Brant Conservation Area Review
RR 4, 119 Jennings Road
Brantford, ON N3T 5L7
WEB SITE:http://www.grandriver.ca/index/document.cfm?Sec=27&Sub1=121&Sub2=0
Park Review: I gave this park a 3 out of 5.
We stayed on Site #249 in 2009.
PARK OVERVIEW
This park has a variety of trees, tall grasses and shrubs - nothing forest like. Campsite options are Seasonal, electrical and non-electrical sites. We had no idea the fist night that this park is 2 minutes away form the City of Brantford. Which is very convenient for supplies. We could not hear any traffic and with the sites in this campground so scattered it was really quiet.I thought this park was much larger than it needed to be, some sites seemed like you would be in the middle of no where, and the park layout was a little confusing at first. One road was dirt tracks through a field. Some roads had pot holes that could swallow a small child. This park offers trails, a waterfall, canoeing, pool and splash pad.
CAMPSITES
Brant Conservation area has 401 camping sites including 126 with electricity and water, 31 with electricity (30 amp), water and sewer connection (mainly occupied seasonally), and 244 unserviced sites. A radio-free zone has 30 sites in a forested area. Up to six people are permitted per campsite. Check-in is after 2 p.m. and check-out is before noon.Campsite privacy isn't the greatest but they were extreemly large sites and at least it was not an open field. There are only 2 flush toilet and shower stations in the park, along with out houses spaced throughout the park. The park employees were very scarce. The park over all needed a little more attention from the employees. The out house behind us was NEVER cleaned in the 4 days we were there, and was disgusting with little black flies swarming out of the toilet. Our campsite was surrounded by burr bushes - ouch! The campers across from us left the day after we got there leaving their garbage to be picked up.... which took 2 days. The main bathrooms did get cleaned every morning but some stalls did run out of toilet paper by the end of the day. We were in a radio free zone and with other GRCA parks they do regular patrols to control noise, don't expect that here. We had problems 2 different nights with 2 different campsites playing loud music - not one park employee seen. Only one night the park patrol drove by to check at 11pm for quiet time - and never came back. We had no problem with animals other than raccoons who managed to steal a box of corn pops.
TRAILS AND WATERFALL
The park does offer a couple short trails to explore. One leads to a small waterfall. The water fall here was a little disappointing it smelled like fish and it was full of garbage.I wouldn't swim in that water if someone paid me. The trails don't offer much for a nature enthusiast. The trails were mostly shrubs, tall grass and burr bushes - again OUCH!
POOL AREA
Brant claims to have the largest swimming pool in Ontario, 1.25-acre swimming pool to be exact. The pool is great for small kids because you can walk right in. It also has a small splash park connected to the pool. The swimming area and pool were kept very clean. They also offer life jackets at no charge to borrow. Life guards do an excellent job at containing rowdy kids. The woman's change room was quit large with a change area, benches, showers and bathrooms. The swimming pool is NOT within walking distance from the unserviced campground, so it is kind of a pain to load everyone in the car and drive to the pool. You are not allowed to bring any type of food or drinks into the pool area except water.
CONCESSION STAND
The food concession stand, located right outside the pool, offers French fries, hamburgers, ice cream, pop, candy and ice. It is open from mid-June to Labour Day and hours vary. The concession is closed during inclement weather. We packed a lunch and after a couple hours we took a break and had a picnic lunch outside the car. They have a large ocinic area just outside the pool area with lots of picnic tables.
CONEING/KYAKES
Many people who travel down the Grand River spend a night camping here. There are several locations to put your canoe into the water above and below Wilkes Dam. A marked portage is available to pass around Wilkes Dam. Canoes and kayaks are available for rent at the area - no paddle boats for rent here. For more information inquire at the gatehouse or at the canoe concession.
I only gave this park a 3
Downfalls: I wish the employees would pay as much attention to the campsites and park cleanliness as they do enforcing pool rules. The trails don't deliver much for a nature enthusiast, just tall grass. I didn't like the fact we had to use out car for everything. We had no water tap near our site so we had to drive to get water, drive to the pool and drive to get fire wood.
Likes: When the rowdy campers left, the park was very quiet and enjoyable. Our site was right beside a park and the park was right beside the bathroom. Brantford grocery stores were five minutes down the road.
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