A cozy, adventurous, and much-needed family camping trip beside Lake Erie, with paddleboarding, rain, spiders, and tornado warnings.

Rock Point Provincial Park

A cozy, adventurous, and much-needed camping trip by Lake Erie.

Story by Aleksandra Tsygankova

Photos by Nadia Tsy

Published August 2026

July 31–August 2, 2026

If I recall everywhere I have ever gone with my family, it would go something like this: we would start off with a concrete plan and follow it through, but then we would stumble across an adventure. And knowing us, we would always decide to go that route.

This time might have been one of our most memorable camping trips because—and nobody expected this—of the weather. We learned how important a role nature plays in our daily lives. And sometimes, it limits us, which was what happened at this camp.

During our two-night camping trip, we discovered a new park that we may or may not visit again, but that is for you to find out after reading this blog. I hope you enjoy reading about our adventures and that this will inspire you to go out into nature and see what you can find!

Why Did We Choose Rock Point Provincial Park?

Through a lot of research, we discovered how close this park was to Lake Erie. We were truly craving a swim and wanted to enjoy the water, so we decided to choose one of the warmest lakes in Ontario to camp beside. The campsite was also located in a forest, which strengthened our decision to camp there even more.

First Impressions

Once we arrived at the park, we had to get our usual lumber and kindling for the fire. When we drove over to the store, it was a pleasant experience to see the lake right next to it. Some of us even ran to test the water, and we were all pleasantly surprised when we found out it was warm. As we made our way over to the campsite, we noted that the campsites were a bit smaller than we expected and that there were a lot of insects and birds around us.

Our blue-and-grey family tent surrounded by trees at the Rock Point campsite

What We Did

Our first day was a bit different than usual because, as we had planned, we arrived earlier than usual. In the morning, we packed for camp from around 8:00 a.m. to around 1:00 p.m., which, surprisingly, is earlier than we usually do. Once we had all the food, the tent, and, of course, the new paddleboard packed, we drove away from our home and started a two-hour-and-fifty-minute adventure to Rock Point.

As we arrived at Rock Point, we drove to register and buy firewood. Once we got everything we needed, we looked intently at the map, and after a couple of wrong turns, we finally arrived at our campsite at around 4:25 p.m. When we saw our campsite, we felt a tiny bit disappointed because we had expected more space. But once we realized it was what it was, we decided to eat some snacks we had packed and start setting up our campsite. It took us around two hours to finish setting up and get used to where the washrooms and water were. Afterward, we decided, why not greet this new camp with a visit to the beach? We packed our blanket, chair, and, of course, chips and drove to the lake. It was very peaceful and not crowded at all, which was perfect for us. Once we saw the sunset, we decided to go back to our campsite and cook dinner. The darker the sky became, the more mosquitoes and other insects kept finding us, so we had to take precautions such as putting on bug repellent and burning a mosquito coil. We had our dinner by the campfire and, of course, dessert, and started to get ready for bed. But we found a very surprising and slightly horrifying spider at our campsite—and not just one. Once all the spiders were gone, we finally settled in to sleep.

Quiet pebble beach and tree-lined shore beside Lake Erie at Rock Point

Family members standing at the water's edge during our first evening at Lake Erie

Girl walking across the beach with the setting sun reflected on Lake Erie

Golden summer sunset over the beach and calm water at Rock Point Provincial Park

Our second day started as usual, with a yummy breakfast and planning the day ahead. We decided to go to the beach to test out the water with our paddleboard and soak up the sun. Once we had finally packed everything we needed, including food, blankets, and, obviously, swimsuits, we headed for the beach. The parking spots were neatly organized, and there was lots of space on the beach. One particular thing that stood out to me was how the beach was organized: you could walk from the parking lot into a grassy area with lots of shade and then out to the beach. It was perfect! We basically stayed on the beach for half of the day and then decided to take a break in the grassy area. In the late afternoon, we moved back to the beach to soak up the last of the sun and go out for a cooling paddleboarding session. It was extremely fun to paddleboard and swim in the lake, and one of my favorite parts was jumping off the paddleboard right into the water—a truly memorable experience. Around 7:00 p.m., we decided to go back to our campsite and cook dinner. Then we got ready for bed and fell asleep peacefully while listening to the raindrops fall on top of our tent.

Lake Erie seen through leafy trees above Rock Point's rocky shoreline

Open blue water and distant sailboat on a calm day at Lake Erie

Two family members carrying a paddleboard through the shaded area beside the beach

Family relaxing together on a paddleboard in the calm water of Lake Erie

Paddleboarders gliding across Lake Erie beneath a dramatic summer sky

When we woke up on Sunday, everything felt different. Maybe it was the mossy, wet smell outside the tent, the warmth and coziness inside our tent, or maybe it was all the millions of spiders that decided our sleeping place would be perfect for hiding from the rain. Either way, none of us was excited to get up and start our day, especially while wondering what to do about breakfast. But after some quick thinking, we set out our camp stove and made oatmeal outside while overlooking the wet ground and light rain. While thinking about what to do next, we decided to go on a trail near us. Just as we started the trail and were actually looking for it, it began to rain. We kept going, thinking it would just be light rain, but it turned into heavy rainfall and thunder as well. So we decided to head back to our tent once again and wait it out. After around an hour, we had a break from the rain and decided to head home. We quickly started packing and managed to pack everything into the car and drive off before another heavy rainfall began.

Green forest trail we tried to explore before the heavy rain began

Rain-speckled view of a wet campground road through the forest

But, as always, another adventure found us pretty quickly, and that was a tornado. As we were driving home on country roads, we received multiple severe tornado warnings and were advised to keep looking out. And, of course, it was so foggy that we couldn't even see ten feet in front of us, so it made spotting the tornado kind of hard. But after we made it out of there, we finally had the peace of driving on the highways, even with all the traffic.