Rondeau campground closed long weekend due to flooding

The campgrounds at provincial parks are all dry for the Victoria Day weekend.

Except Rondeau which isvery, very wet.

Superintendent Brad Connor saidmost of the roads in the campground are still under water after last weekend's heavy rain and dozens of sites have water higher than the fire pits.

"About 80 per cent of the roads in the campground are actually covered with water, and approximately 96 of the 262 sites are completely under water," he said.

Connor saidOntario Parks has decided to close the campground until further notice.

"Public safety is our main priority, and we have situations where we have electrical cords from trailers and RVs that are running through water and things like that," he said.

"At the same time, you know we're trying to limit the impacts to the environment... the soil is so super-saturated that in some cases, walking in some areas can lead to soil compaction and rutting."

The campground at Rondeau Provincial Park was fully booked for this weekend. People with reservations were given refunds, or could re-book without penalty.

"We were expecting an extremely busy weekend," said Connor."Unfortunately, that's not gonna be the case now."

They hope to re-open the campground for nextweekend, as long as it dries out by then. In the meantime, Rondeau Park is still open for day-use visitors and cottagers. Connor saidthere have been a lot of birders coming in.

No alcohol on campgrounds

Campgrounds at Wheatley and Pinery Provincial Parks remain open, with alcohol bans in place.

Alcohol is permitted in Ontario Parks for most of the season with the exception of a two-week period around the Victoria Day weekend. For 2018, the alcohol ban is in place from May 11 to May 21.