Rondeau Provincial Park, located in southwestern Ontario, is the second oldest provincial park having been established with an order in council on September 8, 1894. The park is located on an 8 km long crescentic sand spit extending into Lake Erie. Rondeau was established in 1894 as a response to demand for cottaging opportunities by residents of nearby Chatham. Rondeau is also home to the largest area of Carolinian forest in Canada, a long sand beach, a large marsh, campgrounds and a cottage community. Most of the park is natural environment; the cottage community takes up less than 1% of the park area and is practically invisible from the air. The name of the park comes from the French words “ronde eau” or “round water” which describes the shape of the harbour sheltered by the peninsula.