Ontario national park shut down after officials confirm 'risk to public safety'

Parks Canada has officially called off the 2026 fall camping season at Bruce Peninsula National Park's Cyprus Lake Campground after a wild bear continues to pose a public safety risk on site.

The national park, which boasts an influx of visitors each year, posted the official announcement on its Facebook account, confirming the closure and reassuring the community and campgoers that the team will "continue to assess bear activity."

News of the prowling bear at the world-famous hiking hotspot and home to a hidden grotto, first broke late last month, when the park decided to temporarily close the campground over the Labour Day long weekend; the original decision was in response to the disruptive animal looking for human food and other attractants.

That closure was later extended to Sept. 11.

But now, it seems like matters have escalated, and the park's latest announcement confirms the grounds will remain closed for the rest of the fall season.

Screenshot via Bruce Peninsula National Park Facebook.

"The Cyprus Lake campground has been closed due to the activity of a single black bear that poses a significant risk to public safety," Fatima-Zohra Hamidi, Public Relations and Communications Officer, Parks Canada, tells blogTO.

The root cause of the problem stems from human behaviour, she goes on to explain. Park visitors and residents did not take the appropriate preventive measures to keep the black bear at bay.

"They did not prevent the bear from accessing food, garbage, or other attractants in the campground and surrounding areas,” Hamidi says, confirming that this resulted "in food-conditioning and increasingly bold behaviour around people." 

Parks Canada strictly bans feeding wildlife human food and urges all guests to follow the rules set in place. "The safety of visitors and staff is of the utmost importance to Parks Canada," Hamidi says, adding that Parks Canada implements campground closures only when necessary, after carefully assessing the situation.

For now, Hamidi reiterates that Parks Canada is actively monitoring the situation and that the campground closure will "reduce bear-visitor interactions, giving the bear the opportunity to adjust its behaviour in seeking natural food sources until denning season." 

Although the campground is scheduled to reopen on Nov. 1, that date appears tentative and could be pushed back depending on how the circumstances continue to unfold.

Hamidi says all reservation holders will be contacted directly, and refunds will be issued to anyone who booked a stay at Cyprus Lake Campground for the upcoming season.