Witty's Lagoon

Witty’s Lagoon is a great spot for a day at the beach, but it stands out from the rest in that it offers so much more than just a typical stretch of sandy/pebbly coastline. The unique lagoon where the tidal salt water mixes with the freshwater of Bilston Creek creates an ecosystem that is home to wide variety of birds and wildlife. The trail passes through some nice coastal forest before passing by a nice waterfall and through an old orchard with a variety of fruit trees, and the beach itself has a very large sandy tidal zone with lots of space for a game of frisbee or playing fetch with the dogs. There a few picnic areas and washroom facilities at the beach, and there is a sandy spit at the east end of the beach where the lagoon meets the ocean. Toward the west the shoreline is rockier and there are some tide pools to explore.

This is one of the most popular spots in the area amongst the bird watching community, and on any given day you’ll likely see a handful of different types of birds in the lagoon and in the shallow waters of the bay. Over 160 species of birds have been documented here, so make sure to bring your binoculars.

Witty’s Lagoon has interpretive displays and an education center staffed with naturalists (during the high season) at the parking lot to give visitors a better understanding of what they’ll soon be witnessing and what’s in season. A few minutes down the trail there is a fork; the trail to the right follows the west side of the lagoon and leads to the beach area, but don’t forget to take a quick detour on the east trail at some point to get the best view of Sitting Lady Falls, where Bilston Creek splashes down over volcanic rocks and provides the lagoon’s source of freshwater. The waterfall is often reduced to not much more than a trickle at times during the late summer and fall, but it is much more impressive during the springtime runoff or after a rainstorm. Continuing along the western edge of the lagoon, there are several places to view the lagoon and its bird populations before the trail veers away from the lagoon briefly and passes through an old orchard with various types of fruit trees before arriving at the beach.