Chatham-Kent

Chatham-Kent is a municipality of 103,000 people which includes the former city of Chatham in southwestern Ontario. Located between Windsor and London, the municipality is defined as all of Kent County including Blenheim, Chatham, Dresden, Ridgetown, Tilbury and Wallaceburg.

For other places with the same name, see Chatham (disambiguation).

Chatham

Chatham was established in the 1790s as a naval dockyard on the Thames River. In the War of 1812, the Battle of the Thames was fought on October 5, 1813; the area is also included in the signed African-Canadian Heritage Tour route as a part of the Underground Railroad.

Get in

• From Highway 401, take exit 81 (CR 27 - Bloomfield Road) or exit 90 (Highway 40 north, Communication Road).
• Via Rail, 360 Queen St, N7M 2H6, toll-free: [phone]. Three stops daily on "Corridor" trains from Toronto to Windsor. 
• Greyhound, 545 Grand Ave E, N7L 3Z2 (Aboutown Transportation), ☎ [phone]. The Toronto-London-Windsor express bus does not stop in Chatham, but two local runs per day do stop. Total time from Toronto (via Chatham) to Windsor is five and a half hours, including a 25-minute break in London. 

Get around

• CK Transit, ☎ [phone]. 6:15-19:15, no evening or Sunday service. Local city bus on four half-hourly routes. $2/person (local, as of 2006). 
• Many of the locations listed here are rural and most easily accessed by automobile. Note that "Highway 2" (Queen's Line, through downtown Chatham) and "Highway 3" (Talbot Trail, along the Lake Erie waterfront) are marked locally as county or regional roads on maps issued after 1998. Highway 2 is the original main road from Windsor to Montreal (bypassed by 401), Highway 3 is the road from Detroit (bridge and tunnel) to the Buffalo-Niagara region along the north shore of Lake Erie.

See

Capitol Theatre

• Artspace, 165 1/2 King St. W, Chatham N7M 1E4, ☎ [phone]. noon-5PM Tue-Sat. Local art and photo exhibition gallery. 
• 🌍 Buxton National Historic Site & Museum, 21975 A.D. Shadd Road, North Buxton N0P 1Y0, ☎ [phone], fax: [phone]. Museum and 1861 schoolhouse, 1854 log cabin and barn. A tribute to the 1849 Elgin Settlement, a haven for fugitive slaves and free Blacks and a final stop on the Underground Railroad. An annual Buxton Homecoming cultural festival in September recalls the roots laid by early black settlers in the area. 
• 🌍 Chatham Capitol Theatre, 238 King Street W, Chatham N7M 1E7, ☎ [phone], toll-free: [phone]. Live theatre in former 1930 movie house. 
• 🌍 Mary Webb Cultural and Community Centre, 87 Main St, Highgate N0P 1T0, ☎ [phone]. Concert, art exhibition and cultural event venue in former Highgate United Church, a century-old historic church deconsecrated in 2010. 
• 🌍 Uncle Tom's Cabin Historic Site, 29251 Uncle Tom's Road, Dresden N0P 1M0, ☎ [phone], fax: [phone]. Museum based on the memoirs of abolitionist Rev. Josiah Henson (1796-1883), which inspired Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin. 
• 🌍 Wallaceburg and District Museum, 505 King St, Wallaceburg N8A 1J1, ☎ [phone]. Local history from the initial 1804 Baldoon Settlement through industrialisation, including lumber mills and cooperages. $3/person. 

Do

Buxton Settlement NHS

• Greenview Aviaries, 12752 Talbot Trail Morpeth, Ridgetown N0P 2C0, ☎ [phone], fax: [phone]AM-8PM May-Oct. Water park, playground, picnic site and zoo; 77-seat Duffy's Bar and Grill serves burgers, chicken, pizza. 
• Red Devil Scuba, 771 St Clair St, Chatham N7M 5J7, ☎ [phone]. Scuba and snorkelling supplies, training, local dive excursions. 
• Wallaceburg Trails Association, 505 King St, Wallaceburg N8A 1J1. Network of on-road, off-road and water trails in and around the Wallaceburg area. 

Events and festivals

• Boot Hill Country Jamboree, 15722 Turin Line, Bothwell, ☎ [phone]. Three-day country music festival on Civic Holiday (first weekend in August). 
• RetroFest, Downtown Chatham. Kent Historic Auto Club car show, Fri-Sat of Victoria Day weekend. 
• Ribfest, Tecumseh Park, William St. N, Chatham, ☎ [phone]. Weekend in early July, food, live entertainment. 
• Selkirk History Faire, MacDonald Park St. Clair Parkway, Wallaceburg. Last weekend in August. Historical re-enactment of 1804 Scottish colonisation of the Snye River near Wallaceburg. Scottish and Native displays, storytelling, crafts, blacksmithing, campfire cooking, live music highland dancing, voyager canoes and longboats. 
• Wallaceburg Antique Motor and Boat Outing (WAMBO), Wallaceburg Civic Park. Second weekend in August. Antique cars, boats, aircraft, firetrucks, motorcycles. Model toys, arts, crafts, soap box derby, parades and classic car cruise. Food and drink, dance, live music and karaoke. 

Fishing charters

• Harpoon Charters, 8468 Water St, Cedar Springs N0P 1E0, ☎ [phone]. 
• Raglan Hunt Fish Club, 18476 Raglan Rd, Blenheim N0P 1A0, ☎ [phone]. 

Golf

• Blenheim Golf Club, 439 Chatham Street S., Blenheim, ☎ [phone], toll-free: [phone], fax: [phone]. 
• Deer Run Golf Course, Bloomfield Road and Hwy 3, Blenheim N0P 1A0, ☎ [phone], fax: [phone]. $22-35/player, 9/18 holes. 
• Links of Kent, 120 Indian Creek Rd. W, Chatham N7M 2E2, ☎ [phone], fax: [phone]. $22-35/player, 9/18 holes. 
• Ridgetown Golf and Curling Club, 12438 Golf Course Line, RR#2 Ridgetown N0P 2C0, ☎ [phone], fax: [phone]. $22-30/player, 9/18 holes. 
• Talbot Trail Golf Club, 790 Talbot Trail, Wheatley N0P 2P0, ☎ [phone]. $22-27/player, 9/18 holes. 

Buy

Chatham-Kent is a collection of individual, separate small towns; each of Chatham. Blenheim, Ridgetown, Wallaceburg and Tilbury has its own independent downtown core with an assortment of boutiques and stores.

• Birdies Nest, 90 Park Ave E, Chatham N7M 3V4, ☎ [phone], toll-free: [phone]. Home and garden boutique, silver jewellery. 
• Dutch Market, 6 Indian Creek Rd E, Chatham N7M 4H1, ☎ [phone], toll-free: [phone], fax: [phone]. Importers of specialty cheeses, truffles, spices, candies and foodstuffs from various European nations. 
• Eve Chocolatier, 14 King St. W, Chatham, ☎ [phone]. Café with handmade desserts, coffee and hot cocoa. 
• Great Lakes Lavender, 9560 Pioneer Line, Chatham N7M 5J1, ☎ [phone]. Farm with over 8000 lavender plants, annual festival. 

Eat

• Casa Bella on the Thames, 425 Riverview Dr, Chatham, ☎ [phone]. 
• Downtown Deli, 203 King St. W, Chatham N7M 1E5, ☎ [phone]. 
• Mamma Maria's Ristorante, 231 King W, Chatham, ☎ [phone]. 
• Rossini's Restaurant, 634 Grand E, Chatham, ☎ [phone]. 
• Satellite Restaurant, 145 King St W, Chatham, ☎ [phone]. 7AM-10PM. Established 1962, birthplace of the "Hawaiian" pineapple pizza. 
• T-Bones Grill, 953 Charing Cross, Chatham, ☎ [phone]. 

Farms

• Delhaven Orchards, 8182 Talbot Trail, Blenheim N0P 1A0, ☎ [phone], fax: [phone]. Working 400-acre family farm and store: apples and cider, peaches, cherries, strawberries. 
• Parks Country Store, 14815 Longwoods Rd, Bothwell N0P 1C0, ☎ [phone]. 8AM-5:30PM, Apr 18-Dec 24. U-pick blueberry farm with country store and bakery, café/restaurant. 

Drink

Wineries

• Early Acres, 9494 Pioneer Line, Chatham, ☎ [phone]. Th-Sa 11AM-6PM. 

Sleep

Chatham in 1910

Hotels and motels

• Bayview Bliss Cabins, 17655 Erieau Rd, Blenheim N0P 1A0 (on Rondeau Bay), ☎ [phone]. Canoe, bicycle and paddleboat rentals, boat dockage up to 24 feet. campsite $15-25, cabin $60-120/night. 
• Days Inn, 76 McNaughton Ave, Wallaceburg N8A 1R9, ☎ [phone], toll-free: [phone], fax: [phone] rooms, refrigerators, breakfast, wi-fi. 
• Molly and OJs Restaurant & Lakeside Inn, 875 Mariners Rd, Erieau N0P 1N0, ☎ [phone], fax: [phone]. Check-in: 2PM, check-out: 11AM. Steak and seafood restaurant, chicken take-out, Sandbar Pub, eight cottages with private beach and boat storage. $60-160/night. 
• Oaks Inn, 80 Mc Naughton Ave, Wallaceburg N8A 1R9, ☎ [phone], toll-free: [phone], fax: [phone]. Savannah Grille, lounge, indoor heated salt-water pool and health club. 
• Retro Suites Hotel, 2 King Street West, Chatham N7M 1C6, ☎ [phone], toll-free: [phone], fax: [phone]. Street-level Chilled Cork Restaurant Lounge (22 William Street N7M 4S1, [phone]) for casual fine dining 7AM-9PM weekdays, 9AM-9PM Sat, 9AM-2PM Sun. 
• Super 8, 25 Michener Rd, Chatham N7L 4B8 (near Hwy 40/Grand Ave E.), ☎ [phone], fax: [phone]. 
• Saxony Motel, 521 Grand Avenue East, ☎ [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]. Check-in: 2.00PM, check-out: 11.00am. 31 rooms with Led TVs, fridge, microwave and free internet, decorated with modern decor. (updated Jun 2018)

Bed and breakfast

• Dempster House Bed and Breakfast, 66 Main St. E, Ridgetown N0P 2C0, ☎ [phone]. Check-in: 4PM, check-out: 10:30. $75-95. 
• 🌍 The Duchess of Wellington, 320 Wellington Street W, Chatham N7M 1K1, ☎ [phone]. Victorian 1844 mansion originally owned by Alexander McLean, first mayor of Chatham. 
• Log Home Bed and Breakfast, 22790 Centre Road, Moraviantown N0P 1C0, ☎ [phone]. Check-in: 3PM, check-out: 11AM. Three rooms, air-conditioned, full home-style breakfast. $75-85. 

Camping

• Camper's Cove, 21097 Campers Cove Rd, Wheatley N0P 2P0 (2.5km E of Wheatley Provincial Park), ☎ [phone], toll-free: [phone], fax: [phone]. Check-in: 2PM, check-out: 11AM. Large shaded campground, sports, movies, special events, teen programs, trails, wi-fi. RV's $41-52/night, cabins $69-81/night. 
• Lakeside Village Motel and Campground, 2416 Talbot Trail, Wheatley N0P 2P0, ☎ [phone], toll-free: [phone]. 
• Mitchell's Bay Marine Park, 3 Allen Road, Mitchell's Bay N0P 1L0, ☎ [phone], fax: [phone]. Marina with boat launch, 108 campsites. 
• Rondeau Provincial Park. 261-site campground, lake and bay swimming, nature trails for hiking, biking and rollerblading. 
• Waterway Camp, 6562 North Water Front Reserve, Dover Centre, Mitchell's Bay, ☎ [phone]. Fishing and hunting camp on Lake St. Clair. 
• 🌍 Wilson Conservation Area, 21799 Fargo Road, Chatham, ☎ [phone]. Forest with man-made lake, canoe rental, beach access, nature trails and 100 campsites, Children's Safety Village, Children's Water Festival and McKinlay Woodlands Memorial Forest. 
• Wheatley Provincial Park. 220-site wooded campground with beach access, playgrounds and hiking trails. 

Go next

Routes through Chatham-Kent

END ← Windsor ←	W  E	→ London → Toronto
Ends at ← Windsor ←	W  E	→ London → Toronto
END ← Sarnia ←	N  S	→ END