Mississagi Provincial Park, located about an hour north of Elliot Lake, is getting a second chance in the 2013 season.
Under a proposed one-year pilot project, Ontario Parks will work with the city to operate Mississagi with the goal of increasing revenue and visitation rates. The city will be responsible for staffing, and operational and capital costs, while covering any net financial losses incurred during the pilot period.
The season will open on June 14.
In September 2012, the province announced it was changing the designation of Mississagi Provincial Park and nine others from operating to non-operating because of low usage and financial losses. Since then, Ontario Parks has been working with Hearst, Moonbeam and Timmins to operate Fushimi Lake, René Brunelle and Ivanhoe Lake provincial parks under two-year pilot projects.
There are more than 330 provincial parks in Ontario. In 2012, Ontario’s provincial parks received more than nine million visits and brought in $69 million in revenue.
