Southwestern Ontario

Haldimand County is racing country.  Both the Cayuga Speedway and the Toronto Motorsports Park are located in Haldimand county, and are some of Canada's premier racing facilities.  Racing fans from across the province come to see the NASCAR Canadian Tire  Series race each spring.

 

But that's not all this area has to offer!  The Grand River and Lake Erie both offer many opportunities for sports, relaxation and fishing.

Small, welcoming communities dot the countryside of Elgin County, like the towns of St. Thomas and Aylmer.  Small tourist communities like Port Stanley take advantage of the clean air and low traffic to offer travellers a "change of pace".

But there is still much to see and do while relaxing!  There are nine regional museums with focuses on regional history, industry and military events.  Restored steam and diesel train tours travel leisurely through the countryside.  County-wide cycling and hiking trails and routes are a great way to explore the more than 20 huge murals painted on walls around the county.

The Chatham-Kent region has a rich background - it was the terminus for the Underground Railway, which helped fleeing slaves during the American Civil War. 

This region also boasts a long shoreline on Lake Erie, with abundant beaches, fishing, and sailing.  Many local shipwrecks attract divers, and the warm Southern Ontario climate attracts a wide variety of southern birds that cannot be seen in the rest of Canada.

Essex county is the southernmost county in Canada.  It lies on the same latitude as Northern California.  The county has 402 kilometers of Great Lake shoreline - much of it sandy beaches.  Like many other counties along the Lake Erie shore, this region is ideally suited to grow grapes and other fruit and vegetable crops.

The city of Windsor is not only a great casino and harness racing destination, but there are a wide variety of cultural and historical attractions, from the many theatres and performance spaces to museums and attractions celebrating the Underground Railroad.

Brant County mixes some of the best of what Southern Ontario has to offer: the unspoiled countryside of the Grand River watershed, the markets and fresh foods of Ontario's agricultural heart (including a Brant County specialty: herbs like lavender, ginger and Echinacea) , and the shops and inns (and increasingly, the spas and golf courses) of small-town Ontario.

Towns in Brant County include Scotland, Burford, Paris and Onondaga, all surrounding the city of Brantford.

Oxford Region is an agricultural wonderland, filled with dairy farms, quiet small towns, and the county seat of Woodstock has some of the best examples of 19th century municipal building architecture left in the province.  The local economy is booming with the construction of a Toyota manufacturing plant, which makes this a great time to visit this cozy corner of Ontario!

Middlesex County is in the centre of Southwestern Ontario, and includes the city of London, Ontario's fourth largest city.  London is known as "the Forest City" and its citizens take great pride in their green city.  Visit the lively Covent Garden Market or the ever-popular Storybook Gardens in Springbank Park.

The southern shore of Lake Huron is a part of Lambton County, Ontario, along the Michigan border.  While this area has historical roots in agriculture and oil drilling, the abundance of lakes, rivers and miles of sandy beaches mean that tourism has fast become one of the most important focuses for Lambton.

The town of Grand Bend and the Pinery Provincial Park draw thousands of tourists each summer for water sports and sun bathing, along with what has been called one of the ten best sunsets in the world.

The city of Sarnia has two of Ontario's most modern casinos, alongside top-notch museums, theatre and sports centres!