Bravo Presqu'ile Park

Back in July of 2012 I wrote a letter to the local newspaper and also posted the same letter on my blog regarding changes within Presqu'ile Provincial Park and some areas that I felt needed to be addressed. As someone who has camped and visited the park every year of my entire 45 years of existence, I've witnessed a lot of changes within the park. Some of those changes I agree with and some I have taken issue with. As always, it's only my opinion but of course through conversations with other park users I've come to learn that my concerns and ideas were being shared by plenty of other paying customers.

Today I'm not going to delve into all of those concerns again. The last time I wrote about it I was happy to receive some feedback from what I can only assume were park staff or individuals close to the day to day operations of the park. I didn't necessarily agree with what they had to say but I appreciated their input and respected their ideas and thoughts. That's the great thing about this country, everyone is entitled to their opinion and I don't have a problem with someone taking a stand on the opposite side of the fence as me provided they do so with class.

What I wanted to do today was thank the person or management at Presqu'ile who finally listened to not only me but the many other campers who have made suggestions over recent years and addressed the one issue that has been a thorn in the side of so many of us.

After finishing another camping season at Thanksgiving I finally made a trip back into the park in early November and was thrilled to see that work had begun on resurfacing the main road into and across the front of the High Bluff camping area. This road had been a constant source of complaints mainly because of the dusty conditions in the summer time.

High Bluff campground road.

It was a common site between May and October to see campers having to close the windows on their trailers, covering their food and even walking across the road to sit in order to avoid the disgusting dust that blew into their campsites after each vehicle passed by. Sadly the dust would be less if the vehicles were traveling at the posted speed limit but that's a rare occurrence indeed. It was a health hazard for senior citizens and small children and just a dusty annoyance overall.

Entrance to High Bluff campground.

This past weekend I returned to the park to enjoy a peaceful walk and hoped to spot some wildlife. The deer were scarce as usual but upon completing my walk I took a drive into the camping area and was blown away by what I found. The park had finally paved the road across the front of the Bluff. It was a thing of beauty and I know the regular campers who won't return until the new season begins will be thrilled to see the road they've been begging to be fixed for so long has finally been given the attention it sorely needed.

The difference between the old road and the newly paved road is huge and on I'm sure I speak for all campers when I say "Thank You" to Ontario Parks and Presqu'ile Park Management in particular for seeing to it that this upgrade happened.

West end of High Bluff road where pavement begins.

Some will argue that the newly paved surface will only cause problems with speeding vehicles but of course as any regular visitor to the park will tell you, speeding cars and trucks have been a problem on weekends along that stretch of road long before pavement was put down. I just hope the Park Wardens make a concerted effort to crack down on this problem next summer because the kids will love riding their bikes, scooters and roller blades on this smooth new surface and we'd all hate to see something tragic happen.

The entrance to the park has also been resurfaced and widened at the front gate which should help to alleviate congestion when campers stop to register at the office.

Once again, Bravo Presqu'ile! I look forward to seeing what upgrades you have in store for us next. Might I suggest a new trailer dumping station? (hint hint)