heart lake ompah

This heart-shaped lake in Ontario is warning Instagrammers not to visit

One of the most picture-perfect spots in Ontario is asking people to stop visiting and taking photos of its rare beauty. 

Heart Lake near Ompah, ON undoubtedly makes for a great Instagram post.

The lake is shaped like a perfect heart, and in the fall it's surrounded by gorgeous colourful foliage, so it's no wonder photographers from near and far frequent the spot for a great capture. 

But that's about to change, because the County of Frontenac Facebook and Instagram pages have issued a public statement asking people to please stop visiting.

"We know that Heart Lake in Frontenac is amazing, but you need to stop going!" the post states.

"Recently, photographers have been flocking to Ompah to get their own shots of this uniquely shaped lake. And we get it, it IS beautiful. But there is no public access. You’re trespassing on private property, and that’s not right."

The post goes on to add that it's currently hunting season, which is an extremely dangerous time to be wandering around in the forest.

Many are angrily commenting on the post, saying it's wrong for public access to beautiful piece of land to be prohibited.

"It’s CROWN owned Lake," Ter StaffPür commented. "The government needs to make it accessible to the public. It’s that simple."

"The county has no jurisdiction in claiming federal or provincial Crown land," Johnny Woo wrote. "In allowing the private developers to claim land around a public lake is wrong and beyond the jurisdictional power allowed for a county."

Others are pointing out the unfairness of the whole thing.

"Don't you know? Unique and beautiful things like heart Lake are for wealthy landowners only!," Robb McCaghren wrote. "If something public like a lake is to be enjoyed, it's only to be enjoyed by the uppity folk, not you commoners!"

Some have even said the announcement made them want to visit the lake even more.

Meanwhile, the County of Frontenac is hoping the gorgeous photos all over Instagram are enough to keep visitors satisfied without feeling the need to see it in person.

"Stay safe, be respectful," the post states, "and stick to admiring the pics on your screen."

Lead photo by

arjsun


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