IKO Kiteboarding Lessons Presqu’ile Provincial Park

PRESQU’ILE PROVINCIAL PARK, East of Toronto, near Brighton, Ontario, on the north side of Lake Ontario, offers its very own official “KITEBOARDING ZONE” with tons of beach space for kites to setup & go!

For the 2021 season, daily parking passes are now required, one pass per car, not per person.  The parking pass is $21 and can be booked up to 5 days in advance.

Get your Presqu’ile Provincial Park parking pass here.

For help with the booking process see here.

*** Please read the July 23rd, 2020, complaints update below ***

In the water, the kiteboarding zone is demarcated by a blue buoy.  South of the blue buoy is the SWIMMING ZONE.  Kiters must launch and ride UPwind past the buoy BEFORE heading out into the lake.  So, if you are a beginner, and have difficulty riding UPwind, then you must enter/exit the water MUCH further North along the beach.  Only advanced kiters should be launching and landing next to the swimmer zone.

Beginner lessons, as well, must be had much further North along the beach.  Beginning riders should also be practicing in the area designated for lessons (see map).

If your kite comes down around the swimmers be kind, and apologetic, execute your self-rescue right away, get your lines wrapped and your kite out of the water, back up to the kiteboarders area as quickly as possible.

Waves can make water-starts challenging, and the stronger the wind, the bigger the waves.  But, if you want to become a proficient kiteboarder sooner or later you’re going to have to enter, water-start and ride in waves.  Since there is TONS of space for beginners, Presqu’ile Provincial Park is the perfect spot to level up and find progression in waves.

The shallows here provide enough flat water to make this an excellent spot for your first lessons learning to water relaunch, body-drag upwind, powerstroke and steady-pull.

For this reason, Presqu’ile Provincial Park is a preferred location for your IKO levels 1 & 2 instruction when taking lessons with We Love Kiteboarding.

The only downside for this spot on the day we came for lessons was the seaweed, which presents a problem for beginners, and students having lessons, as the seaweed would attach to the kite lines and then the lines would become to heavy for the kite to fly.  This could happen very quickly during a water relaunch, in about one minute.  That said, seaweed is only an issue near the shoreline, and it is a transitional issue, meaning one day it is there and the next day it can be gone.

The drive from Toronto to Presqu’ile Provincial Park takes about 1.5 hours.

Ideal wind directions: NW, W, SW

*** July 23rd Update Regarding Presqu’ile Provincial Park Complaints ***

Hi from Don the kiter (who also happens to work at the park…)

Last year it was high water and no beach, this year it’s heat-exaggerated Covid-madness…

There have been a lot of complaints about kiters again this year.  Some of those complaints may be unreasonable but that’s irrelevant. Kiters are the minority beach users and our use of the beach is a privilege, not a right.  We have to ensure that the public feels comfortable with our being on the beach or that privilege WILL be taken away.  Recent incidents are making some folks feel unsafe.

WE ALL HAVE TO BE AMBASSADORS FOR OUR SPORT!  Please do the following:

1) NEVER ride in the swimming area – intentionally OR accidentally

2) ALWAYS walk north of the buoy if the wind is unreliable.  This is the mark of a responsible kiter.  It buys you space to stay out of the swimming area.

3) IF YOU DRIFT INTO THE SWIMMING AREA – put your kite at 12 o’clock and drift to shore away from swimmers and beach users.  If the kite is in the water steer it away from swimmers.  Be pleasant and respectful of the other users no matter how they treat you.  You are in their area.

4) When walking a kite back up the beach DO NOT WALK THROUGH CROWDS OF PEOPLE.  Walk the inland edge of the beach behind the other beach users.

5) ALWAYS direct beginners north of the launch area and NEVER teach others in front of the launch area.

6) ALWAYS educate kiters new to Presqu’ile about our rules and etiquette.

If you love to kite then don’t be involved  in an incident.  If the public approaches you be courteous and conciliatory – no matter how they treat you.  An old boss of mine once gave me some very sage advice – “If it feels good then don’t say it”.

Labour Day will pass soon enough and  the beach will  be less crowded.  Let’s make sure that our incredible activity is still welcome at Presqu’ile – it’s up to us and our actions.