This beautiful Ontario park has 20 km of silky shores and a floating boardwalk trail
It has dreamy fall views. 🍂
Ontario has no shortage of beautiful parks to explore, and if you're looking for somewhere truly special to check out, you'll want to add this spot to your plans.
With silky shorelines, shimmering waters, stunning trails, and floating boardwalks, it's a magical place to enjoy the outdoors.
The area is beautiful during the fall, when its forests burst with colour and crisp leaves coat the ground.
Point Pelee National Park is a scenic gem located along Lake Erie's shoreline in Essex County, about 3 and a half hours from Toronto.
According to Visit Windsor Essex, it's "a tiny sanctuary" with a "jungle-like forest" and smooth-sand beaches.
The park sits at the southernmost tip of mainland Canada, and you can reach the point on foot by following the Tip Trail. The easy one-kilometre loop takes around 30 minutes to complete.
You don't want to miss out on the Tip Tower, a 24-metre observation tower on the shores of Lake Erie. The lookout has 144 steps to the top and offers 360-degree views of Lake Erie and vibrant fall foliage.
You can also take in the autumn scenery from the Marsh Boardwalk, a floating wooden pathway complete with a smaller observation tower and telescope.
The Woodland Nature Trail is another spot to explore during the fall. It leads through the oldest forest habitat in the park and takes about an hour to complete.
Other scenic autumn hikes include the Tilden Woods Trail and DeLaurier Homestead & Trail.
Keep an eye out for birds during your visit. Point Pelee National Park is a birdwatching hotspot, especially during migration season. Sitting along Lake Erie at the crossroads of major migratory routes, the park attracts a large variety of birds passing through the region.
More than 390 bird species have been recorded in the Point Pelee Birding Area, making it an ideal destination for spotting everything from seasonal visitors to rare feathered friends.
October brings opportunities to spot Peregrine Falcons, while Golden Eagles begin passing through later in the month. By November, the skies fill with migrating waterfowl, including large flocks of geese.
Some birds may stick around into the colder months if temperatures and conditions stay mild enough.
Winter turns the park into a snowy escape, with opportunities to snowshoe, trek winter trails, or go cross-country skiing.
Keep in mind that trails aren't maintained during the winter, so be sure to review the park's winter safety guidelines before setting out.
If you're looking for a beautiful spot to explore this fall, Point Pelee boasts scenic shorelines, boardwalk trails, vibrant trees, and more.
Point Pelee National Park
Price: $10 per adult
Address: 1118 Point Pelee Dr, Leamington, ON
Carney says Canada in mourning following military base deaths in Alberta
Prime Minister Mark Carney delivered a statement in Ottawa on Sunday about a deadly, fast-moving fire at CFB Wainwright in Alberta. The fire on Saturday killed four service members and wounded dozens more.
Here is the text of Carney's remarks:
Yesterday afternoon, a violent, fast-moving fire swept through the Canadian Armed Forces Base in Wainwright, Alta.
What followed was one of the worst tragedies for the Forces on Canadian soil in peacetime.
I regret that I can confirm at this time that four service members have lost their lives and their next of kin have been notified. Dozens more are seriously wounded.
As the situation is evolving rapidly, I have asked that a detailed account and formal briefing be provided to Canadians this afternoon by senior officials on the ground in Wainwright, including the minister of national defence, Canada’s minister of emergency preparedness and Maj.-Gen. Wade Rutland of the Canadian Army. They will be joined by provincial ministers and senior officials.
I would like to take this opportunity to commend the close collaboration between all levels of government. Since last evening, Premier Smith and I have been in regular contact. Our ministers and officials have co-ordinated the response deploying resources from the CAF, public safety, local fire department, Alberta emergency and medical services.
The nation is in mourning for those brave members of our Armed Forces whom we have lost. And I have asked the flags on all federal buildings to be flown at half-mast to honour them. We are praying for the wounded. And we stand in solidarity and compassion for the families, friends and colleagues of all those affected by this tragedy.
Canadians come together in crisis. That is the best of our country.
Military and civilian crews fought this fire through the night, in some of the worst conditions imaginable, risking their lives to protect their fellow Canadians.
STARS air ambulance crews flew in from Edmonton and Saskatoon. Paramedics, nurses, and doctors in Wainwright, Edmonton, Red Deer and Calgary caring for victims. The people of Wainwright are taking care of their own.
Thank you to Albertans and Canadians who are giving blood, who are feeding and housing emergency crews, who are providing solace and comfort to those in their darkest hour.
Those affected came from bases across the country, including reservists and soldiers from the storied Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry. Throughout Canada’s history, the Princess Pats have fought for freedom, democracy and human dignity — in the First World War, in the Second, in Korea, in Afghanistan and during numerous peacekeeping missions
That is the record, that is the standard, those are the values of the women and men who were training on the Alberta prairie yesterday afternoon when disaster struck. That commitment, that service, those ideals are the debts we, as Canadians, owe to them.
Our country depends on the women and men of the Canadian Armed Forces. Our rights, our freedoms, our way of life are fought for and defended every single day by Canadians who answer the call.
CFB Wainwright is where the women and men of our Armed Forces learn to do the hardest things this country can ask of anyone. Those we lost and who were injured were training to defend Canada. To serve Canada.
Now Canada serves them.
We will be there for their families for as long as they need. We will care for the injured through every step of their recovery. And we will stand by the women and men of our Armed Forces as they bear the weight of this loss.
They will not carry it alone. In Canada, we take care of one another.
Thank you.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 18, 2026.
Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
British Columbia NDP Leader Eby asks Green voters to think carefully about vote
British Columbia NDP Leader David Eby is appealing to Green voters as the snap election slated for Oct. 24 enters its final week.
Eby says Green voters should think carefully about their choices, as they prepare to cast their ballots.
He says he respects Green Leader Emily Lowan, but she won't be premier, and votes for her party could end up electing a Conservative government.
Eby says the Green vote was the difference between a Conservative and a New Democrat being elected in 11 ridings during the last election, including the riding of North Island, where he was speaking at an unrelated campaign announcement in Campbell River, B.C.
He says neither his party nor himself have been perfect, and a lot of people are frustrated about having an election at this moment.
Eby says this election is about the future of the province, and not the small differences between New Democrats and Greens, who share a common vision in many areas.
"So, I'm asking Green voters to think very carefully about the kind of province that we all want, because when we all work together as voters who share that vision, we win."
When asked whether his appeal to Green voters was an acknowledgment that his party was trailing, Eby says the only poll that matters happens on election day.
"I have a great deal of respect for their leader, and she is not going to be premier next week," he says. "The damage that a Conservative government would do would last for generations, and some of it would be impossible to undo."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 18, 2026.
By Wolfgang Depner | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.