Essex County (Ontario) travel guide

Essex County, Ontario is the southernmost region of Canada with one of the longest growing seasons in the nation, unique outdoor activities and fascinating historic sites. The Lake Erie shore and Pelee Island viticulture areas offer 14 wineries as of 2023.

Cities

• Essex — a good base for exploring Essex County's many wineries
• Amherstburg — an agricultural service town with several historical sites
• Leamington — the Tomato Capital of Canada, and jumping off point for Point Pelee National Park
• Kingsville — see the transportation museum and the tropical gardens
• Windsor — the largest city in the region, with an ethnically diverse population

Other destinations

• Pelee Island — the southernmost inhabited place in Canada is a place of peace and relaxation for its many visit, especially migrating birds and butterflies
• Point Pelee National Park, the southernmost point in mainland Canada, with accessible boardwalks through the marshlands that are important habitats for migrating birds

Understand

Underground Railroad Monument in Windsor (Photo: Jc8025, CC BY-SA 3.0)

Conservative Mennonites have resided in Essex County since 1786. They emigrated to Ontario (then known as Upper Canada) from the United States after the American Revolution in 1776. They came from Pennsylvania, home to Mennonite immigrants since 1683.

Essex and much of Ontario's Niagara Peninsula served as a terminus for a vast Underground Railroad which led fugitive slaves north across abolitionist states to Canada. Ohio in particular bordered both slavery in Kentucky and freedom across Lake Erie, placing its routes among the shortest and most popular paths to freedom.

Today, major industries range from agriculture (a former Heinz factory cans tomato juice in Leamington) to auto manufacturing (Chrysler operates both in Windsor and across the river in suburban Detroit). The region is one endpoint for the Windsor-Quebec corridor, one of the most populous regions in the nation.

Visitor Information

• Tourism Windsor Essex Pelee Island
• Destination Ontario: Travel Information Centre, 110 Park St E (Windsor), toll-free: +1-800-668-2746. Open in Summer only.

Get in

By plane

There is a small airport in Windsor (Ontario).

By boat

• Pelee Island Ferries, toll-free: +1-800-265-3163. Ferry service connecting Pelee Island, Leamington or Kingsville (depending on the season), to Sandusky, Ohio from late April to early September. The ferries do not serve Sandusky from mid-September to December, but still connect Pelee Island to Kingsville.

By bus

There are inter-city and cross-border bus services to Windsor, but not to other centres in the region.

By car

From the United States:

• Windsor-Detroit Tunnel. Take the tunnel. Between Detroit and Windsor connecting the US Interstates I-95, I-96 and I-75 to Ontario's Highway 401, it is one of the fastest routes between Ontario and the United States.
• Ambassador Bridge. The world's longest international suspension bridge.

From Canada:

• From the Toronto area, take Highway 401 westbound; all exits beyond Tilbury are in Essex County.
  It is possible to take a plane to Detroit from Toronto and drive from there.
• From Niagara and Buffalo, take the QEW up to Hamilton and merge onto Highway 403.

Get around

It is advisable to use cars, when possible. Public transit in Essex is non-existent except for in Windsor and Tecumseh (both have their own bus systems).

See

As the largest city, Windsor is the focus of the region's cultural life, with an art gallery, a science museum, a Serbian Heritage Museum, and several historic districts.

The Essex County Steam & Gas Engine Museum will appeal to those interested in old gas and steam-powered engines and antique tractors.

Amherstburg has several historic sites, including a War of 1812 fort, a military museum, a museum about enslaved Americans who found freedom at the end of the Underground Railroad, and an old navy yard.

Kingsville has a heritage village and transportation museum, and Colasanti's Tropical Gardens which exhibit tropical plants and animals.

Do

Boardwalk across a marsh in Point Pelee National Park (Photo: Theyenine at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0)

Point Pelee National Park is one of Canada's smallest national parks, attracts approximately 300,000 human visitors each year, and hundreds of thousands of migrating birds of hundreds of species.

The Jack Miner Bird Sanctuary in Kingsville is another good choice for birders.

Because of the region's temperate climate, it is home to many wineries, many of which provide tours and tastings. See the listings in the Essex, Kingsville, and Amherstburg articles.

Kingsville Folk Music Festival, in August, puts on world-class folk, acoustic and world music, with an emphasis on Canadian artists.

Go next

• Chatham-Kent — the region's gateway to the rest of Southwestern Ontario
• Detroit — directly across the Detroit River, an easy day trip from Windsor or a gateway to Michigan.
• Sandusky — on Ohio's Lake Erie shore, connected to Leamington or Kingsville by ferry in the summer. Home of the Cedar Point amusement park.

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