Ontario reducing how long campers can stay at most popular parks — is your favourite on the list?

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Starting for next summer’s peak operating season, from July 1 to the Saturday of the Labour Day weekend, the maximum length of stay drops from 23 nights to seven or 14 nights at some parks.

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Ontario Parks says it’s reducing the maximum length of campground campsite stays at some of its most popular parks so that more people can enjoy them.

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Camping at provincial parks has grown from 4.3 million camper nights in 2014 to more than 6.6 million in 2021, the agency said.

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“With reservations on the rise, it has become more difficult for people to make reservations at some of our busier parks,”  Ontario Parks said in a letter to people who’ve camped at provincial parks in the past.

“Reducing the maximum length of stay at select parks will provide more people with the chance to camp and experience Ontario’s Parks.”

Starting for next summer’s peak operating season, from July 1 to the Saturday of the Labour Day weekend, the maximum length of stay drops from 23 nights to seven or 14 nights at some parks.

Maximum stays remain the same for backcountry and roofed accommodations.

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“As a previous visitor to one of the parks with a new maximum length of stay rule, we wanted to ensure you were aware of this change prior to making your 2023 summer plans and reservations,” Ontario Parks said in the letter.

Campers may be eligible for longer stays if their chosen dates overlap the beginning or end of the peak summer season.

Ontario Parks introduced two new features this summer to make campsites available to more people, including availability notifications by email if spots open up and a “similar experiences” feature that offers alternatives when a first choice is full.

Last year, Ontario Parks vowed to crack down on people who resell campsite reservations at steeper prices amid an outcry from frustrated campers.

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Starting in the spring of 2021, reservation holders were not permitted to resell any reservation for profit, a spokesperson for the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks said. At the time, Ontario Parks was seeing an almost 135 per cent increase in reservations made between Jan. 1 and March 28 compared to the same period in 2020.

New maximum stays at Ontario Parks

Seven nights (between July 1 and the Saturday of Labour Day weekend)

Algonquin

Bon Echo

Killbear

Pinery

Sandbanks

Fourteen nights (between July 1 and the Saturday of Labour Day weekend)

Arrowhead

Awenda

Balsam Lake

Bass Lake

Blue Lake

Bonnechere

Charleston Lake

Chutes

Craigleith

Darlington

Driftwood

Earl Rowe

Emily

Esker Lakes

Fairbank

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Finlayson Point

Fitzroy

Fushimi Lake

Grundy Lake

Halfway Lake

Inverhuron

Ivanhoe Lake

Kap-Kig-Iwan

Kettle Lakes

Killarney

Lake St. Peter

Lake Superior

Long Point

MacGregor Point

Mara

Marten River

McRae Point

Mikisew

Mississagi

Murphys Point

Nagagamisis

Neys

Oastler Lake

Pancake Bay

Point Farms

Port Burwell

Presqu’ile

Quetico

Rainbow Falls

Rene Brunelle

Restoule

Rideau River

Rock Point

Rondeau

Rushing River

Samuel de Champlain

Sauble Falls

Selkirk

Sharbot Lake

Sibbald Point

Silent Lake

Silver Lake

Six Mile Lake

Sleeping Giant

Sturgeon Bay

Turkey Point

Wheatley

Windy Lake

Twenty-three night maximum stay

Aaron

Arrow Lake

Bronte Creek

Caliper Lake

Ferris

Kakabeka Falls

MacLeod

Missinaibi

Ojibway

Pakwash

Sandbar Lake

Silver Falls

Sioux Narrows

Voyageur

Wakami Lake

White Lake

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