Hi Natalie,
There are several spots around Belleville/Shannonville
I think the nicest for snorkelling is Lake on the Mountain (
Lake on the Mountain, Prince Edward County, Ontario, Canada ) which is a little bit east of Picton, directly up the mountainside from the Glenora Ferry docks. There are no motorboats allowed on the lake, and they've kept it pollution free, so it's full of pretty fish & other creatures. Makes you realize how lush the lakes of Ontario must have been in the old days before pollution started wrecking them. It also doesn't hurt that there's a restaurant there where they brew their own beer fresh!
By July the water is so warm you can go in without a wetsuit (or at least some of us, my SO still likes to wear a thin wetsuit or a special stinger suit we made, even if the rougher & tougher folks are going without :cold: )
Use google maps to find Point Petre on Quinte's Isle, you can get to it via some *very* rough dirt roads, but you'll need to figure out your route before you leave, your Ontario Road map will just get you lost. There are fossils out in the water, and scuba divers who've gone out deeper have found some ships' artifacts. Even in summer wear some protection, even if it's just a stinger suit, and don't go out without a buddy, you can find yourself getting beat around rather suddenly, and the reason for the stinger suit or wetsuit is you can find yourself being abraded across the rocks by heavy waves (the best rocks for fossils, are of course, the ones you least want to be around in heavy surf) Also the water temp. can change quickly if the wind shifts. See
Peter's Scuba Photo Gallery
There are great fossils to be found along the south shore of Presqu'ile Point park near Brighton as well. Water conditions and rocks are much gentler than Point Petre, but perhaps not as rewarding? Best to check it out yourself.
Look up Black Creek, Port Milfor & South Bay on the east side of Prince Edward County. Port Milford used to be a thriving port in the 1800s, and the mouth of Black River, and the bay arouns Port Milford was full of ships. Stuff used to be thrown over the side, or dropped accidentally, and people have found all kinds of artefacts. I've found pieces of dishes from the 1800s, never an intact one, unfortunately, but a friend from Belleville found an intact caldron about 1-1/2' in diameter.
Have fun this summer!
