Port Darlington ( slightly off breakwater way point 43°53.16' :N, 78 °39.82' :W) lies 4 miles West of Newcastle on Bowmanville Creek. A low marshy area exists to the east of Port Darlington and the shore is lined with cottages as you approach. There are two submerged sewer out falls 0.1 miles to the east and a submerged water intake extending 0.2 miles offshore then 0.4 miles WSW. Bowmanville is the town 1 mile to the NNW of Port Darlington, and the Bowmanville water tower is visible for the lake.

I have now had current experience at entering Port Darlington and urge 2003 CAUTION. Entrance is extremely narrow with shallow channel or extreme east side. Even in a Bayfield with 4.5' of draft making it to the hotel took some bottom dredging.

You stay to the eastern side of the channel from the end of the break wall as far as Wiggers Custom Yachts ( 2 ) since the channel was dredged to a depth of 8 feet in 1997. Further into the creek the channel has a depth of only 6 feet most of the season. The bottom is soft and the channel has privately maintained buoys as far as Port Darlington Marina and Hotel ( 1 ) hosted by the Gill family for many years. This can be difficult when entering at night and you should have a spotlight and keep a sharp lookout for buoys as you proceed up the channel towards the marina.

Port Darlington is a quite sheltered place, a mile south of the town of Bowmanville which offers good shopping and pro visioning.

There are 2 supermarket malls on King east of Liberty. In the same area are to be found the liquor and beer stores as well as a laundromat and bakery which specializes in european goodies. For any hardware requirements the Canadian Tire Store is on King Street (Hwy 2).

In the Hotel at the Port Darlington Marina, within easy walking of the harbour, is the Main Deck Dining Lounge, where an a la carte menu is offered at lunch and dinner every day of the week. A buffet lunch is also served on Sundays. This is a very popular restaurant, much appreciated by both the local residents and visitors, reservations are appreciated and at times necessary because of the demand. In Bowmanville itself and along Hwy. 401 are The Flying Dutchman(401) and the Heritage Restaurant in the Mall on King St, both offering fine food. There is also the usual run of Fast Food outlets.

Port Darlington was one of my favorite stopping places is popular with boaters and anglers. Located 7 miles east of Oshawa and 4 miles west of Newcastle.

Caution do not attempt to enter the westerly marshy section once clear of the break wall, as there is very little depth.

You enter the harbor between breakwaters roughly 160 feet apart and marked by Port Darlington Light (501 flashing green) is located on the end western breakwater in a circular white tower with a green band at top. The Eastern breakwater side is marked by a red spar buoy off the end of the breakwater. Caution should exercised in bad weather as I have seen the western break wall obscured by waves in heavy weather.

There is a chinese restaurant at King and Temperance which will also deliver to your boat and another specializing in Fish & Chips.

As with many of the small towns and villages strung along the shores of Lake Ontario, Bowmanville has a number of houses built in the late 19th & early 20th centuries, many of which have been well maintained in their original state, while others are fine examples of restoration.
Among these is the Bowmanville Museum housed in an 1847 building on Silver St., housing a fine doll collection for which it is quite famous.

Approximately 2 miles from the marina is the Bowmanville Zoo of which the Town is most proud, it being the oldest operating zoo in Canada, open from 10 am. to 6pm. in July and August. It has a good animal collection and there are elephant rides for the children a licence restaurant as well as a picnic area.

The entire channel to the Port Darling Marina and Hotel is now growing extremely shallow. Wayne the new owner spent the last 7 years working with the Gills and is a credit to their legacy. Port Darlington Marine Villas are private condos with dockage in front which is not for public use. When visiting the hotel marina one should proceed to the cement seawall beside the swimming pool and then arrange for a suitable berth.