The County's biggest tourist draw is a beach. Its second biggest is wine. Here's how to do both in one day without spending eight hours in a car.
The Honest Premise
Sandbanks Provincial Park gets over a million visitors a year. Prince Edward County has roughly 40 wineries. A lot of people show up for one and discover the other by accident. A lot of others plan for both and end up doing neither well, because they spend the whole day driving from one side of the County to the other.
This post is for the second group. The fix is geography. Sandbanks is at the south end of the County. The wineries cluster in two main pockets: the west side (Hillier and Wellington, where we are) and the east side (Waupoos and Cressy). If you've come to spend the day at the beach, the west-side wineries are 15 to 30 minutes away. The east-side wineries are 50+ minutes away, plus a drive home. Pick a side. Stay on it.
We're going to recommend you stay west. Not because the east side isn't beautiful (it is) but because you only have so many hours.
The Day at a Glance
- 9:00am: Leave wherever you're staying. Coffee on the road.
- 10:00am: Arrive Sandbanks. Beach until 1:00pm.
- 1:30pm: Lunch at Traynor Family Vineyard or another west-side winery with food.
- 3:00pm: Second winery (Closson Chase or Stanners).
- 5:00pm: Apres Beach happy hour back at Traynor.
- 7:30pm: Sunset on the Vineyard Patio or back at Wellington Beach.
- 9:00pm: Dinner in Wellington or Picton, or head home.
Total drive time: under 90 minutes. Beach: three hours. Patios: four hours. That's a real day.
Step One: Sandbanks
Get there early
Sandbanks fills up. On a sunny July weekend, the park can hit vehicle capacity before noon and they close the gate. Book your day-use vehicle permit ahead at OntarioParks.ca. Aim to be at the gate by 9:30 or 10:00am.
Which beach
Sandbanks has three beaches:
- Outlet Beach - the long crescent everyone Instagrams. Shallow, warm, gradual entry. Best for families. Most crowded.
- Dunes Beach - where the sand dunes meet the lake. Spectacular, more rugged.
- Sandbanks Beach (West Beach) - quieter and a good move to avoid Outlet Beach crowds.
Step Two: Lunch (and Wine)
You're coming off the beach hungry. Two main options on the west side:
Traynor Family Vineyard (us)
Twenty-five minutes from Sandbanks via County Road 12 to Highway 33. Full kitchen open at lunch - hot dogs (kimchi, elote, chimichurri, classic), wine slushies, supreme fries, full wine list. Sandy feet welcome. Dog welcome. Five patios to pick from.
If you have kids, this is the easy answer. Play area, on-site ice cream trailer, free family movie nights on Fridays. More on the family setup.
Hinterland or Huff Estates
If you want a different vibe. Hinterland (sparkling specialists, 20 min from Sandbanks) and Huff Estates (full restaurant, 15 min) both have proper lunch service.
The point: don't drive 45 minutes east to Waupoos for lunch. You'll burn an hour you don't have.
Step Three: Second Winery
This is where most people get greedy and try to hit four more wineries. Don't. Hit one more. Two if you're disciplined and someone else is driving.
- Closson Chase - the County's chardonnay reference point. About 10 minutes from us.
- Stanners Vineyard - smaller, family-run, quietly excellent pinot noir.
Step Four: Apres Beach
By 4 or 5pm, you've had your swim, lunch, tasting. The sun is softer.
This is what we built Apres Beach for. Thursday-Saturday 4-7pm: $1 1oz pours of any piquette, $7.50 wine slushies, hot dogs.
Take a hammock under the lavender pergola. Take a cabana on the Vineyard Patio. The vibe is intentionally not-precious.
Step Five: Sunset
Two good options. Both west-side.
Sunset at Traynor
The Vineyard Patio faces the setting sun across our vineyards. Quiet, gold light for 40 minutes, and you're already there.
Sunset at Wellington Beach or North Beach
Sandbanks closes at dusk most seasons, but Wellington Beach and North Beach are public. Lake Ontario at sunset from a quiet stretch of County beach is hard to beat.
What we don't recommend: driving to Lake on the Mountain for sunset. Stunning, but 40 minutes east. You'll spend most of your sunset in the car.
Step Six: Dinner
Our kitchen runs until 8pm Thursday-Saturday in summer. Hot dogs, supreme fries, full menu.
If you want sit-down, Wellington has a few good rooms (Drake Devonshire if you booked ahead, the Royal in Picton if you didn't). Picton is 20 minutes east; Wellington is 5.
If You're Staying Overnight
Most people who do Sandbanks + wine stay at least one night. The County has B&Bs, inns, and cottage rentals. Wellington and Bloomfield are closest to west-side wineries. Picton has more dining options.
Tomorrow: do the east side. Waupoos, Cressy, Karlo Estates, The Grange, Long Dog. Two days lets you actually see the County.
The Cross-County Driving Trap
Every PEC visitor who's tried to do too much in one day has the same story. "We did Sandbanks, then drove to Waupoos for lunch, then drove back across to Hillier for a tasting, then drove back east for dinner. We were exhausted." Don't be that person.
The TL;DR
Beach in the morning. Lunch and a winery on the west side. Apres Beach at 4. Sunset on a patio. Dinner. Home or to your B&B. Stay on one side of the County.
Where to Find Us
Traynor Family Vineyard
1774 Danforth Road, Hillier, ON K0K 2J0
25 minutes from Sandbanks (Outlet Beach gate)
15 minutes from North Beach
5 minutes from Wellington Beach
Plan your visit | Apres Beach details | Menu
