Callander extends overnight parking for next ice fishing season


Overnight parking will remain prohibited across Callander this winter, but two municipal lots will be exempt as the town reinstates overnight parking for ice fishing and installs new signs

Ice fishers in Callander will have another winter of overnight parking.

This past February, council initiated a pilot program allowing anglers to park over night in two designated municipal parking lots: the north unpaved parking lot at Centennial Park, and the Upper Municipal Parking Lot near the municipal dock on Lansdowne Street West.

The project was a hit with anglers, and the municipality has agreed to implement the program again for the entire ice-fishing season.

Note that in general, the no overnight parking rule still applies to all other streets and parking lots. Only the two lots mentioned above are exempt. The municipality is also ordering signs for these lots to make clear overnight parking is allowed.

Last year, there were no signs, so this year’s goal is to better inform the public about the new overnight rules.

However, there were anglers who did take advantage of the overnight parking, some of whom reached out to Callander’s mayor, Jordy Carr. During the June 30 council meeting, when councillors decided to extend the program, Mayor Carr said she received an email this past winter from an angler. “They really appreciated that council and staff allowed for parking because it made their overnight fishing a little bit easier,” Carr said.

After a complete 2026 / 2027 ice fishing season, staff will then assess how effective the program is and whether people are using it. Council will then decide whether to extend the program or make it permanent.

Ideally, the dedicated lots will reduce the number of cars illegally parking in other lots and on the town’s streets. “While overnight parking remains prohibited, consistent enforcement can be challenging due to limited staff resources,” staff noted in a report to council.

Once the season begins and the new signs have been installed, “Staff will actively monitor and document parking usage and duration throughout the season, while also tracking any enforcement activity and complaints received,” the staff report concluded.

David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.[U]