It is a beautiful and welcoming place, I think it is the only beach that allows you to park on the beach, this is beautiful because there are so many people who play their music, dance and have fun. I only saw such a beautiful thing when I visited South America. The beach is clean there was a bit of seaweed on one side of the beach but a natural thing. My son loved the inflatable waterpark, I only paid 30 dollars for the whole day and he did want to come back home 😆 People were very friendly, very fun and great environment. I want to thank everyone who put the music regaetton, salsa and merengue, my wife and I enjoyed it very much, it made me want to dance. Overall a great place.

“NICKEL BEACH” You can also call it “Drive In Beach” . Well, this is not its official name, I gave this name because you can take your car right next to the beach 🏖 You need to buy tickets at the entrance or you can also book them online in advance ( advisable to book in advance) We’ve seen some cars getting refused entry as the beach was full and they wanted to buy tickets at the entry. Beach was good, vibe was pretty happening but the worst part was the cleanliness, the water at the shore was not at all clean. Hell lot of algae and it smells like shit…..too bad. Also there is no mention anywhere but let me tell you that you can only be at the beach 8pm. Please make your plans accordingly.

It use to allow cars to drive up to beach but now doesn't. Not worth paying for parking when the initial fee to enter had the perk of driving up to beach spot. Beach is very clean. It is not prepared to accommodate beach goers who need to lug their things around. Needs path/sidewalk. Bathroom are clean but not all accessible because they lock the doors.

August 2022 5* This is our first visit to Nikel Beach and I am already planning to visit again. The most important thing, Reservation is must specially on weekend. You will not get entry otherwise. Will cost around $50 per car. The beach is super clean and water is clean. Best sand (white) I saw in Ontario. You can enjoy swimming and water support with kids. Make sure to carry your tent and umbrella as there is no natural shading. You need to have some space. There is permanent toilet on the beach but have installed porta toilets. I did not use them so not sure if it was clean. The sand dune can be high for car at certain point and your vehicle can stuck if it is not 4X4. Don’t get panic and feel free to ask help or remove little bit sand before moving vehicles.

i am changing my review to one star. why?there are no longer public bathrooms and the parking situation is an absolute nightmare. my favourite beach is now one i won’t ever go to again. i understand the no parking on the beach to protect the fowler’s toad. but port-a-potties are so nasty and i just can’t justify the price to park far away and hike onto the beach. should’ve devised a better parking plan and figure out a new lot before the new season. Haven’t been since covid but it’s one of my favourite beaches to bring the kids. You can park directly on the beach, if you’re early enough that is. Saves you from lugging stuff back and forth from the car. An ice cream truck usually comes around 4pm which is great. The beach is always very clean as well.

Nice medium sized beach. $20 charge per car. I saw lots of people parking out and walking in with their things. You can back the car on to the beach. Water was warm even as early as 10 in the morning. Gets crowded by 11am so need to get there early to pick a good spot. Water is shallow for quite a while. Great for families. If you want shade you need to bring umbrellas or a tent. I saw only one picnic table around where I was.

Someone recommended it to us and we went there. Entrance Fees is $50 for the car and we were 7 in the it. If anyone has not been there, please do visit if possible, you won't regret it

The state of the beach is horrific, used to be one of the nicest beaches around. They don't even bother to clean up the seaweed. I asked about it they said once every two weeks but it hasn't been done for almost a month and they've talked to the city already. If current management can't figure out how to keep the beach clean for the two months that matters, perhaps they ought to be replaced. Couldn't stomach the smell to visit for the afternoon.

Great beach!!! Even better when you were able to park on the beach. Unfortunately the low rating is for the new rules. If you wanna save frogs, sure, by all means, but at least prep the beach with a boardwalk so people are able to use their wagons to carry their things across the beach front. Also, forewarning, the $50 Zone 1 parking DOES NOT guarantee you a spot in the Zone 1 lot. They sell more tickets than space, once the lot is full, you are told to park on the street. Zone 2 parking is $30, but it's about a 5min walk back to the beach. Zone 3, I have no idea where that lot is 😅

To begin with, lovey, friendly, helpful on-site staff. Excellent service! Continue the great service. As for the process of booking, smooth, easy, zero stress once you arrive at the beach. No waiting to know if you will get onto the beach or not. Ticket at hand via advance registration - I call it VIP service and should never change. I think from staff and patron perspectives - avoid potential conflicts with anyone who is too anxious or in a bad mood on any particular day. The Beach and the experience! If you have not done it, you have absolutely no idea what you are giving up. I use to travel annually for this experience - but not any more. Invite friends and family and it becomes every more exciting. This is my vacation destination every summer, twice a month right up to labour day weekend🥰. Let’s continue to keep the beach clean, friendly to each other and care - this Beach will continue to be #1 if we all do our little part. Nickel beach here I come!

Excellent beach, feels a lot like Florida or California. It is really amazing you can just park your car on the sand (you do need to reserve the spot online though but the price is totally worth it). It is also only 90min drive from downtown Toronto.

Very nice beach with vehicle access. Book your parking day pass in advance.

Was good when you were able to park on the beach. Now you have to take everything in manually. Atleast allow people to drive on and drop there things. Too far walk. Sand is too loose to walk in. Not good.

Long deep drive in beach. Warm shallow waters of Lake Erie. Be sure you stop for all you need for a day at the beach. Great spot to drop your kayak/SUP for a paddle across the bay.

Beutiful beach. Drive in beach. Water is clean and shallow. Bring all your floating devices and kids will enjoy the whole day without complain. We had our shade/ rents and that was very helpful for us to stay the whole day. There is 20$ entry fee. But dont expect any tables, or proper washrooms for that money. Best part is no need to carry stuff as it is drive on to the beach.

Great location for swimming, chilling with friends and family. You can park your car next to you. Check the entry fees if you are not a Niagara region resident.

Pretty nice beaches. Not overly busy, lots of parking. The parking is quite pricey though for out of towners. Sometimes the water is beautiful and othertimes with the rain and temps the water gets full of algae. I wish there was a real time camera set up like other beaches to see the conditions.

Nice beach. Water is warm compared to other lakes in the GTA area. Extremely convenient that you can park close to the water. I recommend coming here on weekdays, not much people around. Portables are available at the entrance for “emergencies”. Is quite a drive though, but worth it.

Best place to enjoy with your family, mainly for kids. We could park next to the beach itself (Reservation required). Water activities are also there, we paid $17 for 2 hours to play on the water play area including life jacket per person. You wont get any food there, so we need to carry food and othe things which we need.

This beach is fantastic, but you must pay a $50 entry fee for each car. They allow up to 150 cars a day, so it would be better if you reach around 10 a.m.

It is my favourite beach at every stage of the year - mostly for walking along the shore but in summer excellent for sunbathing, swimming and having fun. You can park your car right on the beach, next to the water. For Port Colborne residents it is free of charge. All others had to pay last year 50CAD per car for a day.

Beautiful beach with amazing staff. Trae and Ryan were helpful all day and we are definitely going to come back!

Was the worst experience ever. We paid $50 for guaranteed parking. The lot maybe had 20 car parking and rest was along the rails. Non marked parking, so if ppl don't park properly there would be wasted parking spots. The Washrooms were poorly managed. By 6 pm it was down to 3 working washrooms causing long lineups. Were not cleaned. The beach... make sure you bring all furniture that you need. You could rent beach chairs and that's all. No shades at all so bring a tent or beach umbrella. We were stopped on bring a midsized speaker but there was others that had bigger speakers and had the music basting. Not sure what to say to this. At the end we wanted to move the van closer to load the family and stuff and was told we were not allowed but others were allowed to enter. I would not recommend this beach at all.

DO NOT buy Zone 1 parking permit. I went today and there were no parking spots. The only spot was closer to zone 2. I paid $50 for a garunteed spot in Zone 1 that wasn't guaranteed. I bought this because I have a 20-month toddler and lots of stuff to carry. It's very misleading. Nobody is enforcing parking or checking people cars. Other than the parking fiasco, the washroom facilities and the beach itself was top notch and clean. The city just needs to fix how they handle parking better. Anyone can basically park along the Zone 1 side rail and theres no way anyone would know if they paid or not. It's a pretty bad loophole. If the city is reading this, you should find a way to have people register their license plate and visibile on the ticket issued so it can be placed on their dash. Unfair for visitors who pay and people can park for free.

It's ridiculous what they call it upgrading to the beach! Now you can't drive your car here anymore and have to take a very long walk with all your stuff and no matter if you have a senior or special needs person. The new wash rooms are way far at the entrance and you have to take the long walk to find it locked! Add to this the algae that no effort was put to clean it at all. No services whatsoever other than $$$ per hour kids aqua bouncy castle. Ooohh.. I forgot to tell you that you still have to take a longer walk from the parking. Be careful cause you will be walking on the road with all the automotives

Nickel Beach lost its attraction. Now, cars are not allowed to pass the security gate towards the beach. You have to park far away and drag all your beach gears to the beach through the sand. Not worthy anymore. Better staying at any local beach near Toronto.

Not much crowded beach, you can enjoy the sand, water contained with seaweeds, really peace full . We had quality time with family there. But you can’t park on the beach anymore due to ministry restrictions.

Nice beach. Vehicles are not allowed on the beach anymore. Parking is $40 close to the beach and $20 a little bit further at the start of the road. Lot of bees and a bad smell coming from the beach. No shade or benches at all, so bring some tents and chairs as well. They do not allowed closed tents. But a nice place to enjoy.

Had the best time with the kids. Love that you can drive right up to your beach spot. Shallow waters pretty far out and the beach/sand was clean. The only issue is some people will park and take up a whole parking spot next to their vehicle for their beach chairs/tents etc. It seems that the beach etiquette is to park and camp in front of your vehicle so as not to take up any parking spaces. Well worth the money as the beach is not at all crowded, even when at full capacity.

Very nice beach that isnt super crowded. The water is clear and nice for a dip. You can take your cars inside. We went with friends and had kids in our group, everyone had a great time.

Not worth it to pay almost 60$ for a parking spot that is supposed to be guaranteed but is not. And that you have to walk miles and miles on the beach. It will be our last time. It was great before when we could park on the beach and use our jet ski. Only good thing is the upgraded bathroom but I don't think the staff actually cleaned them during the day it's clean early morning but that is it.

Nice sheltered beach with lots of sand to put up your stuff for a beach day. Vehicles are not permitted on the beach anymore, there is a parking area out front. Nice shallow water for wading out and swimming. Great to anchor your boat here too.