A popular day-use beach between Mallorytown and Brockville, Ont. opened for the summer this weekend, after a revitalisation project had kept the beach closed for two years.
Brown’s Bay Beach, owned by the St. Lawrence Parks Commission, is located just off the Thousand Islands Parkway, with Brown’s Bay feeding into the St. Lawrence River.
The $5 million renovations began in 2022 to restore a portion of the seawall with a design to prevent erosion on the shoreline.
“The new infrastructure makes Brown’s Bay Park more welcoming and easier to enjoy for everyone, while improving the look and function of the facilities and bringing them up to today’s standards,” the St. Lawrence Parks Commission said in a news release on Friday.
One the main features of the renovations is the new bayfront pavilion, which includes gender neutral washrooms and change rooms, as well as multiple wheelchair accessible washrooms. There are also outdoor showers, water fountains and a new canteen with a waterfront patio.
On Saturday, visitors at Brown’s Bay Beach remembered how the facilities used to hold up.
“It’s great to bring the kids now,” said Sonia Zito, a Mallorytown resident. “I know before, the bathrooms, you’d only go if it was critical business. Now it draws you in.”
“It was very old and rundown,” said Cynthia Dorion, a Brockville resident. “Now it’s beautiful, the washrooms are beautiful and the people are beautiful.”
The St. Lawrence Parks Commission credits the Capital Repair and Rehabilitation program for the significant investment, stating the investment will “encourage and reinvigorate tourism in Eastern Ontario.”
To celebrate the reopening, the parks authority has waived all day-use fees over the weekend.