Ontario Roads Were Packed With Lines Of Cars Getting To The Beach This Weekend (PHOTOS)
With sunny skies and summer heat, spending the day on the beach is always a good idea. It seems a few too many people thought so this weekend, as an entire road in Ontario became backed up with beachgoers. People waited in massive lines at Sandbanks Provincial Park just to spend some time on the shores.
People road-tripping to Sandbanks Provincial Park over the weekend weren't met with the shining waters and white sands they were expecting.
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Instead, huge lines of cars stretched down roads as crowds waited to get into the park.
Boasting three dreamy beaches and the world's largest baymouth barrier dune formation, the park is one of the busiest in the province, often welcoming over 750,000 visitors each summer.
Due to limited capacity, the park was forced to turn away beachgoers both Saturday and Sunday as traffic overtook the roads.
Sandbanks posted on Twitter about long wait times and the number of cars eager to get into the beaches.
"A day-use closure is expected early today. This is the lineup at 8am and traffic is now backed up on the County Roads leading into the park. Please plan accordingly. Reminder- when full capacity is reached no day-use permits are able to enter, this includes seasonal passes," they wrote.
One photo taken at just 8 a.m. on Saturday revealed a massive lineup that backed up County Roads leading to the park.
The same day, the park reached capacity before 11 a.m.
Ontario Parks suggests visiting Sandbanks during the week to avoid getting turned away.
If weekends are the only chance you have to visit the beach, try arriving before 10 a.m. or after 3:30 p.m.
On busy days, the wait time to get into the beach can be over two hours long.
With distancing measures in effect, spending the day on the beach has caused problems across the province this summer.
Several beaches, including Sauble and Wasaga, have faced temporary closures due to crowds, and Grand Bend has struggled to control the number of beachgoers.
If you're driving from the GTA, Ontario Parks revealed that Darlington and Presqu'ile Provincial Parks are great alternatives to Sandbanks.
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