Five Conservation Authority parks are open - reservations required.

News 100 greenBy Staff

May 22nd, 2020

BURLINGTON, ON

 

CH Kelso Summit

Late afternoon sun bounces off the wall of the Kelso Summit

Conservation Halton will be opening five of its seven parks this weekend.

But you won’t be able to just drive up and walk along trails.

The Conservation Authority wants to control the number of people in each park and has set up a reservation system. It is a little on the complex side.

The reservation system will go live on May 21. Crawford Lake, Hilton Falls, Rattlesnake Point, Mount Nemo and Kelso Summit (biking only) will be open to members and to the public, for paid access, from 9am-9pm. Other parks and facilities will be added in the coming weeks.

Park reservation graphic

To get to the reservation system CLICK HERE.

The new reservation system will allow the Conservation Authority to predict and monitor the number of people in the parks through an online reservation platform. From this point forward, parks visitors and members will be required to make a reservation prior to their visit. (The pilot has shown us that this process should take no more than 1 minute.)

Here is how it works: After you have made your online reservation, and arrived at the park, you will drive up to the gate and stop. Your license plate will be scanned and the gate will open. If there is any issue with your license plate, a gate attendant will scan the barcode on your ticket. (The pilot has shown us that this process should take no more than 10-15 seconds.)

Being able to predict and monitor the number of people in the parks means that we can create the conditions needed for physical distancing, but this system will offer a number of other benefits, even once things are back to normal.

CH Rattlesnake Point

Rattlesnake Point

For you, as a visitor, this system will show you which parks are busy and which are not, right down to the minute, before you leave your house. We know it can be frustrating to get ready for a hike, drive out to a park and then be faced with a lineup, so we hope that this system will prevent that. For us, this system will allow us to improve the experience of visiting our parks and reduce the impact that visitors have on our parks for a more efficient, enjoyable and sustainable approach to park management. We want you to enjoy nature when you come to our parks, not wait in lineups.

How many spots will there be?

With five parks open, we estimate there are about 15,000 time slots per week available for visitor households to reserve, to safely accommodate about 75,000 visitors across the parks, each week. We feel this should be enough to meet the needs of our members and the public, but we will be using feedback to improve our model as needed.

CH Mt Nemo

Mt Nemo offers relaxing walks and stupendous views.

Having to pay for admittance to the parks may come as a surprise to some people. In a study done a number of years ago people were asked how they felt about their being an admittance fee. Most were comfortable with a fee providing it was reasonable.

The temporarily reduced rates are $6.50 for adults, $5 for child or senior, under 5 are free.  Members will be able to access the parks as part of their membership.

 

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