There's free weekday day use at Ontario Parks this season

People looking to explore more this summer, take note.

Ontario Parks is offering free weekday (Monday to Thursday) day use from May 1 to Sept. 1, according to its website. Day use permits will be required Fridays and on weekends.

For people with permits, the site indicates the expiry dates will be extended for one year. 

People who have a 2021 summer daily vehicle permit, it will be valid April 1, 2021 to Nov. 30, 2021, and April 1,  2022 to Nov. 30, 2022.

People with a 2021 annual and commercial daily vehicle permit set to expire Dec. 31, 2021, the new expiry date is Dec. 31, 2022. 

Demand for campsites at the provincially-run campgrounds has skyrocketed this year.

At the end of February, the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks reported a 100 per cent increase in reservations for parks across the province. 

From Jan. 1 to Feb. 25, there were 28,538 reservations for provincial parks in Northern Ontario. During the same period in 2020, there were 14,497 reservations.