Rondeau Provincial Park

The park is located on Pointe aux Pins, a peninsula extending into Lake Erie. The sandspit has formed in the last 12,000 years as currents in the lake deposit sandbars. The shape of the peninsula continues to evolve. For instance, the barrier beach has receded in the past 150 years. In a 1930 soil survey most of the spit was mapped as Berrien sand, which is imperfectly drained. Rondeau Provincial Park includes most of the peninsula (excepting the very base), and much of Rondeau Bay. The peninsula is occupied by a series of low ridges and sloughs. A narrow sand spit extends west, sheltering the marshes and bay, and nearly reaching the town of Erieau. ==History==

Prior to European Settlement, the area was used by the Neutral Nation. At Rondeau, the cottage leases were first created between 1894 and 1950. As of 2022 there are 278 private cottages within Rondeau Provincial Park. The future of cottages at Rondeau has been controversial. In 1986, the Provincial Parks Council recommended the extension of all cottage leases to 2017 after which they would be terminated, Since 1954, the Rondeau Cottagers Association has been lobbying for recognition and preservation of the Rondeau cottage community. In 2014, Chatham-Kent Council voted to have Rondeau's cottage community placed on the municipality's Heritage Register and be designated as a heritage district; the designation was later repealed by an order from the Ontario Municipal Board but the community remains on the Heritage Register. A formerly popular site in the park was the government pier on Rondeau Bay. In 2014, the pier was severely damaged by thick ice on Rondeau Bay and later removed. Despite community pressure, the pier has not been replaced. The Rondeau Yacht Club, located within the park, was founded in 1932. The club continues to operate during July and August teaching sailing, windsurfing, canoeing, and swimming to area children. == Natural environment ==

Rondeau has a variety of habitats, including sandy beach, dunes, prairie, oak savannah, Carolinian forest, woodlands sloughs, a large marsh, and productive shallow bay. The park is recognised as one of Ontario's most important natural areas. Many of the plant species found here are typical of areas further south. Prominent among them is tuliptree, whose leaf forms the basis for the Friends of Rondeau Provincial Park logo. A variety of nationally and provincially threatened or endangered species are found in the park, such as eastern spiny softshell and nodding pogonia. The park is home to the largest population of breeding prothonotary warblers in Canada. Other endangered birds nesting in the park include king rail and Acadian flycatcher. The park is also an important stopover for migrating birds in spring and fall. During the first Atlas of Breeding Birds of Ontario, the Rondeau Area had the highest breeding bird diversity in the province. == Recreation ==

In 2011, Rondeau received nearly 160,000 visitors. Park facilities include 262 developed campsites, six hiking trails, picnic areas, a boat launch, and a visitor centre with interpretive displays and programming. Popular recreational activities include hiking, cycling, fishing, hunting, birding, windsurfing. Birding is especially popular in May as migrant songbirds heading north stopover in the park. Windsurfing is popular on Rondeau Bay on days with strong southwest winds. Waterfowl hunting is popular in the marsh in fall; recreational hunting is otherwise prohibited. == References ==