Silver Lake Provincial Park — Attraction in Tay Valley

We had the most horrible experience at Silver Lake over the weekend. On day 2 of our weekend, we decided to head over to the beach area to have a BBQ and enjoy the beautiful weather. We brought 2 Palm Bays and 2 Beers with us. Some of our group went back to the campsite to bring over the BBQ and food as my friend and I waited at the picnic table. As we were waiting, a campsite park warden named HAYLEY FERGUESON approached us in a very aggressive manner and took our 2 palm bays and beers from us. She was extremely disrespectful and unprofessional in the way she handled this situation. We apologized and explained that we were not aware that we were unable to drink in this area. In a rudely manner, she began to point at the very small signs that indicate no drinking and was rude and adamant about giving us tickets. The signs were not evident and depending on which entrance you came from, it is very easy to miss. I have never felt so disrespected and harassed in my life. HAYLEY FERGUESON treated us like we were criminals, like we had committed an unforgivable crime. She harassed us and we believe discriminated against us for being a younger multicultural crowd. We pleaded with her and asked her to let us off with a warning which would have been the fair thing to do considering we were not aware of the rule. But there was no speaking to her, she caused a huge scene and went back and brought more security with her (D Fox and B Brisson). We tried to explain the situation to the other officers but they are obviously there to back up HAYLEY FERGUESON and kept telling us that they weren’t here but we could tell they thought she handled the situation poorly. At this point our friends had returned and HAYLEY FERGUESON wrote me and my friend $150 tickets. What blows my mind is she also gave our guy friend a ticket WHEN HE WASN’T EVEN AT THE SCENE WHEN SHE CONFISCATED OUR 5% ALCOHOL. How is that fair? How can she pick and choose who she decides to give a ticket to? The man was not even at the scene. This whole harassment situation lasted about 1.5 hours and disturbed many people who were at the beach trying to enjoy their day. We even had people we didn’t know who were at the beach come by and speak to us and tell us how ridiculous this all is. We weren’t disturbing anyone, we weren’t being rowdy – we were simply there to enjoy the weather. This was ruined by HAYLEY FERGUESON who treated us like criminals and was completely unfair in her whole approach. Not to mention giving my guy friend a ticket WHEN HE WASN’T EVEN PRESENT!!

I WOULD LIKE TO BE CLEAR ABOUT SOMETHING. WHEN WE CHECKED IN, NO ONE EXPLAINED THE RULES TO US. WE WERE NEVER TOLD THAT WE COULD DRINK AT OUR CAMPSITE BUT NOT IN OTHER AREAS. WHEN WE MENTIONED THIS TO HAYLEY FERGUESON SHE SAID THAT THIS INFORMATION IS IN THEIR BROCHURE. BROCHURE? WE ARE LIVING IN 2017, NO ONE READS BROCHURES. I CHECKED THE WEBSITE AND THIS INFORMATION IS NOT AVAILABLE ANYWHERE. I LOOKED UNDER “FACILITIES” AND THIS IS NO WHERE TO BE FOUND. I LOOKED UNDER “ALERTS” WHICH WOULD BE A GOOD PLACE TO ADD THIS INFORMATION, AND THERE IS NOTHING ABOUT NOT DRINKING ALCOHOL IN AREAS OTHER THAN YOUR CAMPSITE. We were harassed and given tickets right away instead of warnings. Our guy friend who wasn’t even there at the time received a ticket. And the information was not communicated to us during check in and the information is not available on your website. It is completely unfair that me and my friends were treated this way and harassed in front of other families. Additionally, the security was trying to kick us out but we knew out rights and it is unconstitutional to force us to drive when some of us had been drinking (we didn’t all come in the same car). I believe my friends and were discriminated against for being a younger multicultural crowd. I think what HAYLEY FERGUESON did and the way she treated us and handled the situation is completely shocking and horrific. THERE HAVE BEEN SO MANY COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE WARDENS ON THIS CAMPSITE ABUSING THEIR AUTHORITY.CHECK TRIP ADVISOR. DO...

I was looking for a quiet place for a quick one night solo stay close to home. This fit the bill.

I stayed mid week and it was only semi busy. I lucked out and stayed in site 126 ( at the very end in the Algonquin section). It was super quiet and I only had one neighbour 4 sites down. Now had the other sites been occupied I would not have been so secluded and private. Many people mentioned traffic in their reviews. However I could barely hear the traffic from my site. I imagine you could from the more interior sections of the park. I imagine you could hear your site neighbors breathing from 99% of the sites. This is a very small park, I've actually never been to one so small and cramped. Once you leave the gate, BOOM, you are in the middle of the park. Most parks you drive a bit into the park. I walked the entire park, all 3 sections , in about 30 minutes. Most sites have zero privacy and I could never imagine camping like that. During my walk around each site I only noticed 2 other sites that were private. I was very lucky I chose the spot I did. I was at a dead end turnaround and no one came near my site. This is likely the less desirable section to camp for most people but not for me. Keep in mind there are no comfort stations or washrooms near this section. I was completely fine with that. I was only one night and don't mind squatting in a bush🤷‍♀️. This suited my needs for my short relaxation get a way. Would I return? Maybe but not likely. There is not much to do at the park. The trail takes 2 minutes to walk. The main beach was a little too busy for my liking with day use. However the small beach was ideal for sitting and reading a book. Much more quieter. I paddled the lake and while it was nice it was very busy and surrounded by cottages and homes. Not very nature like. The staff was overwhelming pleasant and they keep the grounds extremely groomed and cleaned.

Overall I did have a good time. I wanted quiet reflection time which I was able to achieve by the luck of a secluded site and mid week lull of campers. Your millage may very depending...

This was the worst camping experience I’ve ever had, and it has left a sour taste in my mouth in regard to camping at Silver Lake Provincial Park and at Ontario Provincial Parks in general.

My friends and I stayed at Silver Lake in August of 2020. Around 10:30 pm, we were sitting at our campsite listening to music and talking amongst ourselves celebrating our friend’s 25th birthday. The park ranger (Graham) came by to sternly tell us that we needed to be quiet or we would be given a ticket. At this point, we separated into two smaller groups and turned off the music. A little while later, I went to use the washrooms and noticed the park’s car parked outside with no sign of the park ranger. When I came back to my campsite, the park ranger (Graham) was giving us a ticket of $180 for being too loud. While I was in the washroom, Graham was walking around waiting to hear any ounce of volume increase so that he could come in to give us a ticket. We were not being that loud and had all music off. We were not a group of young teenagers, all of us are in our mid to late 20s and we also had my friend’s young daughter with us. There was no disrespect or yelling of any kind. After having received the ticket, Graham told us we could choose to leave the next day and get a refund for the second night. The next morning as we were cooking breakfast (9:30 am), the supervisor (Todd) came to our campsite and said “You guys are being evicted based on your ticket from last night. You have 1 hour to evacuate the premises and are banned from all provincial parks for 72 hours”. We felt this to be inconsiderate and shocking, as the park ranger did not tell us we were getting evicted. We had to leave with no refund for parking for both nights or a refund for the second night.

The staff at Silver Lake are very difficult to talk to and lack compassion, understanding and people skills. Both the park ranger and supervisor were inconsiderate and came in guns a-blazing instead of having a civil adult conversation about the situation. I would not recommend this...