Camping Road Trip in the Hyundai Santa Fe to explore Point Pelee

We love the spacious comfort of the 2017 Santa Fe Sport 2.4 SE AWD, which made our camping road trip to Pelee Island and the Point Pelee National Park a memorable experience. We were able to load all our camping gear and everything else we needed for the road trip. 

The dash is well laid out, and all the locks and controls are convenient to operate from the driver’s and the front passenger’s seat. The power outlets are in the centre in front of the arm rest, where we can plug in AUX, USB, and audio devices.

Santa Fe Sport has seat warmers on all the seats, and easy individual control of the air condition and heat to allow everyone to set it to their comfort. It also has heated steering wheels.

We found the Smart features on this vehicle such as rear view camera, blind spot detector helpful when we were on the road. 

We like the safety features such as the automatic reversal of the window when it detects resistance and stops upward movement. This is helpful when travelling with young children. 

There are other comfort features such as panoramic sunroof that extends over the passenger seats, multi box, sunglass holder, luggage tray, cup holder in the front and rear of this Santa Fe Sport.

We took the Santa Fe Sport in the morning Jiimaan ferry, to drive around Pelee Island situated in the Western Basin of Lake Erie, just above the Canadian-American border at 41 degree latitude. 

The island sits on a bed of limestone, which is still quarried today. Waiting for the ferry, loading and unloading does need some patience, so takes snacks along. Looking out of the deck in the ferry while going to the island is exciting for the little ones. There are lots of seating on the lower deck as well as on the upper deck, and washrooms in the ferry. 

Once we got off the ferry, we took the inside streets to drive north of Pelee Island to see the Lighthouse Point Provincial Nature Reserve. At this reserve, we can hike to see the Pelee Lighthouse and walk on the beach. The Pelee Island Lighthouse was built in 1833 by John Scott. This lighthouse has helped guide vessels through the hazardous Pelee Passage until it went out of service in 1909. 

We can go beside the lighthouse, however it is difficult to get a full view of the lighthouse from land. 
Then we drove to the south of the island to the Fish Point Provincial Nature reserve and hiked a trail. We just washed our feet in the cooling freshwater beaches, and chose not to swim there as the currents were strong. It does not take too long to drive around the entire island and admire its natural beauty. 

We spent some time relaxing while waiting for the ferry. We were glad they opened the gift shop in the ferry on our way back, so we can buy ice cream to sit back and enjoy after a tiring day of hiking and exploring the island.

We camped at Wheatley Provincial Park for the night before heading to explore Point Pelee National Park. Kayaking, canoeing or going on the guided Freighter Canoe Tour in the marsh is a must do, in our opinion. We enjoyed the Freighter Canoe Tour, which takes about an hour in a 10 person canoe with a park interpreter. During the tour we can ask questions and get some insight into the flora and fauna in the marsh and the area. 

There are canoes and kayaks that we can rent at the Marsh Boardwalk. As we paddled, we were able to spot a beaver lagoon, lotus flowers, wren, red winged black bird, Monarch butterflies, water beetles, fish, red fox snake, Northern Map turtle, and more at Lake Pond.

The Visitor Centre has exhibits that are educational. Children will enjoy taking the Parks Canada Xplorer booklet and being engaged to complete it. Once the booklet is complete, children can get a token to redeem at the photo booth. We took the shuttle to the Tip at the Visitor Centre, and went to the southernmost tip of Canada. During the day they do not allow cars to the tip. Once we got there, we took a short hike to the beach area. They do not advice swimming as the current is strong. However, there are other designated swimming spaces in the park. With all the different activities and special events at Point Pelee National Park, it is easy to spend an entire day at the park.

We were happy to have visited Canada’s second smallest national park that is on the same latitude as northern California, which has diverse plants and animals than any other national park in Canada.

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