Morningstar Mill shut down due to crowds and rescues
Popular Niagara attraction barricaded shut, security guards will be on site
With crowds of people flocking to Morningstar Mill during a pandemic and hikers continually having to be rescued, the City of St. Catharines is shutting down the site.
The city announced Friday the location on Decew Road, which provides access to Decew Falls and the Bruce Trail system, is closed effective immediately.
The parking lot and gates will be barricaded and security people will be on site seven days a week to watch for trespassers.
Mayor Walter Sendzik said the city is working with the province, which owns part of the property, to install better signage and more fencing.
“There’s work we have to do. We’re closing if for the foreseeable future until we can get a better handle on it because it was becoming dangerous for a lot of people,” Sendzik said during his Facebook Friday live chat.
The city said in its news release Friday that the closure is about protecting the health and safety of the public.
It said crowds are ignoring public health advice to maintain social distancing, and some are gathering in
groups larger than permitted under the province’s emergency orders.
As well, it said individuals are refusing to stay on marked trails or aren’t appropriately prepared to hike the trail system, putting increased pressures on the fire department for rescues.
Sendzik said there were a lot of people coming from outside Niagara and the site was becoming a destination.
“It wasn’t just the quiet secret destination that we all know and love, because we’ve all been there before. It became a wildly popular destination,” he said, adding he searched Decew Falls on social media and found one site with 113,000 views.
“There’s people coming from everywhere and they don’t understand that it’s dangerous terrain. They don’t understand to stay on the trails. They don’t understand that there’s no trail down below to take you to the base of the falls.”
Last Sunday, the St. Catharines fire department estimated there were at least 500 people at the site when they were called there to assist an injured hiker.
It was the fifth time since June 3 that firefighters were called to the area to rescue hikers — including some who were wearing flip-flops.
When they arrived, their rescue vehicles were blocked by numerous cars and trucks parked on both sides of Decew Road.
St. Catharines said it’s working with the City of Thorold to address the parking issues. Parking enforcement on surrounding streets will be increased and more No Parking signs were put up Thursday night on Decew and Cataract roads.