Safety and guidelines at Ojibway Shores

Ojibway Shores is a 13.5 hectare (33 acre) parcel of land administered by Parks Canada that borders the Detroit River. It is Windsor’s last remaining natural shoreline, providing an important connection for the rest of the Ojibway complex, which is being considered for inclusion in the proposed national urban.

The site is not maintained for public access and visitors use the area at their own risk.

For general information on outdoor safety, visit AdventureSmart.ca.

Visitor guidelines

Prohibited activities

• Possession or consumption of alcohol
• Camping
• Fires: No fires of any kind are permitted in Ojibway Shores. This includes campfires, charcoal barbecues, candles, and biomass fuel stoves. Use of fireworks or any explosive or combustible substance is strictly prohibited and discarding any burning substance in the park is also prohibited. Please call 911 to report any unmonitored fires
• Dumping, littering and discarding harmful substances. Please pack out all your waste
• Hunting
• Approaching, feeding, collecting or capturing wildlife
• Releasing exotic or invasive species
• Operating motor vehicles inside Ojibway Shores
• Cutting plants or disturbing of flora of any kind (trees, plants, deadfall)

Pets

For the safety of your pet and others, all pets must be under physical control and leashed at Ojibway Shores. Please clean up after your pet and carry out your waste.

Hazards

Trails

Trails are not currently being maintained by Parks Canada and visitors are reminded that they use the area at their own risk. Hazards such as fallen trees, slippery or eroded sections, and trail damage are possible

Cell phones

Cell reception can be unreliable at Ojibway Shores and because of the proximity to the United States, cell phones may roam to international carriers

Swimming

Swimming in undesignated areas of the Detroit River is not recommended due to extreme dangers related to water current, shipping traffic, and water quality. There are no facilities to dock boats at Ojibway Shores.

Ticks

Ticks throughout North America can carry Lyme disease. Lyme disease is a serious illness; however, it's easy to prevent and treat when caught early. Only approximately 20-25% of blacklegged ticks in most of Ontario are infected by Lyme disease, however this can be up to 50% in hot spots.

Tick contact and Lyme disease prevention

• Stay on designated trails to avoid contact with ticks.
• Wear protective clothing and avoid exposed skin. Tuck long pants into socks and wear closed-toed shoes.
• Wear light coloured clothing to make ticks appear more visible on you.
• Apply insect repellents containing DEET to both clothes and skin. Always read the label and follow instructions for use.
• Check for ticks on and under clothing, especially after being in areas where ticks may live.
• Keep a pair of fine tipped tweezers or a tick key and a small bottle of hand sanitizer handy for proper tick removal and treatment.
• Check areas including armpits, in and around hair, navel, groin, and behind the ears and knees. Also check children and pets. (A daily skin inspection greatly reduces the risk of infection as ticks may take several hours to two days to attach to the skin and feed).
• Wash clothes promptly and put them in the dryer with heat to help kill any ticks that may remain.
• Shower or bathe within two hours of being outdoors to wash away loose ticks.

What to do if you find a tick on you:

• A tick needs to bite you to infect you. If you have just found a tick crawling on your clothing or skin, you are not at risk of Lyme Disease.
• If you find a tick crawling on you, drown it in rubbing alcohol to kill it.
• If the tick is embedded in your skin, use a tick key or tweezers to remove it. Ensure you remove the entire tick. Sterilize the area with rubbing alcohol and an over-the-counter topical antibiotic cream such as Polysporin.
• If a tick has been embedded for more than 24 hours, or you are unsure as to how long the tick has been there, see your doctor. Keep the tick and send it to the health unit for testing, or to take to your doctor.

More information on Lyme disease, blacklegged ticks, and how to protect yourself from tick bites while enjoying the outdoors:

• Public Health Agency of Canada - Facts about Lyme disease
• Government of Ontario - Lyme disease

Poison ivy

Poison ivy can often be found growing along the edges of trails. Touching the plant transfers an oily resin called urushiol to your skin, which causes an itchy rash or blisters. Poison ivy can be identified by its clusters of three leaves, with the middle leaf having a longer stem than the two side leaves. Poison ivy can grow in short patches close to the ground or as a vine that climbs up trees, shrubs, and posts. The plant appears reddish in the spring, green in the summer, and red, orange, or yellow in the fall. You can avoid contact with poison ivy by staying on trail and keeping your dog on a leash to reduce the chance of the resin transferring from your pet's fur to your skin.

Stinging nettle

Stinging nettles are covered in tiny hollow hairs called trichomes. These trichomes detach from the plant when you brush against it and act as tiny needles that inject chemicals into your skin, causing a painful stinging sensation. Stinging nettle grows to about 1 metre in height and has jagged egg or heart shaped leaves that grow in pairs on opposite sides of the stem. Stay on park trails to avoid accidental contact.