Londoners itching to take advantage of the warmer weather and camp, boat, bike, hike or fish will be able to do so at Fanshawe Conservation Area starting this weekend, the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority says.
The conservation area, along with Wildwood Conservation Area in St. Marys and Pittock Conservation Area in Woodstock, will officially open for the season at 8 a.m. on Sunday, the authority announced Friday.
“The operating season for us is from May the first each year until the Sunday after Thanksgiving…. What we’re getting ready for is to welcome our campers and officially welcome our day users. We open our gatehouses up, we have the staff on site,” Damian Schofield of UTRCA said in an interview on London Live with Mike Stubbs.
Season passes are available for roughly $135 and provide residents dawn-to-dusk access to all three conservation areas throughout the season.
For those looking just to come for a day or two or three, day passes are available. A vehicle day pass runs $15, dawn to dusk, while a non-vehicle day pass costs $8, according to UTRCA.
“Our operating fees are strictly gate revenue-driven. We don’t get funding from the province or the federal government at all,” Schofield said.
“(The day fees) allows us to employ our staff, to do risk management on our trails, maintain our trails, pick up garbage, to buy stuff like our canoes and kayaks and different things for rental programs.”
For those looking to camp using one of Fanshawe’s 511 sites, nightly camping fees run $41 for a non-electric site and $51 for electric, plus a $14 reservation fee. Weekly rates are $287 for non-electric and $357 for electric, according to the authority.
Seasonal camping fees run between $2,110 and $4,000, depending on the site and whether it’s electrified, according to UTRCA.
A full list of fees can be found on the websites of the Fanshawe, Pittock and Wildwood conservation areas.
“Overnight camping, it’s best that people try to reserve a little bit ahead. Our sites, especially the hydro ones, tend to go really quickly,” Schofield said.
“But there are still a lot of nice non-hydro sites where people can still book them and use them and have that nice camping experience.”
Schofield notes the last two seasons have been packed with people looking to get out amid COVID-19 concerns and pandemic restrictions.
While most restrictions have been eased, UTRCA officials expect this season to be a busy one as well.
“Even this year for our seasonal camping, right now all of our seasonal campsites are reserved for the 2022 season. That’s 300 campsites here at Fanshawe. I don’t remember having all 300 booked,” Schofield said.
“There’s just a real demand and desire for people to get out and just relax and enjoy a change of pace.”
UTRCA officials note Fanshawe Conservation Authority also has a swimming pool and splash pad, a large lake for boating, fishing and sailing, 30 kilometres of trails, recreation programs, canoe and kayak rentals, and more.
More information can be found on the conservation area’s website.
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