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Wellers Bay

Bays of Lake Ontario
Proposed harbour of refuge, Weller's Bay, 1861
Proposed harbour of refuge, Weller's Bay, 1861

Wellers Bay is a small bay on Lake Ontario, on the west side of Prince Edward County. In 1861 the Government of the Province of Canada considered making it a "harbour of refuge", and installing a lighthouse. During World War II the beach was part of the Consecon Air Weapons Range and was used as a firing range, for pilot-trainees.In 1978 the Weller's Bay National Wildlife Area was created. Subsequently, locals used to using the area for fishing, snowmobiling, and other recreational uses started clashing with officials charged with a responsibility to protect wildlife. In the 1990s officials started issuing fines. Municipal politicians tried negotiating a relaxation of the rules, without success. On May 27, 2011, the Canadian Wildlife Service announced the bay's beaches would be off limits.A key 83 hectares (210 acres) of the 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) bay are set aside as a National Wildlife Area, including Bald Island, Bald Head Island, Fox Island, and the sandspit that protects the bay, because the sandspit that protected the bay was one of the last undeveloped spits on the great lakes, and it was an important bird habitat. Public access is prohibited at Wellers Bay National Wildlife Area.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Wellers Bay (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 44.01 ° E -77.59 °
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Address

Carrying Place


K0K 1L0
Ontario, Canada
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Proposed harbour of refuge, Weller's Bay, 1861
Proposed harbour of refuge, Weller's Bay, 1861
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Nearby Places

Brighton, Ontario
Brighton, Ontario

Brighton is a town in Northumberland County, Ontario, Canada, approximately 150 kilometres (93 mi) east of Toronto and 100 km (62 mi) west of Kingston. It is traversed by both Highway 401 and the former Highway 2. The west end of the Murray Canal that leads east to the Bay of Quinte is at the east end of the town. Brighton later developed into primarily an agricultural community, specializing in the farming of apples and production of new apple types. However, in recent years, many of the original orchards in the area have been partially removed, to make way for the steadily growing population, and more profitable agricultural produce, such as wheat, corn and soybeans. In late September, Brighton is host to Applefest, its largest yearly festival. The Municipality of Brighton (formed on January 1, 2001, through an amalgamation of the former Town of Brighton and Brighton Township) is home to over 12,108 inhabitants, with a higher than average percentage of those retired. This is common, as the quiet, clean and friendly atmosphere of many smaller towns near Lake Ontario tend to draw the elderly as popular places for retirement living. Presqu'ile Provincial Park, just south of the town centre, is one of Brighton's most popular attractions. The park is noted for bird-watching and other nature-oriented activities. Memory Junction Railway Museum, located in a former Grand Trunk station, has a collection of rail equipment and memorabilia.