Area Description

Dunnville is an unincorporated community located near the mouth of the Grand River in Haldimand County, Ontario, Canada, near the historic Talbot Trail. It was formerly an incorporated town encompassing the surrounding area with a total population of 12,000. The European settlement was originally built as the entrance to the Welland "feeder" canal and the town once boasted several water-powered mills and a once-bustling canal port. The feeder canal closed in the late 1880s and the last mill was destroyed and replaced with a condominium complex about ten years ago.

There is an impassable dam at Dunnville which regulates the level of the Grand River at Port Maitland which, in the 19th century, also helped regulate the level of the Welland Canal (from 1829 until 1887 when the (3rd) canal began to intake its water directly from lake Erie).

Only a few kilometres from Lake Erie, Dunnville has many private vacation properties.

There are many events and natural attractions. In June the annual Mudcat Festival is held to celebrate one of the Grand River's most well-known inhabitants. The festival includes a parade, strongman contests, midway, and fireworks. Another popular event is the Dunnville Agricultural Fair, held in late August which includes heavy, light and miniature horse shows, sheep and goat shows.

Dunnville has tennis, golf, lawn bowling and swimming facilities and many Bed & Breakfasts and camp sites to stay in. Tuesday and Saturday are Farmers Market days.

The former World War II RCAF Training Base, the Dunnville Airport, offers a unique window on history with its massive hangars and runways. Previously used for recreational flying and skydiving, the runways now boast six large wind-turbine power generators.[3] The airport is also home to Haldimand County's newest museum, the No. 6 RCAF Dunnville Museum.

The Grand River and nearby Lake Erie offers aquatic activities including swimming, sailing, wind-surfing, canoeing and features prime locations for fishing.

Nearby are Byng Island Conservation Area, Rock Point Provincial Park, and Port Maitland's new pier. In the fall, Rock Point hosts thousands of Monarch butterflies heading south. Dunnville is also the site of one of the largest expanses of provincially significant wetlands in Ontario; bird watching and nature photography are practised there.

This community is the easternmost city that belongs to the Green Energy Hub of Southern Ontario.