Pancake Bay Provincial Park
Batchawana Bay, ON, Canada
Pancake Bay, about an hour north of Sault Ste. Marie on Ontario's Trans-Canada Highway, has one of the finest sand beaches on Lake Superior in Canada. About 3.5 km of pale, fine sand sits inside the park, and the bay is shallow and sheltered enough that the water actually warms up by midsummer. Campsites sit right behind the dunes.
The best sand beach on Superior's Canadian shore, with water you can actually swim in by August.
How we score beachesWalk the shallows at the east end of the beach in the late afternoon; the sand flats warm up and the crowd near the campground thins out.
Drive in off Highway 17; an Ontario Parks daily vehicle permit is required for day use.
Short sandy paths lead from the day-use lot and campground loops to the beach.
The sheltered bay reaches comfortable swimming temperatures in July and August, which is rare on Superior. The park runs from mid May into October.
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