Southwestern Ontario campers will soon be able to enjoy a night under the stars as local conservation areas, including Fanshawe in London, will reopen to overnight stays in the coming weeks.
The Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) has announced Fanshawe Conservation Area will resume nightly camping as of June 29. Campers at Pittock Conservation Area in Woodstock and Wildwood Conservation Area in St. Marys will have to wait until July 6 for nightly camping to be available.
"We are pleased to announce that nightly camping is opening soon,” said Jennifer Howley, manager of UTRCA Conservation Areas. "We need people to continue to respect physical distancing and group size maximums, to help make opening more facilities a success."
The splash pad in the campground at Fanshawe Conservation Area is also reopening on June 26. At Wildwood, the swimming area/beach and washrooms will reopen for day-use as of this Friday and backcountry camping and canoe and kayak rentals will resume on Monday.
The camping and boating season was originally scheduled to open on May 1, but was postponed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Seasonal camping returned at Fanshawe and Pittock on June 8 and at Wildwood on June 15.
With nightly camping now set to resume, conservation authority officials have laid out a few new safety protocols. They include limiting site availability to 50 per cent maximum capacity, requiring reservations, and keeping shower and laundry facilities closed.
Swimming pools, group camping, and day-use pavilion rentals and picnic shelters also remain closed.
Anyone visiting the conservation areas is advised to be prepared for line-ups at the gatehouses and boat launches and to take time to read signs within the space.
There will be a zero tolerance for rule breakers, the conservation authority said.
