Point Pelee National Park, at the southern tip of mainland Canada in Ontario, holds a government designation protecting the long, narrow sandspit that reaches into Lake Erie. The park is small, covering only about fifteen square kilometres, yet it shelters several habitats within that space: marshland, forest, and open beach. A floating boardwalk lets visitors cross the wide cattail marsh that fills much of the park, and a Parks Canada visitor centre, a shuttle to the very tip, and a network of trails draw nature lovers throughout the year. Because the park sits on a major flyway, it is best known to many as one of the finest places in the country to watch migrating birds.
The land that became Point Pelee was first used by Indigenous peoples, and later, in the nineteenth century, by settlers who cleared parts of the forest, harvested marsh hay, and hunted the abundant waterfowl. As the natural resources of the area drew growing attention, a movement to protect the point gathered support among early naturalists. Their efforts succeeded, and Point Pelee officially became a national park in 1918, one of the first in Canada set aside chiefly for the conservation of nature rather than for its scenery. Roads and early facilities were added in the decades that followed.
