Successful Season Ends at Misery Bay
This was an eventful year at Misery Bay Provincial Park, as its
status was officially changed from a “non-operating” to an
“operating” park. Although this means that Misery Bay will
gradually have increased support from Ontario Parks, it
continues to depend for now on volunteers and grant-supported
students for staffing the Visitors Centre. This year the Centre
was open 88 days and followed the area Ontario Parks schedule
for seasonal opening and closing, Victoria Day weekend through
Labour Day. Although the Centre is now closed, the beautiful
trails remain open for visitors to enjoy year-round.
Student attendants were Laura Bell from Gore Bay, a U. of
Waterloo student who returned for a second year, and Jenna
Hinds, Toronto, a U. of Mt. Allison student whose family has a
summer home on Lake Manitou. They did an excellent job
representing the Friends of Misery Bay and Ontario Parks by
greeting visitors, leading hikes, planning Kids Days, and doing
everything required to make the Centre run smoothly on weekdays.
On weekends, the Centre was staffed by 42 FOMB volunteers,
working in pairs.
Mary Hastings, veteran volunteer guide, compiled a Shoreline and
Wolfden Trails Guide to assist those who lead hikes. This manual
includes excellent photos and information on what to look for in
different seasons on those trails, and how to interpret it. The
guide has already proven to be a great reference source for
attendants and visitors alike.
The June AGM meeting, ten July and August Tuesday nature talks,
and two Saturday hikes were arranged by Tom Moore and were very
well attended. Details about speakers and topics are listed in
the Friends of Misery Bay website (www.miserybay.org).
Programs and hikes at Misery Bay were also arranged for several
island school classes.
The visitor attendance count at the Centre was 4,005, down
slightly this year from the 4,372 in 2010. Sales and donations
were down more significantly, perhaps due in part to the
introduction of a pay meter for visitors as well as to the
economic downturn and high gas prices. Also, the Centre was open
5 fewer days this year than in 2010.
A visitor sign-in book indicated that 80% of visitors were from
Canada, with 6% from Manitoulin, 68% from other parts of
Ontario, and 6% from six other provinces. 20% came from outside
Canada, including 11 % from 17 U.S. states, and 9% from 22 other
countries. Germany was the country most frequently represented
among the latter, and other countries were England, Scotland,
Ireland, Italy, Australia, Sweden, India, Ecuador, Mexico, The
Netherlands, New Zealand, France, Poland, Costa Rica, Hungary,
Switzerland, Croatia, El Salvador, Austria, Japan, and Denmark.
Ellie Moore, FOMB Volunteer Chair
