What is a ghost park? And what would it be like to visit one? Don’t be afraid.
When you use AI it says: “A 'ghost park' can refer to several concepts: a deserted amusement park with abandoned rides and decaying structures, a public land area designated for recreation but with a history of resource conflicts, or in a more abstract sense, an underappreciated public space or 'ghost town' that is largely forgotten.”
In 2012 the Liberal Government of Ontario eliminated overnight camping at ten provincial parks in northeastern Ontario due to low visitation and high upgrade costs, including Caliper Lake, Fushimi Lake, Greenwater, Ivanhoe Lake, Mississagi, Obatanga, René Brunelle, The Shoals, Springwater, and Tidewater. The Adventure Island theme park at Ontario Place also closed in 2012 for financial reasons.
The government decided to change the status of ten provincial parks to non-operating, ending overnight camping at these locations. The reasons cited included low visitation rates, low campground occupancy, and the need for expensive infrastructure improvements.
Now, thirteen-fourteen years later, three remain closed in northeastern Ontario: The Shoals, Greenwater and Obatanga Provincial Parks. (The three parks revisited – I have previously camped at when operating.) The others live on.
Park history
Parks have a history, and there are milestones.
More than 8%, almost nine, of Ontario’s landmass is protected, which represents over 82,000 km2 - an area larger than the Province of Nova Scotia and PEI combined.
See the OP map for operating, non-operating and conservation reserves - it’s impressive enough, considering the first provincial park, Algonquin, was established on May 23, 1893.
Along the way, there were significant developments, including the 1950s recreation boom and the founding of a Parks Division in 1954.
There was a key policy milestone in 1967, which established the park classification system and the approval of the Ontario Provincial Parks: Planning and Management Policies in 1978.
The parks system became Ontario Parks in 1996, adopting a new entrepreneurial model, and was further expanded in the 1980s and 1990s. It was then that the park’s brown and yellow colours started to transition with the rebranding of blue and green we see today.
The Mike Harris Sr. government started the Lands for Life process. It had a mandate to balance the completion of Ontario's provincial parks system and the protection of natural heritage areas with the needs of the province's resource industries (like mining and logging), tourism operators, and recreational users, all while ensuring ecological sustainability.
Announced in 1997 by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, its goal was to provide certainty for resource users and create a comprehensive, representative system of protected areas for all of Ontario's natural and cultural features. Henceforth the nine percent of protected areas, apart from Crown land. We could have more.
Approximately 87% of Ontario is Crown land. Almost all of the Crown land is situated in northern Ontario, while Southern Ontario is primarily privately owned. See the interactive Crown Land Atlas, including the 133 First Nations.
Background
Provincial parks and protected areas are important.
Ontario Parks (OP) has 115 operating parks of its 330 parks, with 226 non-operating parks (like waterway parks - focusing on conservation and wilderness protection).
There are more than 19,000 car accessible campsites and over 8,000 backcountry/wilderness campsites
Ontario also manages 296 conservation reserves to protect natural heritage.
Pukwash P.P. is the most northern car accessible park, and Tidewater is the most northern type of hybrid park, and there are protected places like Polar Bear P.P. I have been to all three.
I contacted OP spokesperson Dave Hunt for some statistics.
BRB: When did Ontario Parks start the colour changeover from brown to blue-green, approximately or when did their branding start?
Dave Hunt: Ontario Parks was created in 1996, with the logo becoming a unique identifier in 1997. The logo is evocative of the Ontario Parks experience – trees, water, and three waves represent the guiding principles of protection, recreation and education, reflecting what Ontarians felt were important characteristics of provincial parks.
As a leading tourism destination in Ontario, Ontario Parks has worked to build customer recognition of the brand, including updating the older brown and yellow signs to the current blue and white look.
BRB: Any pertinent occupancy stats over the last five years? The province...and how about northern Ontario (NW/NE)?
Ontario Parks is on pace for another record year in terms of overall visitors, slightly ahead of the 12.4 million visitors we received in 2024.
For parks in the north, since 2020, there has been a steady increase in visitors in Northwestern Ontario, surpassing 833,000 visitors in 2024. Parks in Northeastern Ontario have been even more popular, with visitor numbers remaining fairly steady since 2020, reaching more than 1.4 million in 2024.
Visiting a Ghost Park
So off I went to visit the three ghost parks, all of which have common characteristics, but with specific themes attached to each visit.
All of them, by chance, were visited about ten days back, on bright summer days, as this summer has been like that.
Let’s start with Greenwater. It is located 34 km northwest of Cochrane, 19.3 km north on Highway 599. (There is a Greenwater Lake Provincial Park in Saskatchewan.)
The most prominent landform is the central esker and the numerous kettles (lakes) that parallel its base, which bisect the entire area of the developed park. The main park road was constructed along the top of the esker ridge.
Established in 1957, it was classified as a natural environment park, Greenwater - named for the peculiar green colour of one of its 26 lakes. See for yourself.
The 8504.00 ha park is centred on a long 61 m high ridge. This ridge, or esker, was once the bed of a river which flowed within glacial ice less than 10,000 years ago during the melting period. There’s a lot of glacial sand in this landscape.
The park’s 1979 management plan states: “Greenwater presently has 104 campsites and a potential for double the capacity as demands increase and funds permit.” Within the plan, you can see the fish species for each lake.
Black spruce, tamarack, aspen, jack pine and white birch are the dominant species within this park. Jack pine predominates on the sand plains. I like Jack pine a lot.
Check out the park’s bogs, particularly east of Green Lake on the once called Green Trail. These are classified are sensitive and regionally significant sites. The bogs contain fragile plant communities which contain insectivorous pitcher plants and sundews, and other acid-site plant species. Also, rare or disjunct orchid colonies are located on these sites.
From the park plan: “There were 9 km of interior park roads. Six hiking trails (11.8 km) and one self-guided trail (1.2 km) are available. There are no established snowmobile, cross-country ski, or snowshoe trails within the park. The access roads, the hydro corridor, and the developed trails, however, are frequently used for winter recreation activities. There is 5.5 km of good canoeing on Deception Creek.”
You can see the map of Greenwater here.
Some of the trails have blowdown to go over. But locals have done their own maintenance, and they continue to abide by the day-use mandate for the most part.
The Town of Cochrane asked the government to reinstate the park in 2021.
Barriers placed at Greenwater pose no challenge to entry. There was a gate, now concrete slabs, but the ATVs continued to go around. The entry kiosk has been severely vandalized when compared to the other two parks. The asphalt, particularly at low spots, has small sink holes and is posted. There are many roads in Greenwater. You need a screenshot map to keep oriented. Nature has taken its course, the roads are narrower, especially when you go through the former campgrounds, with some windfall.
It is a cyclist’s destination. Head for Green or Blue Lake, on a sunny day, the colours befit the names. At the northeast end of Green Lake is the lookout, worth visiting, and it's also a good point to ride past to extend your ride. Have a picnic at the former Green Lake picnic area or the dock area at Blue Lake. If you are biking, keep going on to the Esker Trail. See the Friends of Greenwater Provincial Park Facebook page for an excellent map.
Obantaga
It is located on Highway 17, 56 kilometres west of Wawa and 37 kilometres east of White River. The park contains 9,413 hectares.
The theme here is the mature Jack pine, an easy and serene walk through or bike ride among the towering beauties.
The park was opened in 1962, just after Highway 17 was completed around the north shore of Lake Superior.
The park management plan describes it as a “peaceful setting,” and it is.
The entry on Highway 17 is well barricaded – people have respected the closure and respect the day-use mandate. There is no evidence of ATV impact. This is contrary to Greenwater. Perhaps because fewer people live close to it.
What first caught my attention was the Bell phone booth. Pre-cell phone service, many campers would have made that safety call home behind the accordion-type door and that speaking-listening handset. To young people, these are now museum pieces.
There’s little vandalism to the park entry kiosk, but it has the traditional chalet-like peaked roof. All these early parks have them, and many of the smaller ones in northern Ontario still do. The upgraded operating parks now have multi-faceted park entry buildings with merchandise.
There’s a stretch of asphalt that ends just past the kiosk and then goes on to hard-packed gravel. The once two-vehicle width is now compromised. There are no tire tracks, and the tall grass grows feely. There’s a good viewing location at the bridge/causeway looking over Burnfield Lake.
This natural environment class park has a landscape that varies from flat sand plains in the northeast to rugged bedrock hills in the south. Lakes and wetlands are scattered throughout the park area.
At one time, the park had 132 campsites (20 with electrical outlets), an outdoor theatre and a comfort station. The comfort station has been broken into, but there is no graffiti. The magnificent stonework, part of the building’s façade, is crumbling and breaking.
Check out the map and take your canoe along. There’s a canoe route (Google: Obatanga Canoe Route) that was developed it connecting the main park lakes (Burnfield, Obatanga, and Knife Lakes). The route is connected to a variety of areas outside the park. The park lakes are on the headwaters of the Dog (University) River- a river that eventually flows to Lake Superior. This river is well known to wilderness canoeists as a rugged and difficult but very scenic river. The park was once used as a staging area for canoe trips to Lake Superior.
There’s a good map and photos on the Facebook page Friends of Obatanga Provincial Park.
Walk or take your bike and head for the once-day-use area on Burnfield Lake (first left past the causeway/bridge ). Also, the Forest Fire Trail (the sign is down, but it is just to the east, where the Berry Trails campground was located. You can see the park brochure box.) This is a walk through a mature Jack pine forest (a favourite), indicative of the Boreal. And take your canoe for a day use experience (take along the canoe transportation cart/trailer or access from nearby Cotton Lake, see the map).
Shoals
Shoals (renamed in 1995) once had one campground (Little Wawa Lake) with 44 sites and approximately five interior campsites associated with two looped canoe routes.
But it is the beach that is your destination. A 30-minute walk or short bike ride from Highway 101. It is located almost halfway between Chapleau and Wawa. You can also canoe access the park from the navigable creek about two kilometres west of the park entrance.
People have respected the barriers at the park entrance.
There has been no vandalism to the park kiosk, and the asphalt ends at the bottom of the hill heading towards the lake. At the main junction, you can go either way and end up at the overgrown parking lot hiding the beach. This is the highlight, the beach, the view and the serenity. There is no other development on Little Wawa Lake.
At the highway entrance, there was one car. Who would I meet? Without alarming them, I called out from a distance. I came upon Bonnie and Gwendolynne, two retirees from Chapleau, enjoying the sunny day on Little Wawa Lake. I quickly introduced myself and my mission.
They had all the beach amenities and snacks. They told me they’ve been coming to Shoals for the last dozen years to enjoy exactly what the experience was offering. They lamented about the park not being open and their selfish thoughts about having this paradise for themselves.
There was the one-kilometre Lonesome Bog self-guided interpretive trail, a trailer sanitation station, a boat launch and a fish cleaning table. I did not find the trail and wanted to. The staff area includes a 15-person staff house and maintenance area, which is well intact.
A bonus. There is the well-signed Prairie Bee access point, located approximately 4.5 km west of the park entrance on Highway 101. It has a parking area and a boat launch. It provides access to “excellent angling opportunities on Prairie Bee, Lower Prairie Bee and Windermere Lakes.” These lakes are not within the park except for parts of their shorelines, which form the park boundary. This access point is also the starting point for a canoe route that lies partially within the park.
This would lead you to the deserted mill town of Nicholson, the home of the Austin-Nicolson Lumber Company, is located adjacent to the northern park boundary, and this is featured on the cover of Ron Brown’s ‘Ghost Towns of Ontario’ – Volume Two. (I canoed from this access to reach Nicholson.)
Through the Adventure Map company, there is the Shoals Provincial Park & Area Map. It has an interesting map description: “Still relatively unknown, and therefore quieter than other Parks, it used to be an operating park with staff, maintenance, a great lakeside serviced campground in a red pine forest, plus an extensive wilderness area of superb paddling and hiking terrain… which doesn’t mean it should be avoided. In fact, it's now even quieter and more remote than before.”
Consider a novel canoe adventure. “For an added treat, paddlers, including their canoe or kayak, can easily travel here and back by train from Sudbury (3x each week). It's easy. You'll get off and back on the train right at Windermere Lake.” Or go to Canadian Canoe Routes (free), there’s a detailed map of such. See the Village Media story on the train.
If you are travelling between Chapleau and Wawa, put this as a stop, walk and swim. The picnic tables remain at the beach.
Future?
It doesn't mean these three parks can't reopen. There was First Nation interest in the early years of the closure of these three parks. But it is now almost thirteen to fourteen years later.
It is well known that an Ontario Parks comfort station with all the “bells and whistles” of industrial equipment and the field bed, and all the water-related infrastructure challenges in a Park costs approximately two million dollars.
You would need to add new roads, an upgrade to the water system and all the trimmings, along with staffing costs, staffing availability, which remains a challenge, and house these employees at remote locations. The cost recovery in opening or starting a new park may be cost-prohibitive. It is a short camping season by latitude. Case in point.
The new concept of ‘Big Wind’ Provincial Park, south of Huntsville and east of Bracebridge/Gravenhurst, will be the 116th operating park.
Minister David Piccini made the announcement on June 22, 2023, at a news conference. He said that the 1,967-hectare P.P. would become an all-season, full-service provincial park, the first one in Ontario in over 40 years.
Once complete, the park is expected to add 250 campsites and up to 25 new cabins to the OP system.
Other amenities may include a visitor centre, electric vehicle charging stations, electrified campsites, low-energy buildings, easy-to-access biking/walking routes, with wildlife-friendly planning and design in mind.
It was slated to open in 2026, but it remains in the planning and design stage. The specific cost for establishing the new operating park is not yet known.
Finally
Following the 2018 Ontario election on June 7, the Ministry's name was changed from the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change to the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP). It is a lower ministry in the priority political scheme of things.
Since then (Minister Rod Phillips, June 29, 2018 ), there have been five MECP ministers, with the current Minister being Todd McCarthy.
Full disclosure, I am on the Ontario Parks Board of Directors and have served several terms. It is a publicly appointed advisory board comprised of a group of volunteers (no stipends) who provide independent advice and recommendations to the Minister about planning, managing and developing Ontario Parks. Like most governance boards, it does not delve into operations.
One of my colleagues suggested, “Why don’t they leave the ghost parks to return to their natural state?” Well, that is happening, and they may never open again. For now, they are there to enjoy.
(I have talked about this before, the value of the seasonal or year OP pass. Not sure if you need one for a closed park. Parks are for people.)
Go for a walk or bike ride in these three parks, have a picnic, swim, and enjoy the solitude; they remain protected areas with a difference. Here’s the map of pertinent locations within these parks.
Funny thing, because I have stayed at these parks, all the parks’ amenities remain well ensconced in my mind. Being there in a solitary time created a time warp of sorts. You can see the smiling faces, the trails and the water activities quite clearly.
Parks are happy places and are an integral part of my back roads’ life. What of Casper the Friendly Ghost anyway?
Parks are not ghosts after all – on the back roads.