crested cormorants, Caspian and common terns, great egrets, and black-crowned night herons.

Presqu’ile Provincial Park sits on the north shore of Lake Ontario and offers a mix of long beaches, quiet forests, and wide‑open lake views. You can explore the sandy shoreline, wander the many trails, and follow a 1 kilometer marsh boardwalk that brings you right into one of the region’s most impressive wetlands. Presqu'ile is also one of Ontario’s best places for birdwatching, especially during spring and fall migration, with over 330 species being sighted here. The peninsula setting gives the park a peaceful, windswept feel, and the historic lighthouse, one of the oldest still operating in the province, adds a striking historic landmark to the shoreline.

Jobes' Woods Trail is a wheelchair‑accessible loop as that wanders through old‑growth forest, open fields, and plantation pines. Keep your eyes up and your pace slow to increase your chances of spotting pileated woodpeckers, white‑tailed deer, and sun bathing amphibians around the Black Ash swamp and beaver‑friendly wetlands.

On the far side of the marsh, a second observation deck and picnic area offer another place to stop along the loop. Covered tables sit right beside the reeds, with open views across the grasses toward the main lookout in the distance. This midway point makes for a great snack sto, a break from the sun, or taking in the scale of the wetland before continuing along the trail.

Near the start of the Marsh Boardwalk Trail, an elevated observation deck overlooks the open marsh, with wide views across tall grasses and scattered trees. Beneath it, a covered picnic table offers a shaded place to stop. Interpretive signs explain the wetland ecosystem and local species, making this a great spot to pause before continuing along the boardwalk.

Marsh Boardwalk Trail is a short, easy loop through wetland boardwalk and forest in Presqu’ile Provincial Park, ideal for a relaxed walk or family outing. The well-maintained wooden boardwalk carries you out over the marsh with benches and wildlife signs along the way, Parking is easy, it’s rarely crowded, and dogs on leash are welcome. If you'd like to observe the local wildlife make sure to bring with you a pair of binoculars.