Outlet Beach
Text from the plaque
Outlet Beach is regarded as one of the finest sand beaches in Canada. The beach has always been popular with local residents and today, as part of Sandbanks Provincial Park, attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors annually. Outlet Beach is located on the Lake Ontario side of a large forested sandbar which separates Lake Ontario from East Lake. The sandbar is crossed by a narrow river which empties into Lake Ontario at a location residents have historically referred to as the Outlet. Over the years, the name Outlet has been applied to both the river and the beach itself. Many visitors to Outlet Beach have been intrigued by the legend of a lost barrel of gold. The gold, reportedly buried by a French gunboat captain somewhere along the Outlet River during the Seven Years War (1756-1763), has never been found. Any clues as to the whereabouts of the treasure have long been obscured by shifting sands.
Transcribed from the marker, not summarised.
Find the place
The County of Prince Edward
In Sandbanks Provincial Park at Outlet Beach
near the park store
where the water from East Lake flows into Lake Ontario
N 43 53.752 W 77 13.379
Recorded June 2007. Check current access before visiting.
Where it stands
Visitors' notes
July 22, 2012
Luckily, like most Boomers in Prince Edward County I can remember Outlet Beach in the days before the government groomed the area and implemented steep admission fees. Today those hundreds of thousands of visitors have changed the meaning of "going to the beach". Like many locals, I avoid the place until the tourist season is over. I prefer to remember the Outlet the way it was. What was once a beautiful, tranquil ares is now wall-to-wall bodies on the sand with beach towels just inches apart.
June 20, 2012
I always find it interesting how these plaques never tell of the government's expropriation of the land when they post these things. A portion of the Outlet Beach was actually owned by the Martin Family and was a part of their Campground during the War. Members of the Martin family still own a portion of the remainder of the Outlet along the River and County Rd.18 from the Bridge to near the River's mouth.
April 1, 2009
We made a family trip out to Sandbanks/Outlet park last summer. Beautiful. Since I'm a Markeroon, I had to jump out and get a photo of this plaque. I'll check this weekend to see if I have a good, clear file without my sunburned mug in it.