It is a natural environment-class Provincial Park created to help preserve oak savannah and the beach dune ecology.

Senior staff, including the superintendent, can be reached at the park office between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. during summer months.

The sites are within easy walking distance to the beach, the outdoor amphitheatre and visitor centre.

Each "Yurt" includes bunks for sleeping 6 people, table and chairs, electric lighting and a heater.

It was separated from the main Ausable River when two channels were excavated at Port Franks and Grand Bend at the end of the 19th century.

Oaks are one of the few trees that will share the water it draws from deep underground with the surface plants that surround it, a critical element in this dry sandy ecosystem.

In recent years controlled burning has been attempted to try and restore some of the original flora and fauna.

Ontario beaches are posted with warnings of possible health risks when elevated E. coli levels are detected.

Storm water runoff, combined with sewer overflows, sewage treatment plant by-passes, agricultural runoff, faulty septic systems, and large populations of waterfowl which colonize a beach or the surrounding area all contribute to water pollution which can result in beach postings.

The park, in 1996, is where serial killer Herb Baumeister killed himself after fleeing police in Westfield, Indiana to avoid arrest.