Day 77: Port Dover, ON to Port Colborne, ON

Aug 21 blog

62 miles

3,277 miles so far

We started the day with a quick walk down the street to descend a staircase to the beach. Even though it wasn’t sunny, it was very moody and peaceful in the morning mist.

Today’s route would take us through several beach communities as well as coastal farms as we made our way from Port Dover to Port Colborne at the southern end of the Welland Canal.

Overall, It was a gray overcast day with a headwind most of the day, but we managed to avoid any rain.

We stopped in Selkirk at about mile 18 for coffee and egg sandwiches.

We passed through several beachside communities, some of which had beautiful lakeshore homes. Otherwise, it was a combination of cornfields and wind farms.

Tonight we had a very nice suite in the Canalside Inn which sat above the restaurant and bar below. It was very nice and offered a great view of the Welland Canal below and the massive international tankers passing through just feet from our hotel room window.

The Welland Canal is a ship canal and part of the St. Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes Waterway. The canal traverses the Niagara Peninsula between Port Weller on Lake Ontario and Port Colborne on Lake Erie and was erected because the Niagara River—the only natural waterway connecting the lakes—was unnavigable due to Niagara Falls. The Welland Canal enables ships to ascend and descend the Niagara Escarpment, and has followed four different routes since it opened.

We had a nice dinner at the restaurant below and watched a few ships pass by.

Started our day with a visit to the beach