Reviews of Belwood Lake Conservation Area (Zoo)

Trapstar Meec

Close to home for me and the guys. Fishing been slow for us here this year (2022 Ice fishing) but have done well in the past. We've fish here in the summer and have also done well.

Michelle Bellinger

Beautiful scenery, lots of activities for the family. Fishing, swimming, boat rentals. Great price and great staff. Some patrons on the other hand not so appreciative of the sanctity of this place and found garbage and human excrement in the park.

Gino Cavicchioli

Lake Belwood is a reservoir in East Garafraxa, Dufferin County and Centre Wellington, Wellington County, Ontario, Canada. It is on the Grand River, whose waters were impounded in 1942 by the erection of the Shand Dam for flood control and the generation of hydroelectricity. The community of Belwood is on the north shore of the lake, and only the easternmost portion of the lake is in Dufferin County. Belwood Lake Conservation Area, operated by the Grand River Conservation Authority, surrounds almost the whole lake

Dilvan Karunaratne

Absolutely beautiful place. Very nice place to rest while you are on the bike trail. We spent some time around this area resting after a long ride on the Elora trail.

Owen Mathias

This is definitely an OK conservation area. Given how few there are nearby with swimming areas /beaches. Washroom facilities are run down and poorly maintained (mainly a visitor problem - not sure if they are staffed for the crowds). …

Priscilla Nauta

We have a membership with the GRCA, the Belwood quarry is a quaint and beautiful place for a swim on your own or with a family with children of all ages. Our 2 year old loves splashing around in the fenced shallow area, our 7 year old enjoys both the shallow and deep areas and I love that I can enjoy all of it with my kids or on my own. It's also fantastic that there is the Elora Cataract Trail that runs from Fergus to the the Belwood Conservation Area. It makes for a fun family day trip.

Wild Chesnut

Beautiful trails and amazing view of the lake. The only con is lots of people

eric klepsch

Nice lake and boat launch facilities. Annual park pass and boat launch pass is best if you plan to go more than a half dozen times per year. Very busy weekends!

dallika dehury

Beautiful and serene place

Peggy Warring

Beautiful walk in the cool fall days. Lovely small town nearby for great food. Enjoy Ontario's finest gems.

Tina Leung

Park was beautiful and easy to find parking. We paid $6.50 per person for admission. Keep the receipt with you can reuse it on the same day at Rockwood Conservation park. (I'm not sure if it works with Elora Gorge and Elora Quarry). The grass around the washrooms had alot of geese droppings. We went here for a hike and the trail was awful - it was poorly maintained and there were too many mosquitos. I would not come back for the trail. We saw alot of people fishing, maybe we'll try that next time.

Arnab Das

We went late afternoon and spent 3 hrs. Lovely lake, you can do bar-b-queue, you can do water sport.

A. N. K. Zaman

Great location, clean and quiet! Beach is not that large but a lots of green!

Amandeep Kahlon

Wonderful place for fishing, hiking and trekking is no that bad but if you are going for beach view than do not waste your time. Beach area is very limited.

James Paton

A great place to go to unwind, fish, walk or go out on your jetski or canoe or small boat

Mohsin Mohamed

Beautiful place to go for hiking. Preferably in bicycle as it’s long. Really serene surroundings and landscape. Was able to see some fall colours during this time. Very close to Elora Gorge.

Josh “TheKnightWhoSaysNI” Capogna

Cute little beach that is perfect for a day trip. A little crowded because of it's size but the place clears out quite a bit after 5pm. Good place for an evening picnic and swim :)

Asfand Nasar

Did bbq with charcoal , it has specific disposal pits for charcoal. There is a Beach area , Water is not the cleanest. But nice place to boat around or go for one or two dips. Scenery is really beautiful. Lake through trees look amazing ????.

marco baroch

Awesome place to explore via kayak which can be rented on site.

Jodi-Ann Cook

Rating based on experience: I drive by this park at least twice a month and curiosity got the best of us one Sunday afternoon/evening. We looked up the hours of operation (seasonal hours for launching boats etc) and it appeared that only the trails were open. On arrival, we told the lady in the kiosk that we were only there to check it out for launching our boat for future visits and they still made us pay $15 (entry for two people) for the visit which seemed a bit drastic since nothing was operating yet. We decided to stay for a quick walk on the trail to get the most of our money for that eve. There are a few beautiful trails at this conservation area and the history plaques behind the damn were interesting to read. We found the trails to be poorly marked (which ones were loops and which ones were just straight trails out of the park).

Steph B

We entered the park coming through the bike trail, we were able to use the bathrooms which are pretty clean for a camp style outhouse. Hand sanitizer containers were empty so bring your own, the dam itself is amazing to see there is even a flight of stairs leading down to the bottom there is 115 of them in total so it's a good workout. Lots of places to eat lunch with picnic table and you can take a break here on the way through .

Alex Stojkovic

Nice place. If you’re here to fishing, go elsewhere. Not a single bite fishing from the shore. Boo!

Matt Gerhard

Review is for boat launch area only. I typically use only the park services around the boat launch. Launch is wide and gradual. It has a concrete pad that is easy to pull out from. 2 vehicles can launch or retrieve on the pad at a time. If you have a lighter boat or a strong tow vehicle you can launch beside the official launch ramp. Many people launch out of the parking lot direct into the lake as the grade allows for it very well. Typically if the ramp is busy I will launch off the pad. But will always retrieve on the pad. The lake is probably the best and largest small in-land lake in the region. Using the boat launch is an extra $10 above and beyond admission to the park which reflect the demand for it. The only thing I have found I dislike about the park is there is only 1 booth for taking park admissions and I have seen it run extremely slow. Sometimes taking as long as 10 minutes at the gate to get in when there are only 1 or 2 cars ahead of you which is fruatrating. The staff are great about answering questions that visitors may have at the booth but the setup is not ideal for patrons not wanting to have to wait on others that want to have long conversations with the only gate keeper.

ilmusic sm

Fascinating view and there are stairs that lead down to a riverbed. Nice picnic area and it makes an awesome location for watching sunset. Only thing to watch out for are the bugs.

Alex Haack

This is a great place for a bike ride or a walk with the kids and/or dogs. The dam is in Belwood lake conversation area. This is a GRCA park. You can launch your boat in the lake or enjoy a picnic by the watch or fish in the upper or lower parts of the dam.

Mrs. Gagnon

It would earn 5 stars if motorboats and other gas guzzling vehicles were not allowed. Hard to canoe and enjoy the beautiful view and birdlife when the waves created by motorboats and jets make preventing the canoe tipping the priority.????

Sukarnos YYZ

Great big park for large picnicking bbqing, lake is good, yes BBQ were allowed here despite pandemic, can expect great crowd in here. Moderate perfect windy park, amazing place to have an amazing family picnic followed up with great nap and or relaxed????so called beach is somewhat small but good for very small kids.

Naim Imtiaz

Beautiful area. I went there during the month of February when it was covered with snow. Will plan a trip again sometime during summer.

Michel Brown

Lovely small beach with a great fenced off area for young swimmers and mature shade trees for the shade loving. The washrooms were clean with non-potable water to wash your hands.

David Hetzel

Walking trails are very nice and you can walk where the dam is at the river it's a beautiful place.

Mister Pink

Beautiful place. Great for boating but perhaps not the best for fishing as alot of others fish there too.

Rick Adams

Well worth the visit. Check out downtown Belwood then take the 10 minute drive to see the dam.

Kazim Akheel

Wow what a beauty! There's something for everyone and then some. After spending a full day with the family still had so much left to explore. Since we didn't have a boat or a jet ski, the right turn after the entrance, which led to the boat launch area didn't mean too much to us. The left is where the heart is. Literally... I've left mine after taking a left turn past the entrance. Once there you can park at the first location that takes you to the dam, and daymmmm! ...What a beauty! Honestly I'm at a loss of words... I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. Stroll your heart out here and then if you're feeling adventurous climb down the stairs that lead you to the bottom of the dam. Mind you the climb back up is onerous, to say the least. Not for the faint hearted or fickle thighed. Especially something to be considerate about if you're carrying little kids. If you come in through the paid entrance side, which is what/where I'm describing, you're gonna hit the dam on the side where people like to fish. I was told there's a lot more trails at the bottom of the dam on the other side (close to the entrance from second line/road), for those inclined towards such things (and still have the physical capacity remaining after everything else). But we didn't park at the first location described above, just as you're approaching there, there's a inconspicuous looking offbeat track that goes left, take it and get to the end of that sneaky thing, taking a right at the fork that otherwise goes towards a barn. That friends, is where we set up shop. A silent hidden gem of a spot. Didn't expect to find the spring fed quarry that was almost like a private beach, with surprisingly few people about. Imagine a moss greenish turquoise cul de sac for the discerning parker (i.e. someone who doesn't park their car at the first available spot). We had the mother of all picnics there. Kids had a while bunch of fun. Are and explored to our hearts content. Later, we were left contemplating getting back to the park again the next day since despite the body reaching it's limit, the eyes and the heart craved to see everything again... However once we reached home late night (in GTA) and hit the sack, we slept blissfully through the entire next day. Belwood you beauty, we shall meet again!

marija milic

Great area to spend the day!

Stacy Cooper

If you have a boat, then it's probably great. The beach is meant for little ones, don't get excited to go there with teenagers. We made the best of it though!

Evan Dickson

Beautiful place to boat/fish. All the staff we spoke to were nice and the woman at the gate helped us a lot and explained very clearly how the boat launch worked and how to get there. I can’t hold it against it the park because it’s really the OPP and MNR’s responsibility, but the other boaters in the lake are irresponsible and seemingly oblivious to others around them. Not the other fishing boats, more of the “weekend warrior” types with the jet skis and large fibreglass boats towing tubes, waterskiing, etc. Mostly getting on plane while still in the “no wake zone” and passing very closely creating hazardous situations for others. The entrance to the launch is also a mess because no one can read signs or wait their turn. Disappointing to see this behaviour from people and if you’re nervous about launching your boat, don’t even consider coming here on the weekend.

Patrick O'Donovan

Cool dam, no lava though

Karan Wadhwa

Best place to go for fishing boating swimming and Viking we can book cottage over here prizes not much expensive best place for barbeques

Bill McBay

This is a gem hidden so close to KW! The lake is larger than you would think. Lots of cottages and boats. Great for day visits and longer stays as well. I will be back for sure.

Mubashir Ahmad

Good place for boating and fishing

Mathew Héon

The Cataract Rail Trail cuts right through!

Minerva Sanchez

A beautiful spot for biking on the rail trail, having a picnic or setting up at the beach. There are plenty picnic tables and shady spots. The water definitely helps cool you off.

Donovan May

Great place to spend The day! Fishing, or just relaxing in the sun, the cataract trail runs right through there, and it’s a great trail to ride or walk. Highly recommended

Vipin Bhatia

This place is really nice. Though it was busy yet pretty well managed with clean washrooms.

Josh P

It's the closest lake to me that allows has power boats and for fishing it has some great walleye. The park is well maintained, I love all of the garbage bins which makes disposing of waste very easy and the boat ramp is all concrete and well maintained. The only reasons for missing the last star is that everyone else knows that this is a great place and the boat ramps get very crowded on nice days. Furthermore, with this being a man made reservoir, the water levels get lowered in the fall which makes boating difficult and fishing very challenging.

Maryam Raeisi

That is the best view of heaven that someone can see it. It has another beneficial part; the picnic part is so close to your parking car even you can pull over your car near wherever you sit.

pathik patel

So beautiful place , much better and clean than famous beaches around the area . Trail for walking and cycling . Fishing is allowed as well. Marvelous view at dam. Boating is one of the best option at place .

Yadvinder Gill

Great spot to hike and fishing. Plenty of parking available and not too busy on weekdays. Not of lot of fish here but you might get lucky.

Nickolas Taki

Beautiful conservation area. Some decent fishing spots here. Parking can get a little messy, especially during long weekends. Overall well worth the drive out!

Nicole Fisher

Great place for a picnic. Big area that could accommodate a large group picnic. Washroom facilities clean and nearby. We walked part of the Elora-Cataract Trail out and back. The in-park trails seemed poorly marked and disorganized which seemed like a recipe for getting lost in the woods.

Debbie Neale

A fabulous well groomed rail trail with stunning views !

AdnansArk

Great place. There's a fee to get in. We couldn't catch fish but there PLENTY out there in the lake. Cant beat the scenic views from the water.

Alyssa Mohamed

Very nice and clean park. Nice for a picnic, water activities and walks or exercise. Nice family park and well taken care of.

Shweta Goel

Love this place, wide lake in the middle of the conservation area, lots of people on speed boats, kayaks and paddle boards. BBQs on site and very nice walking trails. Fall is beautiful here.

David Tay

Great stop for lunch when biking the Elora cataract trailway. Lake has a lot of motorized watercraft however.

Travel Talk

Belwood lake conservation area are a hidden gem and not too far from the Toronto. It's an hour and half drive from Toronto. You can plan also plan to visit the Rockwood area same day as if you purchase one ticket it covers the other park as well. The dam in the grand river creates this nice lake and its a big area to relax with the family. Great place to have a small group hangout with BBQ and some fishing experiment. We visited the place mid of June. The blue water of the Grand river is really mesmerizing and if you have any boat/canoe/inflatable boat, I highly recommend to take it. A stairway along the face of the dam allows visitors to walk down to its base. The flow from the dam is used to generate hydroelectricity. The 12 km-long lake (7.5 miles) offers excellent boating, fishing and water-skiing, while a small spring-fed quarry offers an ideal spot for people to cool off on hot summer days. Address: 8282 Wellington County Rd 18, Fergus, Ontario Attraction: Best place to have a family BBQ, Fishing, Boating, Hiking, biking, a very Small beach Park fee: We paid around 25$ for a family of four

Devyani P

Ontario gem. Beautiful, clean place. You don’t need Hawaii, this is Hawaii in Ontario during summer season. Only missing is salty ocean water and big waves.

Sam Pineapple

This site has Kayak rentals which is really cool lol. Costs we paid were around $57ish for 2 hours and $15ish for reserving it, was a long weekend. Another cool fact about this site is there is a small beach inside the forest, lots of visitors in there. And believe on the way to the beach we saw so many free BBQ sites as well as around the beach. It’s defitenly an ideal place to come enjoy BBQ and swimming.

Leslie Molina

Nice park to spend a day with the family. The swimming area is very limited and dangerous for kids as it has a vertical drop. The park is awesome for hiking, biking, boating, etc. Sometimes there is a food truck in the main parking lot area where the boats are unloaded.

Saad Salman

Was skeptical at first coz the water looks green and thought there’s probably plants growing underneath. But it was actually really clean and pure. I love how secluded it is, really great place for a summer day!

Adam Duncan

Do you have a bike? Get it here! This place boasts a great lake for water sports and a decent Valley view from the top of the dam, but the bike trail is really amazing and what seems to attract the most visitors. It's also just a nice place to stop for a picnic!

Sharlotte Miranda

Great place for a picnic, walk or riding a bike. The park is clean and I always have an enjoyable day at the conservation area

mg dear

Can gave a Nice day, clean area, but not the clean washrooms. Generally recommend it ????

M Failaka

Great place to spend time with family. Beautiful scenery and the place is also clean.

prasad naik

It's funny how I never discovered this place, hardly a 30 mins drive from Kitchener but worth every minute u spend here

Lettersoon

$15 for a couple; good place to launch a boat and sail at the Bellwood Lake; not much a trail but it has aces to the Bellwood trail used to be the railway.

Drew Boughton

Great lake for fishing if you can avoid the crowds. Boat ramp can be a zoo and some people just don't understand boating etticit but that can any where.

Andrew Dos Santos

Really nice place, being on top of the dam has a great view

Yijie Shen

The area above the dam is really nice, big lake with kayaks. But the river was suppose to have fishing spots but when we went, didn't manage to catch or see any fish

ZIGZAG WarChicken

Great place to do some boating the kids loved it Gets a little busy on the weekends. 4 out of 5 cause the water level is down. Use caution

Don Richardson

Really good trail - Elora Cataract Trail for walking, biking, skiing, and snowmobiling. Belwood Country Store and "Super Snaks" restaurant in the village - both are great. Lots of kids jumping from bridge to the Lake in summer

Han Nguyen

Beautiful place for family & friends gatherings

T K

Really cool to see the large dam! Great place to bring the dogs or kids. We went when it was very cold and windy but the views offer some great photo opportunities and in the fall to winter season you can really see how low they drain the lake! A nice relaxing place to go and get away from work or people. I definitely recommend this along with Guelph Lake and Rockwood Conwrsvation Area. Plus there are a few cute little towns nearby.

Zara H

It had beautiful views and a trail to walk. People were launching their boats and canoes.

Will Davis

Excellent spot especially coming in from Kitchener. Nice and close and feels like you're in Muskoka.

Dustin Desjarlais

Fun lake to tube or fish and very friendly staff

Crystal Coulter

We go here often, especially in the summer! Love the little park for my wee man, fishing off the bridge in belwood. Lots of space to launch the boat. We are definitely visiting the beach this summer too.

Rod Rychliski

Nice in and out bike from the conservation parking lot to the dam..around 20 k return

Fahnan Faruqi

Great place to go, lots of room to park, lots to do and see.......... bring your walking shoes and things to do for kids as you will need all of them

Tolga Ekmen

Small area access to the lake. Not enough places to fish from. Not the best place if looking for peace and quiet.

Dee S

Excellent place to visit with your family for the day at a fair price. Lots of space for large families or smaller areas for 1 person to relax under the trees, bbq, swim at a tiny beach with playground next to it, see the dam and dog friendly. The gate lady explained things very well in detail and ended up staying for the day. This place can accommodate every size family for the day or longer but good to come early to reserve the best spots, there was one site with a sandy beach access, could be more of them but saw one and wouldn’t mind getting that spot next time. Some areas on and off the site have taps for drinking/running water, plenty of male/female bathrooms around. Well maintained, feels safe with employees driving around regularly. Spacious motor boat launches and ample parking for the boat trailer with space to turn around comfortably when launching boat or parking boat trailer. City is minutes away for banking shopping liquor dollar store Canadian Tire restaurants gas etc Tip: bring charcoal and bbq supplies, stuff for beach and fishing pole to fish near the dam or boat launch.

Stacey-Lee Wright

Belwood Lake is pleasant and not as overcrowded as the other Grand River parks. The park and the picnic area is well maintained and has a good amount of shade available. Unfortunately noisy boats and jetski's make it quite bad for kayaking.

Gayan Amaradasa

Pefect place to have a dayout with your family. There is a small beach area with a pond. The places will be full quickly, especially beach area. So I recommond come at the opening time to catch a nice place. Don't be late. If you come late please check the grand river parks website to check the availability of the park. They will close the entrance once places are full. You can do bbq. If you like you can bring your own bbq machine. Also, at some locations, there are grills. But you need to bring charcoal. Washrooms are not bad. Seems they do regular cleaning.

Jennifer Lamoureux

Nice spot to visit! Great views of the river

Mary Vander Munnik

Beautiful! Hiking, biking, boating, fishing. Open facilities, plenty of space. Well done.

Sasha P. Stefanov

Awesome place to take in the grand river, snap a couple photos and if you're biking - using the Elora trail to get in some good cardio and even more sights to see.

Richard Fernandez

Is a nice place to visit if you have never been here, is not a good place to swim but you can do it water is dirty

Donald Putnam

It is beautiful in the fall. In fact, it is charming in all seasons.

Lyndsay Hill-Warrington

We love the lake and are here often. Girls at the admitting desk are great, but a new process should be put in place for getting the weekend line-ups through quicker.

Andrew Phoenix

Bellwood Lake is as beautiful conservation area. The beach is great in the summer for swimming, and we is great for walking and exploring with kids as a sort of "intro to hiking" when it's not warm. The colours in the autumn were amazing.

Jean-claude Lapointe

This is a great area for a day trip or cycling on one of the many trails. The Grand River Conversation area is a wonderful place to take the family for a picnic or a day of fishing The Grand River itself is a great place to go fly fishing.

Mona Bhadauria

A beautiful place for a family’s day out. Surrounded by plush trees and a dam, nurturing the aquatic life on its banks, Bellwood park is a must visit with friends and family. A maintained trail to amuse your adventurous self, Benches to help you enjoy a family barbecue and enough parking space. Ample room to cycle with your kids or play with pets. The dam even has stairs that lead up to the common fishing points. What’s more is the long well spaced stretch of trail to keep you treading amidst nature. The park has a nominal entry fee and It’s important to obtain a permit if you’re horseback riding or using the park to load and unload boats. Enjoy! ~GoExplore

Leslie Melcher

Great park. Waterfalls, forests, lake, trails and fields. It has everything for everyone who enjoys nature.

Eva Cherney

Great little swimming hole with warm water. We came on a weekday and it wasn't too busy, everyone was keeping their distance. There's a bunch of picnic tables and room for people to spread out. The swimming area is not huge, but it's great for a refreshing dip, there's a shallow section for young kids and a deeper section as well. The change rooms were closed, but there was open washrooms that were clean. Check out the view from the dam before you leave!

Jerry Tot

Wonderful Rail Trail from park (Shand Dam) to Belwood. Belwood Snax Restaurant is everyones favourite destination.... including the locals!

Jack Ninaber

A great place to visit!

Katia Barretto

It was okay, nothing special. I visited from Toronto so I was probably expecting more. The lakes were murky and the sand in some of the lakes were rocky so taking a dip even just your feet would hurt. I've been to better parks and lakes around the GTA. The dam wasn't special either. It's good for a casual barbecue day or if you live just around the area.

Jesse Hannah

Great place to swim an fish all in the same day couple hours of each an what a great day.

Daniel Clifton Schawill

Great place for a break.

Qandeel Hasan

Nice picnic spot. Not too great for beach play or fishing.

Gurpreet Grewal

Clean, great place to come if you know how to respect the park. People always friendly. Staff friendly. Water is great for leisurely boating.

Shelley

Belwood was overflowing with people swimming in a small area, although the larger lake area is probably alright for swimming as well. The trails are awesome, many leading to the water and there are fantastic spots for fishing, complete with picnic tables and some areas have pits and grills for picnicking. There were an overabundance of boaters in the lake and much boat congestion in the parking area. Below the dam, many people hiking, swimming and fishing. Awesome place for a family BBQ and day in the sun!!????

Topher Ellis

Belwood Lake Conservation Area is a bit of a hidden gem not too far from Toronto. $7.50 for an adult day pass, with lots of parking. but you can enjoy the lake, the scenery, trails, camping, picnics, and fishing. we went early and there were lot of people enjoying the outdoors. The dam is pretty interesting as there are some great views from the dam and locations for good photos. People are hiking, biking walking the steps of the dam, fishing and really enjoying themselves. Found all the people to be very friendly here as well. You can apparently launch your own boat and enjoy the lake. we saw kayaks, small and big boats, some guys were on pontoons fishing. Very large area and plan to spend a whole day here. The only draw back for me was that with covid restrictions everywhere, the area was very busy with people.

Puran Singh

Nice lake go and hang out, fish or take the boat out. They have benches for picnics. There is also a dam like waterfall..where you can get some nice pictures.

Brian Clark

Was nice boat launch real friendly staff fishing was great except for the last time but that's fishing if u like pike fishing best place in the area good bass fishing too and walleye alot nicer when the water is higher in the boat

M Haynes

Girls had a blast went for a bridge jump and a quick swim!

Michael Schmidt (mjsoctober)

Great, small, beautiful conservation area. Some camp and picnic sites. There is s small "lake" at the far end of the campground with a beach and a playground for kids. Due to COVID (as of Oct 2020) the changerooms and most bathrooms are closed. There is a bathroom open near the boat launch on the other side of the dam on the larger lake. The Dam is awesome to see. There is fishing here as well.

Matthew Abbott

Great place to enjoy nature. Good spot for families

Behrad Azadi

You can enjoy the great trails beside Belwood lake for biking specially in the amazing colorful fall.

Sheida M

The park has barbeques near some of the seats. The river and dam view are great. I will definitely go back with a bike next time and explore the trail!

Mona Baechler

Belwood is a nice nature experience for the kids and grownups. We took the bikes to ride around and had a nice dipp in the lake. It's not always easy to find parking towards the back of the park, get there early. Look out for little wildlife like bunnies!

Matt Colacci

Great place to fish and for a family walk. Beach area is absolutely terrible..

Sonny's World

Nice hiking conservation area

Sam Li

Nice spot to come for biking. The trails are nice and easy to ride on. Just don't bring a road bike with skinny tires if you plan on the gravel trail. CX or gravel bike is ideal.

Hesham Farhadi

A nice conservation area. I don't recommend the beach, it's very dirty. Not that many kayak or canoe available for renting. They only have 2 kayaks. I would recommend visiting here if you have your own boat. Other than that it's just a regular park you can visit a lot better places.

Dale Avery

Just passed through on the rail trail to Elora, but it looked like a nice spot

Jeff Murray

Nice visit to the fishing hole and beach. Bothe nice spots.

Corissa George

A group of 4 of us went on a rainy Sunday. We had 2 kayaks, we were going to rent 2 as well. We got there, the website said it had rentals for boats & yaks, but they only had 1 to rent. Normally they have 2 to rent they said but 1 was broken. We rented it anyway as we drove 1.5hours to explore. It was windy & rainy but very fun. HUGE lake so we only took in a small chunk of the area. It was well maintained & kept from what we saw.

FFTW Development

We always wanted to visit Belwood and finally got the chance. They have some great viewpoints and from the dam you can walk down all the way and there's a path that you can walk - when we went it was a bit too muddy so come prepared with the right footwear. If you continue forward while walking on the top of the dam there's some really nice paths that you can go on. Be aware that for some you need a permit to use so make sure you handle that upon enterance.

Dave McKenzie

Great place to go & relax for the day. Swimming, fishing, picnicking, boating.

Mahfouz Al-Sheikh

It's a beautiful conservation area with lots of options for activities.

Mike D

Amazing. Great fishing. Eddie the security guard is awesome. Nice day spot, nice hikes, and great fishing ????

Margrit Evans

Beautiful So relaxing. I will be going there more often.

Livy K

Great Lakeview here

Cherie Rauwerda

Well kept park ! Water is boat busy rough on smaller craft !

Kevin Owen

Great pace to go. You can do a picnic, boating and fishing.

Andrea Dlugosz

Beach itself is gravelly and rocky. But the water was lovely, and the was lots of social distancing space. Friendly staff. Didn't get to try trails, but walked the dam area and it was beautiful. Ample, good parking.

Ted Conroy

The lake and factitlies are well worth the price...my problem and low rating was the boat launch...it was pure craziness on the weekends...people lined up to wait there turn and others just passing and backing in whenever and wherever..im surprised the cops haven't been called for a fight cause it will happen soon..I will never use there launch on a weekend again until it is controlled better

Adam Wonder

Unless your in a speed boat lake is useless no beach just some sharp rocks definitely not a weekend spot maybe during the week ?

Sholan Narine

Great for fishing and boating. I wouldn't recommend for hanging out otherwise. There are nicer areas close by

Krishnendu Mondal

View of the lake is beautiful

Gloria Molto

I love this lake and the conservation area. I go out in my kayak. A good time is just after dinner because most of the water skiiers are done for the day. Not 5 star only because it would be nice if the jet skiis would respect the no wake zone.

Shannon Powless

A great day out on the lake with our new boat. Everyone was super friendly and helpful to us newbies..... the area was clean and the water was warm. The food truck had a great day and was sold out of food around 430 but had lots of cold drinks.... and that's what we were looking for. Great place to take your family.... will definitely be back again.

Priscilla Christie

I love this place! Great for fishing, boating, swimming and hiking. Great spots for BBQs too. The beach is a good size and has a side for toddlers and a little playground. I always end up meeting very nice people too. Only downside are the washrooms. I recommend you ask the staff to point you to the washroom before you pass the gate. Just to know where it is so you're not in a rush to find it when you need it ????.

Al Dodd

Great fishing and a very nice launch area. We spend lots of time there.

De Silva

Great place for picnic and boating. Nice place to bring little one.

Wendy Peart

Smaller beach area. Kids had fun jumping off the rocks into the water. Dam is an interesting feature.

Carlton Tanya

Great place with a trout pond that is especially for kids (13 and under). The park staff add trout in for a better fishing experience for the kiddos. Lovely areas with charcoal bbq pits.

Nasir Hussain

Great park, washrooms could get a revamp

Steven Sieminowski

Great place to spend the day Swimming Boating, Fishing,Picnicking Hiking and Biking

Robert “A2F” Baquial

Awesome place! Lots of shore spots for fishing. Be prepared for lots of walking... lots to explore.

Flipstar X

Nice big lake to explore. Can fish in the reservoir or the river below the dam. Great place to visit on weekdays when it's not crowded.

Raunak T.

A hidden gem. You don't get this place mentioned in travel blogs, suggestions, etc. which is very surprising. This is a beautiful lake with a nice park and a natural trail around it. You don't see too many people around. The trail is big and I would suggest taking bicycles if you want to complete the entire trail. Also, for the lake, people get their own boats, kayaks, jet skis as nothing is available there. Finally, there would be a small fee at the entry. You can still visit because the fall colors are yet to blossom.

Ryan B

Payed for the yearly membership this year as well as boat launch permit. Over $230 after taxes. Brought my son up this evening to fish and park was closed for capacity. I thought great because I payed good money for membership but was refused access even as truck and boat trailers were rolling out constantly. I will not be renewing my membership. I like to support them but for that kind of money I can pay per launch when I go and have a few dollars for gas.

Tamara Anderson

Belwood has a very big Lake for boating.. it's a little too rocky for lounging on the beaches around the big Lake. If you rent a kayak from them it's nice to explore the area. Their beach part is extremely small. Perfect for children because you can spot them in the water easily but I would describe it as more of a watering hole.

Leegi Bu

Great multi activity spot just around an hour out of GTA. $7.50 per adult & $2.99 for kids 4 and above. Left to the entrance is a small parking which takes you to a quick walk to the dam. If you take the narrow road to the left of this parking, it will lead to a small still water beach/quarry which is nicely separated into a shallow water kids side & deeper water adult side. There is also a small playground here which was closed off. To the right of the entrance is the boating area & access to a large picnic area. There is also a large washroom here. The good thing is there are plenty of secluded spots with benches throughout the area where you can just park on the side & setup bbq & picnic tables. Another great thing is the availability of many taps with running water so you can easily wash utensils & freshen up. Overall, a nice place to add to the list of places to visit in summer.

Rachel Hobden

Very nice lake. It is a shame that they start draining the lake so early. We were nervous to take our boat out after we had a better look at the lake. I have heard from many locals that say they have been doing this for a few years now. When your lake is drained 50% in july people should start asking questions?!

nafraz ali

Very nice place to picnic and go boating. It has nice docks and boat launch, lots of parking and decent fishing.

G G

Great place to bring the kids. Well managed facility that cares about our resources and providing an escape away from the city.

D Ding

Good for fishing and bbq.

Tobias Cavan

Nice little place to enjoy some watersports, but there are a ton of boats on this lake all the time so it can get pretty polluted.

Zbigniew Matuszewski

Great place to fish, brandy tastes better when it's cold ????????????

The Reever

Went ice fishing here, didn't catch a thing. Nice area for nature, not so much for fishing.

jen kott

Playground is under construction. Nice spot to spend the day. Must keep an eye on kids in the water, as gets very deep

Samantha McLeod

Beautiful scenery, have to pay to get in, not as many trails as I thought

Lindsay Roberts

It's a nice place... People who don't really know how to launch their boats can mess up the process for everyone and tensions are high. I've seen a lot of arguments at the launch lol. I wish that water quality reports would be posted at the entrance though.

Gary Sodhi

It's one of my favorite fishing spots within hour and a half drive from Toronto. You can either fish in the lake from a boat or from the shore or you could climb down the dam to fish in the river. It's also got a campground and some nice hiking trails as well.

Tony Demenyi

Our family has been going to Belwood Lake for the last 30 years. I would say possibly the cleanest park I have ever visited. There is a fee to pay at the gate but very fair. There is always someone available at the park as well. Belwood is a great place to take your family. Wonderful fishing and family moments are just down the HWY.

Tomasz Mroz

Beautiful place, but fishing sucks, went there for a tournament this may, I didn't catch nothing, there must been 30 boats, 27 inch pike won, that tells you, but the tournament it self, was organized amazing,

Sheila Scott

The lake is great for motor boats and you can stay to the river for canoeing or kayaking

Dan F

Pretty good location for picnic, fishing and relaxing day.

Dave Lewars

Actually a nice area but the sport boaters started circling our boat while we were fishing - along with a seadoo jumping the boats waves - we ended up just rocking continuously and that ended the fishing - those boat operators were extremely inconsiderate!!! Never going back there.

ll Dhaliwal ll

Beautiful place with a well maintained park and day camping spots. Unfortunately beach capacity was full, so we just went to the other side of park. Nice little spot

Trevor M

Great park, lot to do an very reasonable gate fees.

melisa

Amazing park great for picnics, bbq, bike rides, hikes! Very nice and clean. Also nice small beach areas if you’re going with kids. Nice open areas for pets to play. Both lake and river fishing though no luck when we went. Pay to enter at gate $7.50 and gates close 8:30 in the evening. Overall go place to get away from the city.

Michael Kirby

Ramp needs to be monitored by park staff for in/out and could use bigger signage so everyone knows. Be careful with kids as there's a lot going on at boat launch area.

ront K

Fantastic Place for day picnic, family outing in summer time.

Lucas Phimister

Beautiful place. Will be visiting again for sure.

Gordon Hovey

It is an amazing place. A great place to walk or bicycle. Very relaxing

Dianne Dell'Angelo

They directed us to a beach when the tubing at Elora Gorge was sold out and this was not really what I was expecting. The lake (if it even is considered a lake) is tiny and you can see the whole thing. The water is not very clean. It gets deep really fast. There are a few rocks to jump in from which is really all this "beach" has going for it

callum loretto

Drive an hour to this fergus and was suggested this place by a local. Paid 30$ to get 4 people in and it was a tiny paddling area full of old people and children. Would not recommend for teenagers or anyone older! Literally trash, would recommend to trailer trash!

Sy H

Nice scenic. Beach at guelph lake and Rockwood is better than the beach area here. Dam area is scenic.

Megan Brown

Love coming here. Priced a bit high for the boat launch and entry fee. Fishing isn't the greatest unless you go early morning or late at night. Lots of Sea Doos in the lake during the day.

Preet Ismratta

Great clean place for the family and kids. It has small beach for the toddlers and adults. Walk around the Shand Dam was spectacular and great for kids education. Lots of picnic tables and big trees????

Lindita K

The beach area is not really a beach so much as some sand and a hole filled with water. Worth the drive to go somewhere a bit further and cleaner, especially with little ones.

Don Reid

Excellent shore fishing. Beautiful park!

Annette Price

We just biked through the park. The dam and view were beautiful.

Ron Dickinson

Great for water sports not to much for fishing. I bought the season pass for GRC PARKS but still had to pay for boat launch on top of that , DEFINATELY not a good value

Suneet Jain

Amazing park to spend full day picnic with friends and family. Small cute beach pretty safe for kids.

Justin Clarke

Great place for a day at the beach. Kids loved to see the dam and it wasn't too crowded. Highly recommended.

Debbie Taylor

Nice place to enjoy the outdoors sit in the shade for a picnic. Lovely monarch butterflies too! Friendly staff very helpful.

Andy Chan

Beautiful place for picnic,boating and fishing and hiking

Manish Sharma

Beautiful conservation area, it host a dam too. Lot number f parking space for the car. Parking is included in the ticket price (7 CAD/person). People can ride their motor boats in the lake/dam. Two small but beautiful gardens are located in this conservation area. Gardens are provided with benches.