Visitors soon able to reserve parking spots at provincial parks

Presqu’ile Provincial Park near Brighton is currently not overflowing with traffic – but provincial parks will soon be busy again. Presqu’ile is one of 17 Ontario parks that will have a parking reservation service this summer. Photo by Maria Toews, QNet News

By Maria Toews

BRIGHTON – After problems with overcrowding and angry visitors at provincial parks last year, the Ontario government is offering reserved parking that will guarantee access to certain parks on visitors’ chosen days. 

The service will begin on Monday and will apply to local parks including Sandbanks, North Beach and Presqu’ile. 

“As our provincial parks grow in popularity and demand, many customers travel long distances only to be turned away at park entrances when capacity is reached,” the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks said in an email to QNet News. 

“Obtaining a daily vehicle permit in advance will allow people to plan ahead, which means more time on the beach or trails and less time in long lines,” said the ministry.

This new service is to help the parks cope with the increase in visitors over the past couple of years, especially last year as the COVID-19 pandemic spread.

“Ontario Parks has seen a significant increase in visitation in the last couple of years due to the increased popularity of outdoor recreation and demand for use of outdoor spaces by Ontarians during the global pandemic,” said the ministry. 

Mary-Jane McDowell, a resident of Prince Edward County who was enjoying the beach at Presqu’ile Park on Tuesday, had first-hand experience of how busy the parks were last summer. 

There were “lineups for 10 kilometres long on a Saturday, the beach (was) full by 9 a.m., and then crowds of people (continued) to come when the beaches (were) closed,” she told QNet. “Then there’s nowhere for them to go and they’ve driven a couple of hours. They’re furious because they’ve come all this way, there’s no room at the beaches, and then it leads to overcrowding at other areas in the County. It has been very problematic.”

The new service will allow season pass holders to reserve a day use parking spot at no charge up to five days in advance. Those who don’t have season passes can reserve a spot for a fee. 

McDowell says she is optimistic about the solution but still has concerns about the way it will work. 

“One issue I can see is what happens if someone makes a reservation and they don’t show up? And how are they going to regulate that and monitor it to hold people accountable?” 

Brad MacDonald, another area resident who was also at Presqu’ile on Tuesday, had some advice for coming to provincial parks this summer.

“I’ll stay away on the weekends, because that’s when it’s really busy,” he said. Instead, he suggests visiting on weekdays. 

When he comes through the week, he said, “I’ve never been turned away in all the years I’ve been coming here.”

For McDowell, however, that’s not feasible, because she works during the week. As a result, she often visits during the busy weekends.

“For the last number of years I have bought a season pass,” she said. “I live within half an hour to 45 minutes of three provincial parks – actually four – and I haven’t been able to get in because the lineups are so brutal on weekends.”

She says she hopes the new system will help with the overcrowding. 

The reservation service will only be applied to 17 parks across Ontario this year.

“We included locations that reached capacity on a regular basis in 2020 in order to better manage crowding,” said the ministry. “This will help (us) evaluate the pilot (project) and make future decisions on the service.” 

Despite her concerns, McDowell said the reservation system “is a step in the right direction. It’s sort of like the vaccine rollout. We’ve got to just do something … It’s probably going to evolve as they figure it out.”

Once the service begins this coming Monday, visitors can pre-register their vehicles either online or by phone to guarantee their day-use parking spot.