Ambassador Snapshot: Family fun at Bronte Creek Provincial Park

By: Lauren Lim

It can be complicated trying to entertain an entire family with different interests and energy levels! Luckily, Bronte Creek Provincial Park has hours of activities to excite the entire family! With 6.4 km² of land and countless spaces for all interests, this park is a must to enjoy your long weekend.

Here’s some essential information to know beforehand:

Hours:

7 days a week, 8 a.m. – 9 p.m.

Campground: Open May 2021 – October 2021

Day-Use: Year round

Admission Fee:

Free from Mon – Thurs (until Sept. 2nd)

$18/car on Fridays, Saturdays + Sundays

If you’re camping overnight, the camping fee covers entrance to both parks.

Addresses:

Campground:

3201 Upper Middle Road West off Bronte Road

Open May 2021 – October 2021

Day-Use

1219 Burloak Drive

Open year round

For more details, check out their official website here.

Maps:

There are two entrances to Bronte Creek Provincial Park, one for day-use, and one for overnight campground use!

Enter through the day-use entrance to get access to a wide range of activities. I paid the $18 entrance fee and the attendant handed me a full-sized map to help me find my way around the many attractions.

To view and download the full digital map, click here.

Make use of their open spaces:

Starting my day off in parking Lot A, I saw open spaces of land, a playground and farm animals! Groups of families and friends were celebrating a birthday and other groups enjoyed a classic picnic with outdoor sports.

The many picnic tables offer a great spot to set down all the food and drinks you bring along. With the amount of open space and picnic tables both under the sun and shade, games such as frisbee, football, badminton and soccer are able to take place.

Outdoor playgrounds for kids:

Having the outdoor playground close by is just another activity that will keep the entire family occupied!

Let’s meet some animals:

As you’re facing the playground from Lot A, you will notice a paved walkway leading to the left side. Keep walking on this path and you’ll be able to see wooden structures that house some friendly farm animals. Lot A is home to peacocks, chickens and the fluffiest rabbits you’ll ever see.

There are hand sanitizers available for those interested in petting or feeding the animals, and you’ll need some quarters to dispense the animal feed. Lot F is where you’ll find other animals including sheep, cows, turkeys and more chickens!

Visit Gnome Road:

Lot C is also home to Gnome Road, a pathway adorned with handcrafted gnome and fairy huts on either side. As you walk in from the parking lot, signs to Gnome Road will appear just beside the Nature Centre building.

Keep on following the signs and you’ll eventually see these sweet, tiny homes that are popular with children and adults alike.

Choose a trail to explore:

Bronte Creek Provincial Park is known for their many walking and cycling trails! The campground holds Gateway Trail and the Field and Forest Trail. The remainder of the trails are accessed through the day-use grounds. Lot C accesses Maiden’s Blush Trail, and Lot F accesses Trillium Trail, Ravine Trail and Halfmoon Valley Trail.

The full sized map of Bronte Creek will help you visualize which trails you have access to! The Logging Trail can be accessed in the middle of the Ravine Trail and there’s one leash-free trail on each side of the park.

The cool thing about the Halfmoon Valley Trail is that there’s an audio tour available to learn about local biodiversity and humans’ relationship to it.

To listen to the audio tour, make sure to download the PocketSights Tour Guide app! Make sure you have data to be able to load this self-guided tour. Written transcriptions are also available if needed!

Let’s go geocaching:

Another cool app feature is GeoCaching! Download the Adventure Lab app onto your phone and click Bronte Creek Park as the location you want to explore. As you move towards your next location, the app will tell you which direction to go in and approximately how many meters you have left to cover.

Just make sure you have your data and location enabled on your phone! Now you can start learning details about each destination as you travel from one location to another.

There’s so much interesting information to learn about our local community and it’s amazing how interactive we can get with it!

Let’s get competitive – disc golf style:

For some friendly sport competition, disc golf is available in between the open field of Lots D and F.

This blend between golf and frisbee is such a great way to make use of the 18-hole course and large open space!

Play with a team of your own or check out some local clubs that have designated game times.

After seeing what the day-use portion of Bronte Creek had to offer, I headed on over to the campground site. There are so many different overnight accommodations you can choose from! Set up your own tents, bring your RV, trailer, or rent a yurt! There are also water taps and outlets available for use. Reservations are mandatory for overnight stays and the camping fee covers entrances to both the day-use site and campground site. The great thing about these entrance fees are that they allow for re-entry within your given time period! If you wanted to pick up some groceries or carpool with others, this makes it that much easier and accessible.

I’ll leave you with some insider tips on what to bring during your Bronte Creek adventure!

Tips

• Bring small, wet towels to cool off
• Cooler of water + snacks
• Bug spray
• Hats
• Sunscreen
• Ask for a paper map at entrance – it includes both day-use and campground
• Bring quarters if you plan to feed the animals
• Save the digital maps to your phone! Link here.

I hope you have a fun time accessing all these amazing activities at Bronte Creek Provincial Park! There are so many things to discover and I know the memories you make with your family will be so special.

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