It has been said that Grand Bend has one of the best sunsets in the world. When news first broke this was an oft discussed topic for people on the beach enjoying a fine sunset. For those renting a cottage to stroll down and catch a first glimpse of this great ball of fire descending over the lake was and still is quite a spectacle. Of course you’ll find all kinds of locals who make a pre or post dinner habit out of taking down a bottle of wine and enjoying this nightly scene.
The key factor are the clouds. In my opinion you want those light clouds that are not too tightly wound together. They need to stretch the sky from the waters edge at least half way up. But too much cloud and you lose the sun. Not enough cloud and you don’t get the plethora of colours.
And all too often this particular sunset isn’t quite as riveting as the one you remember most. So a cottage renter or newbie is bound to hear ‘oh this is nothing, you should see when the clouds are like x, or the temperature is like y’.
The best debate of course is did National Geographic ever really say this. That’s every Grand Benders source and yet nobody can quite produce the issue. You certainly can’t google it. But I did find reference to it on Wikipedia.
National Geographic says that Grand Bend has one of the 10 most beautiful sunsets in the world, which is thought to be attributable to the high levels of particulate matter that flow into the area from the Ohio Valley.
Now I don’t know much about Particulate Matter and I’m not about to learn about it. But if Wikipedia said that National Geographic said so, that’s good enough for me.
So if you are renting a cottage in grand bend and enjoying her beaches for the very first time, don’t forget to head down about 15 minutes before sunset with a glass of wine, your camera and some great opinions about what makes one of the world’s best sunsets.
While this Video isn’t of me, it does have a Grand Bend sunset and I do like this version of this song….
Updates: Taken July 2008 with a Digital Elph on ‘auto’ (read: your ordinary camera). Click on the photo to see what it really looks like!
July in Grand Bend
Beautiful Sunset in Grand Bend Ontario
Filed under: Grand Bend Bests | Tagged: cottage, grand bend, sunset
A glass of wine at sunset is great, just don’t do it on the main beach.
As for National Geographic….when were they in Grand Bend? Cool!
hi, may i know what is the best time of viewing sunset ? 7pm?
I’d say head down around 15 minutes before sunset, stay for 10 minutes past. Time of sunset should be in the daily paper, it’s now (sadly) getting earlier by the day.
Now I would head down to the beach no later than 8:30… its so sad, in June sunset is at 9:20… summer is coming to an end.
Best sunset in the world could also be this one…