Most people who visit Sandbanks Provincial Park spend the night in a tent. Some book a trailer site months in advance. A few lucky ones find a motel room in Picton. But there is a different option — one that puts you just minutes from Ontario's most beloved beach park, wakes you up to alpacas outside your window, and grounds you in the kind of relationship with the land that Sandbanks itself was set aside to protect.

Welcome to The Cottage at Chetwyn Farms — a century farmhouse on Closson Road in Hillier, Prince Edward County.

Sandbanks: Ontario's Most Extraordinary Shoreline

Sandbanks Provincial Park is one of the natural wonders of eastern Ontario. The park protects the world's largest freshwater baymouth barrier dune system — a landscape shaped over thousands of years by wind, water, and the slow retreat of glacial Lake Ontario. The dunes rise up to 25 metres above the lake, and the beaches that form at their base are among the finest freshwater swimming beaches on the continent.

For visitors, Sandbanks is a place to slow down. To walk the dunes at golden hour. To swim in water that is genuinely warm by August. To watch the light change over West Lake. It is the kind of place that reminds you why Ontario's landscape is worth protecting — and worth travelling to experience.

Chetwyn Farms sits approximately 20 minutes from the park's main entrance, making it one of the closest farm-stay accommodations to Sandbanks in Prince Edward County.

A Farm That Shares Sandbanks' Values

What makes Chetwyn Farms more than just a convenient place to sleep is the farm's own relationship with the land.

Chetwyn Farms is a working alpaca farm — home to a herd of alpacas whose fleece is shorn, processed, and turned into finished products right here in the County. The farm's fibre-to-product philosophy is rooted in the same principles that make Sandbanks worth protecting: that the land has intrinsic value, that what it produces is worth caring for, and that slowing down to pay attention to it is never wasted time.

When you stay at The Cottage, you are not just booking a room near a park. You are stepping into a farm that has been tending this corner of Prince Edward County for years — and that takes that responsibility seriously.

The Cottage: A Century Farmhouse in the Heart of Hillier

The Cottage is a beautifully restored century farmhouse on the Chetwyn Farms property. It sleeps a small group comfortably, with the kind of quiet that is genuinely hard to find — no highway noise, no neighbours pressed against the fence line, just the farm, the fields, and the stars.

Guests wake up to alpacas in the paddock. They have access to the farm shop, stocked with alpaca socks, yarn, and gifts made from the farm's own fibre. And they are positioned perfectly for a full day at Sandbanks — out the door by 9 AM, on the beach by 9:30.

It is the kind of accommodation that earns its own story. The kind of place you tell people about when you get home.

How to Build Your Sandbanks Weekend

A two-night stay at The Cottage gives you the ideal Sandbanks itinerary:

• Day 1 — Arrive & Encounter: Check in to The Cottage, then book an Alpaca Encounter for the afternoon. Walk among the herd, learn about the farm's fibre journey, and browse the farm shop. In the evening, head into Wellington for dinner — the village is 10 minutes down the road and has excellent restaurants.
• Day 2 — Sandbanks: Spend the day at the park. Swim at Outlet Beach, walk the Dunes Trail, and watch the sunset from the top of the dunes. Pack a picnic and stay as long as the light holds.
• Day 3 — Explore the County: Before you leave, drive Closson Road. Visit Closson Chase Vineyards or The Grange of Prince Edward for a tasting. Stop at the lavender farm if it is in season. Take your time heading home.

Getting Here

Chetwyn Farms is located on Closson Road in Hillier, Prince Edward County — approximately 20 minutes from the main Sandbanks entrance via County Road 12 and County Road 18. From Toronto or the GTA, the farm is roughly two hours east via Highway 401 and the Belleville/Trenton corridor, or via the scenic Lake Ontario shoreline route through Cobourg and Port Hope.

Wellington, the nearest village, is 10 minutes away and has everything you need for a weekend stay.

Book The Cottage at Chetwyn Farms and make Sandbanks your next great Ontario adventure — with an alpaca farm as your base camp.