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Exploring Ontario's Parks
Brett Walther
February 16, 2002
I was always somewhat of an anomaly throughout my four summers working in the Permit Office at Long Point Provincial Park. I was the only staff member who had never camped in any one of Ontario's Provincial Parks.
This was rectified by an excursion to Penetanguishene's gorgeous Awenda Provincial Park at the end of my last summer at Long Point.
It was in planning this trip that I finally had to put into practice what I had continually preached over the course of four summers. Instead of advising inquiring campers to make campsite reservations in advance through the Ontario Parks call centre, or by visiting Ontario Parks on-line; I was finally in the position to use the web site's reservation service myself.
As a result, I found myself approaching the web site-one that had become, naturally, quite familiar-from a fresh perspective. I left the web site with a renewed faith in the on-line reservations.
This web-based service was everything it promised it would be upon its initial release: fast, convenient, informative and easily navigable.
The freshly re-designed Ontario Parks web site at www.ontarioparks.com features a link to "Reservations" from the main page.
The Internet-based reservation system offers a number of advantages.
The system allows you to access maps of the layout of the campground, making campsite selection much easier, especially if you are visiting a park for the first time.
Before making your reservation on-line, you must first register, a fairly simple process involving basic contact information and a personal password at the bottom. Once you have confirmed your password, choose "Car Camping" from the menu on the upper left-hand corner of the screen.
Following this, you are prompted to answer a number of questions about your proposed camping trip, including the number of people expected to camp on your campsite, the type of camping equipment you will be using, and whether or not you prefer a site with electrical hook up. All of these questions feature drop-down menus from which it is easy to select an answer.
After entering in an arrival and departure date, you can make a "Park Selection" from a drop-down dialog box on the window running down the left-hand column of the page. Once you've chosen one of the over 60 Provincial Parks that are available to you through this Internet-based reservation service, click "Load Park" and a map of the layout of the campground appears in the larger window.
Throughout the procedure of your selection of a campsite, very helpful warnings pop up, advising you if the site you've selected is not available, or if the site is inappropriate based on the size and type of equipment you are going to be using. These pop-up messages help to ensure your camping experience is as enjoyable as possible.
Furthermore, www.ontarioparks.com allows you to check your reservations at any time under "My Reservations". This is a nice feature which should always be consulted a day or two after you book your trip in order to confirm that you have correctly entered your arrival and departure date.
Plan to explore Ontario through the Provincial Park system by making your reservation today!
Brett Walther is the Coordinator of the Community Access Program for the Oxford County Library.
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