Gatineau Park is full of vibrant beautiful fall colours making it a popular spot for those looking to take in the natural beauty on Thanksgiving weekend. The National Capital Commission says hundreds of thousands of people visit the park this time of year, which can cause traffic jams and full parking lots. Shri Vogedy is taking his mother, who is visiting from India, to see the fall foliage. They arrived to the park shortly after the roads towards their destination of Pink Lake opened, but Vogedy says still had trouble finding a spot to park. “We’ve been around like half hour, just going around and looking for a spot, and we couldn’t find anything,” he says. “It is a great season, and the colours are beautiful around here. But the experience is not that great in terms of finding a parking spot.” Tina Nguyen comes to the park every four years to take an updated family photo with her cousins. “While going into it, I didn’t really realize how busy it would be,” she says. “Today has been super, super busy.” Thankfully, Nguyen nabbed the last spot her in her lot. The National Capital Commission has recently implemented paid parking at the Gatineau Park Visitors Centre to encourage parking turn over. “It didn’t catch me by surprise because my cousin did tell me about it before, but $4 for an hour is very expensive, and we paid for two hours,” she says. The NCC also has free shuttles. Early in the morning on Sunday, line ups could be seen at the station near the Canadian War Museum with eager visitors. “It’s fine. I mean, if it’s free, you can’t complain,” says David Conway, who is travelling to the park with friends. “Although, if there was a little coffee truck here that would go down very well.” Jake Leeson is heading to the park for a birthday hike. He says he and his friends plans to head to King Mountain, which he’s excited to see again. “Perhaps one of the coolest historical sites in the area,” he says. Leeson thought catching the bus early would mean less time waiting and says he was surprised to see the line. Still, as a student without a car, Leeson says he appreciates the free access to the park. “Honestly, I’m glad to see the line,” he says. “I’m glad to see so many people using these great services and going to this park. And honestly, good things worth a little wait sometimes.”
