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You asked: What activities are allowed at Richmond Hill's Bond Lake?

Local experts answer your questions

Yorkregion.com
Sept. 11, 2019
Kim Zarzour

Kerri Noer has advised her son and his friends not to swim in Bond Lake in Oak Ridges.

The Richmond Hill resident regularly reminds them about the signs near the shoreline forbidding swimming, but says people do it anyway and she is concerned for their safety.

The tiny lake, tucked into a pocket of wilderness southeast of Yonge Street and King Sideroad in Oak Ridges, has become a favourite summertime hangout.

A 55-acre kettle lake, it's found within the Oak Ridges Corridor Conservation Reserve, a 607-hectare natural area between Bathurst Street and Leslie Street.

Owned by the province and the Toronto Region Conservation Authority (TRCA), it's managed by the conservation authority to preserve and protect habitat along the Oak Ridges Moraine.

Kate Goodale, a TRCA project manager, advises against swimming there saying the lake was created by the retreat of the glaciers and is an important ecosystem.

"Swimming is not permitted in the lake for both safety reasons and to preserve the unique kettle lake habitat."

The TRCA carries out aquatic monitoring every few years to determine ecosystem health, she says, but the water isn't tested for human use.

Carol Davidson, another resident concerned about safety at the lake, says neighbours recall having to guide emergency crews through the heavily wooded area to help swimmers in distress.

Stephanie Berry also lives nearby and is concerned by what she sees during regular hikes there --rope swings on trees, people paddling kayaks.

“It gets deep fast. Someone is going to hurt himself.”

Rescue crews have been called to the park infrequently, says Bryan Burbidge, Richmond Hill's deputy fire chief.

"Anyone who goes to the area needs to be cognizant of their own safety, especially if it's kids or young adults."

There've been drownings over the years, most recently a 34-year-old man whose body was pulled from the lake in 2016.

In years past, the lake was a popular recreation site with fishing, swimming and boating in the summer and curling in the winter.

Today, it's meant to be a quiet nature preserve with a dirt path running along the shoreline, allowing visitors to view the lake and enjoy the area without compromising ecological integrity, Goodale says.

Permitted activities include hiking, biking, bird watching, on-leash dog walking, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing.

Berry worries the woods are being destroyed by those who make illegal campfires and leave trash behind -- even a half-submerged office chair in the water.

“This is a tiny little oasis in the middle of the suburbs, with natural trails that make you feel like you are in the middle of nowhere."