Elora Gorge Conservation Area — Attraction in Centre Wellington

This review is for both the campground and the tubing experience.

I was part of two families that spent a couple of nights here. Booking and check in was easy. The campgrounds were nice. They could have been a bit cleaner, but it was a busy weekend so I guess the maintenance was a bit behind. Washrooms and running water were close to the sites, making it easy to fill buckets for cooking or brushing teeth.

Simple hiking trails looped around the Elora Gorge, nothing strenuous, just a nice walk. There are lots of parks around for day trips, nicely maintained.

We tried the Elora Gorge tubing. Renting the tubes were easy, if a bit pricey in my opinion, along with a pretty big deposit, when you have 9 people in your group! Some people rented tubes outside the Conservation and brought them in. They said they were cheaper outside. Guess if you have the time, shop around!

Helmets and life jackets are provided with the tubes. These are separate costs, not a package deal, and are mandatory. Kids can go, they just have to pass the height requirement. Makes sense, else they will slip through the tubes when sitting in them. Tubes are different sizes to fit different heights. We had 10 year olds with us, and they had no problems. Walk with shoes\sandals that stay on your feet. It's easy to lose them in the water if loose and it happened to several people when I was there.

It's a 15-20 minute walk from the tube shop to the starting point of the gorge run. Once there, you start off with some "rapids". It's fun, and quite a rush! It looks more dangerous than it actually is, and they tubes keep you mostly protected from the rocks. Just pay attention to where you are going, raise your butt when needed to avoid rocks, and use hands and feet to steer away from the gorge walls, or large rocks in the middle.

The ride lasts about 45 minutes. 5 - 10 minutes is thrilling, with fast moving water and a few small drops. They rest you move along pretty sedately, which can get boring, especially if you hit a dead spot, and then have to paddle with feet and hands to get out to the current. Water is a bit cold initially, but you get used to it fast.

The end point is easy to disembark. It's then another 20 minute walk back to the store to return the tubes and receive your deposit. Some people had someone drive to the end point to meet them and load up the tubes. Easier than carrying them, but the tubes are light, just bulky.

All in all, it was a fun trip, but it was a one time experience for me with the tubing. I would rather do it for free on the...

Very disturbed at the cavalier and careless way the tubing is handled. First, my sister and I weren't asked our weight regarding the life jackets. There were no signs or verbal instruction from any staff member indicating that the first waterfall and set of rapids is a common area for serious injuries (2 people had broken their ankles just the week before we were there - according to the park ranger) and so should be skipped by those not wanting to risk being hurt. There wasn't anyone down at the river to assist in case of emergency, and I was in dire need of assistance with no way out but to get back on the tube with what I thought was a broken ankle and hip. I was very frightened and in a lot of pain. And I'm a strong person ... I'm muscular, I'm a strong swimmer, I do lots of thrill-seeking activities. I got thrown off the tube at that first waterfall, got separated from my tube, got pinned under the waterfall for a bit because my lifejacket couldn't support me, when I finally clawed my way to the surface I was shot forward like out of a cannon directly into boulders and rocks while still fighting to keep my head above water, I tried helplessly to get to the side or plant my feet to stop. This went on for a while until my tube finally and thankfully caught up to me. I could at least put it in front of me to take the impact of the rocks, and I could catch my breathe. I was finally able to come to a stop at the end of the rapids, but I wasn't able to walk because my hip had been knocked out of joint and was pinching a nerve. I had to go through the rest of the river, in agony with every little bump of a rock, and had to go through more rapids and another small waterfall. This was not a fun day!! The park ranger told me that people are regularly getting hurt on the river, but the serious injuries happen at the first waterfall/set of rapids. She also said that she's requested many times over the years that the park close that section to the tubers. Yet not once before this ride were we told this so that we could make that decision ourselves. We had no idea of the dangers of this experience because of the cavalier way they handle the rentals. I can't imagine what would have happened if I wasn't a strong person. A full month later, and I've finally just recovered from my tubing experience after weeks of treatments by chiropractor, acupuncture, massage & physical therapy costing me...

The Grand River Conservation Authority does a pretty poor job of managing the campground.

Firstly, on the Middlebrook Road side, visitors are greeted by two dilapidated, junk RVs, which are an eyesore and reflect very poor stewardship of the park, and are offensive to the folks in the neighbouring house who have to look at a pair of junkyard RVs. They have been there for at least two years now and there’s no excuse not to move them.

Secondly, the staff frequently abandon the Middlebrook gatehouse well before many campers have arrived. The website and booking emails state that the gatehouse is open until 9PM. This season, it has been empty by 6PM most evenings. This leaves campers unable to buy firewood without making an unnecessary car journey to the other location. When the sites are $70, I’m sure a kid can sit in the booth on minimum wage for a couple of extra hours.

The ‘security’ staff - and some of the regular park staff drive around in trucks, incessantly patrolling a family campground, looking for alcohol and cannabis infractions. On one occasion, they parked at our site and walked up to me as I was cooking at the grill, asking to see a bottle of olive oil to check it was not alcoholic. Utterly rude and overreaching. We don’t drink and don’t mind the ban, but approaching us and questioning our integrity and doing a condiment search is not acceptable.

Also, the manager of the campground arbitrarily holds back specific sites from the online booking platform. Not sure why, and the staff never seem to know either. With campgrounds fuller than ever, every site should be utilized.

The location is great, but for the price charged, I expect...