Harvest Trail meanders through farmland/Parks Canada, Robyn Simard

Ontario's Rouge National Urban Park has announced a series of changes for this summer.

Parking lots — including Rouge Beach, Twyn Rivers, Zoo Road/Gateway, Bob Hunter Memorial Park and Glen Rouge Campground/Mast Trail — will be closed and locked at 9 p.m. daily for community safety and security. Signage will be clearly posted. Visitors must remove their vehicles well in advance to avoid being locked in the lot overnight. Lots will reopen between 7 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. daily.

Parks Canada will increase staff presence at key locations, including Rouge Beach, and will enhance enforcement of illegal parking including ticketing and towing where signage indicates. This is to prevent congestion, ensure safety for residents, motorists, cyclists and pedestrians, and allow safe access for emergency vehicles.

Barbecues are now prohibited at Rouge Beach and open fires will remain prohibited throughout the park to better align with the rules for City of Toronto parks. This is to reduce littering and encourage respectful use at night.

Rouge turns six this month, boasts nearly 80 square kilometres (31 square miles), and is within a one-hour drive of 20 per cent of Canada’s population. The park-in-progress spans the Greater Toronto Area from Uxbridge to Markham and Scarborough, linking the Oak Ridges Moraine to Lake Ontario. It’s only 95 per cent complete and more land transfers are expected. With hundreds of access and entry points, it’s also impossible to tally annual visitors. It's unusual for protecting Class 1 farmland.

A map showing what's open and closed in Rouge National Urban Park/Parks Canada

In-park programming remains suspended due to COVID-19. Parks Canada does have an information line at 416-264-2020. Parks Canada reports that there will be new trailhead and day-use area information boards to provide orientation and safety information.

Meanwhile, trail and day-use area improvements are underway and closures are expected at three locations this summer. As the closures take place, maps will be posted on the Rouge website under "Important Bulletins."

Closures will include: 

• The Mast Trail day-use area at Glen Rouge Campground will close for refurbishment in June and reopen in summer 2022. Glen Rouge Campground itself remains closed for utility and campground improvements until further notice.

• The Glasgow day-use area will close in May until summer 2022 to accommodate trail construction. Coyote Trail, accessible from the Glasgow day-use area, is also closed due to flooding caused by beaver activity.

• Sections of the Reesor Way/Tanglewood Trail and the Monarch Trail in Bob Hunter Memorial Park are closed for maintenance work until late June.

Many areas remain open and accessible. People should plan ahead, visit the Rouge website or follow the park on social media for the best places and times to visit. These day-use areas remain open:
• 19th Avenue Day Use Area
• Harvest Trail
• Black Walnut Day Use Area
• Woodlands
• Twyn Rivers
• Zoo Road / Gateway
• Rouge Beach & Marsh

Parks Canada continues to invest in visitor facilities, campgrounds and day use. See this list (and the park map) for other openings/closures.

1. Glasgow Day Use Area & Coyote Trail (Closed)

2. 19th Avenue Day Use Area (Open)

3. Harvest Trail (Open)

4. Black Walnut Day Use Area (Open)

5. Bob Hunter Memorial Park (Minor closures for trail maintenance. Reopening in June.)

6. Woodlands (Open)

7. Zoo Road/Gateway (Open)

8. Twyn Rivers (Open)

9. Glen Rouge Campground & Mast Day-Use Area (Closed)

10. Rouge Beach & Marsh (Open)