Unloading canoes for the Fairy Lake Paddle House

Prospect Park Dock Replacement – Delayed HALTON HILLS, ON – The Town is still moving forward on the replacement of the dock on Fairy Lake at Prospect Park despite a delay with the overall project. Bids for the project received in March were in excess of the approved budget, and Conservation Authority restrictions would not allow work to be completed in the lake from April 1 to July 1. The Town has decided to retender the project and delay the construction until fall in order to ensure the best quality solution. “We are disappointed that we could not construct the dock this spring” said Mayor Rick Bonnette, “But we are committed to completing the dock replacement project in order to improve accessibility to Fairy Lake for all. Meanwhile our partnership with Holy Cow Canoe continues so as to provide canoe and kayak rentals at the park throughout the season.” The Town is currently redesigning the project to reduce costs, and investigating alternative funding sources. Improving site accessibility is key for both the replacement of the dock and ramp access to the launch area. Regular dock inspections and minor repairs will ensure that use is not impacted this season. The project will be retendered this summer with construction in the fall after the summer boating season is over. About the Town of Halton Hills The Town of Halton Hills, with a population of approximately 60,000, consists of two urban centres, Georgetown and Acton, the Halton Hills Premier Gateway employment area, three hamlets – Glen Williams, Stewarttown and Norval – and several smaller settlements. Halton Hills has long been recognized for its natural beauty, active agricultural community, high quality of life and proximity to major centres, including Brampton, Mississauga and Toronto. The Town is the 2013 recipient of the National Municipal Environmental Award from the Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators and is ranked as one of the top small communities in Canada by a national magazine. – 30 – Communications Contact: Alex Fuller, Manager of Corporate Communications 905-873-2601 ext. 2412 afuller@haltonhills.ca

2014

On change.org we have started a petition to update fairy lake with a wheelchair accessible floating dock.

Working dockside at Fairy Lake, I see on a daily basis the hurdles from a broken down dock. The general public tripping on the public dock as well, wheelchair bound people unable to reach the lake for the boundaries they have in front of them.

There are plans in the works to update the park at Fairy Lake in the near future. I would like the Town of Halton Hills to include updating the dock to introduce a Wheelchair Accessible floating dock that will allow for the many who cannot reach the waterside. Currently, the dock is falling apart with tripping hazards, bumpy uneven surfaces.

We communicate with many people in the community of  Acton who strongly agree it is time the Town focuses on removing the boundaries that prevent “enjoying the water”.

Please consider signing the petition.

UPDATE

Dec 9, 2015 — Received an email from the Town of Halton Hills. The town has agreed to replace the dock to include a wheelchair accessible dock based on community consultations. The community consultations will be likely in the Spring 2016 with the construction in the Fall of 2016.

We are the cow that jumped over the moon happy! @holycowcanoe

What’s SUP you ask??

Holy Cow Canoe is pleased to offer this new and fun outdoor activity to Fairy Lake. Thinking of something different for date night, girls night out? or something for the kids. Try stand up paddle boarding. We have safe stable SUP boards specially designed for the first time users equipped with a longboard paddle. Fairy lake is a calm and quiet lake perfect to try out your new skills. We have available to you an instructor who can help you with your paddle sport needs.

From Wikipedia; Stand up paddle surfing and stand up paddle boarding (SUP), (Hoe he’e nalu in the Hawaiian language) are sports originating in Hawaii as an off-shoot of surfing. They enable surfers to paddle farther into the ocean than is typical or to paddle standing up as a sport unto itself. A 2013 report called it the outdoor sporting activity with the most first-time participants of any in the United States that year.^[1] Paddlers race on lakes, large rivers and canals, ride breaking waves, and glide over long distances along sea coasts, often using tail winds to aid the trip.

Stand up paddlers wear a variety of wet suits and other clothing, depending on both water and air temperature since most of their time is spent standing on the board.

A related, traditional sport, paddleboarding, is done kneeling on a board and paddling with the hands, similar to a butterfly swimming stroke. The term “paddleboarding” is sometimes incorrectly used to refer to stand up paddle surfing.

Historian and writer Steve West, notes that the contemporary notion of stand up paddle boarding, if attributed to the Waikiki Beach Boys of Oahu during the 1960s, considers that outrigger canoeing should in fact be recognised as the direct link between the idea of standing on a board and propelling it with a canoe paddle, seeing as these two primary skills (board riding and paddling) were merely being combined, by people who had traditionally grown up around both skills as part of their cultural right of passage.

Canoe Kayaks and SUP boards are available to rent at the Fairy Lake Outpost in Acton – Please visit our rental page for more information. 

Instructional help is available, drop in classes, as well as a class on Fridays at 1pm. Join us at the boathouse.

New Stand Up Paddle Boards are available