Point Pelee National Park sets new visitor record during Canada Day weekend

A record-smashing number of visitors went through Point Pelee National Park on the Canada Day long weekend.

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Historically, the July long weekend has always been well attended, but this past weekend was particularly note-worthy. 

"It's the busiest long weekend we've ever had," said park superintendent Maria Papoulias. 

More than 16,000 people visited the park between July 1 and 3. Sunday saw the most people pass through the park gates.

"We were expecting it to be busier than usual [because of the free Canada 150 parks pass]," Papoulias explained, saying they had increased staffing levels in anticipation. "We were ready — and [our staff] did a great job."

When asked about the environmental consequences of having such a large number of visitors during a short period, Papolias said that for the most part, people were well behaved.

"The vast majority of visitors are very respectful of the natural area they are in."