Peche Island a peaceful escape
Once-a-year tour draws a crowd
Just minutes away is civilization and the clamour of the city, but on Peche Island it’s just the fish and the trees — just the way Pat Turton likes it.
Turton, 59, has been visiting the island since his teens, and Saturday, Sept. 22 he took five of his grandchildren to discover and explore his peaceful escape.
“Not too many people know about it,” Turton said during the annual Peche Island Day, co-ordinated by the Detroit River Canadian Cleanup, the City of Windsor and other community partners.
Once a year, free transportation is provided to the city’s most remote park, which is accessible only by boat.
Natalie Green, a DRCC co-ordinator, said they have been giving free boat rides to the island annually since 2006.
Four boats supplied by Windsor police, the City of Windsor, BASF Inc. and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, plus a canoe from the Windsor Essex County Canoe Club, shuttled hundreds of people to and from the island.
“Today’s event is all about connecting people to the river and allowing them access to this beautiful gem that’s on the Detroit River,” Green said from Lakeview Park Marina, where the boats were being launched.
Guided tours of the city-owned park explained how local whisky maker Hiram Walker owned the island in the 1800s. Tour guides showed people where the foundations of his buildings remain and trees more than 175 years old that are known to attract bald eagles.
Peche Island also has a beach. But Green said swimming is not recommended in the Detroit River because of the current. Hiking from the loading dock to the tip of the 100-acre island takes about 45 minutes, Green said.
Peche Island became a provincial park in 1974 and was acquired by the City of Windsor in 1999.
Turton said that since then the trails have dramatically improved. He and his wife, Sue Turton, 64, often canoe or kayak to the park for a hike and a picnic.
“It’s just a beautiful place with nice trees and very few people. It’s very peaceful,” Sue said while she distributed snacks to her grandchildren.