On the weekend of August 8, 2026, I had the pleasure of introducing thirteen children to their first overnight camping experience. It took place at Quarry Lake near Caledon Village. It was their first time overnight away from home, their first campfire under the stars, their first sunset and sunrise ceremonies. And it was perfect.
It all began when I took out a Dog Park membership at the Canadian Cross-training Club run by former Olympic coach Barrie Shepley. Thanks to the foresight of the James Dick family to share in his vision, Barrie established a successful private beach park on their spring fed Quarry Lake near Caledon Village. The south east side of this area is still a working gravel business, but it only compliments the beauty of the C3 site. Barrie’s wife, the late Caron Shepley, had dedicated a section of the beach as a fenced off dog park and that was the only section of the property that I knew.
My dog, Chase, refers to it as the Dog Beach Spaw, but to me it was a touch of paradise in the middle of Caledon. If you stand on the high point of the dog park outside the beach area and look North West, you could easily be in a Muskoka resort. During the day, the human beach area is filled with families playing, marathon swimmers training, and paddle boarders cruising the far shores. Beyond that are the forest trails used by walkers, runners and bikers. In the distance is a clear view of a meadow just begging for a tent and a campfire.
I had worked with Barrie in a previous life, and he was well aware of my background as an outdoor educator. He approached me one morning as we were exercising our Border Collies at the Beach Spaw and he said, “Hey Skid, you know we run a children’s Day Camp here, and a number of the families who can’t afford to send their kids to an overnight residential camp would love to give their children that opportunity. Do you think we could do an overnight camping program here?”
The gauntlet was thrown, picked up with joy, and I spent the next three weeks chain sawing, whipper snipping, and clearing debris to help his landscaping staff create a campsite clearing and a forest dining hall. Canadian Tire in Bolton gave us financial assistance in purchasing the tents, sleeping bags and sleeping pads necessary for the overnight. During that time Barrie had put out the call to his members and day camp crew with an invitation to be part of a first ever away from home Inaugural C3 Quarry Lake Overnight Camping Program.
During the program preparation process, a friend asked me, “Doesn’t it bother you having the gravel pit operating across the lake?” I simply said, “How did we drive here? on roads built with that gravel. Where do we live? In homes built with cement and stone. Where do you think it comes from? This Quarry Lake site is a testament to the wise use of resources and the foresight to create a local natural treasure. The best of both worlds,” But would it work as an overnight campsite given the closeness of main thoroughfares and big cities to the south?
We made it clear to parents and children that this was a test case, a trial run to see if the site was suitable for overnight camping. We also made it clear that the challenges we gave to the campers like to build their shelters (put up new tents), and cook food (getting a campfire going to roast their S’mores) were up to them to solve. It was my intention to nurture independence, and take them outside their comfort zones by removing the eternal parental helping hand.
Fifteen campers applied. Two left early due to family commitments, but my “Baker’s Dozen” survived the challenges to complete an amazing overnight adventure. The campers had hot, humid summer weather, a tough time setting up the tents, sudden microbursts of rain, strong winds, and wet tents and gear. But they persevered, dried out, trimmed the tents, and ended up with a secure campsite.
At one point, one of the tent groups sat down in frustration, looked at their floppy tent, and asked me, “Where are we going to sleep tonight?” I pointed to their tent and said , “There. Three times the other tent groups offered you help. Do you want their help, or do you want to sleep in that tent?” They finally asked for help and the campers worked together to fix the tent. No adults involved. Mission accomplished.
These children got to experience their first overnight away from home, watched the sunset as a community, lit their first campfire, listened to ancient stories, stargazed, went for a late night swim, and slept, safe and warm, in the shelters they had created. In the morning they awakened before dawn, came to the campfire circle at the point by the lake and experienced the most brilliant sunrise I have ever seen.
After morning breakfast, the team cleaned up, packed out their gear, and got in a little more beach time. Family arrived at noon to pick them up. The feedback from parents and the campers was overwhelmingly positive and humbling. We set out to enrich young lives with a meaningful first time overnight camping experience. And we did it right here in Caledon.
Special thanks to our wonderful overnight female staff and lifeguard Louise, and our intrepid reporter Kathryn for their commitment to the project. And for Barrie and Caron, your dream will never end. The way I see it.
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Go to the C3 online site for photos and aerial videos.
In tumultuous times it’s wise to reflect on the random acts of kindness that keep us human. To calm myself down this morning after hearing about The Donald’s desire to rename Lake Ontario as Lake America, I recalled a chance meeting at my bank the other day.
For a full term in our current Caledon Council, we witnessed the negative impact of Strong Mayor Powers on democracy. We also witnessed a record of voting block blindness that boggled the imagination. The infamous “Gang Of Five” voted as a team on almost every issue that challenged the line between developer influence and citizen concerns.
It should be quite simple. The big red octagon with the four large white letters spelling S-T-O-P. Even for a driver with severe dyslexia, the visual clue alone should do the trick. When we get our driver’s licence we are all taught to come to a full, complete stop at that Big Red 8 sided Sign. We are taught to stop completely being able to fully see the stop line, to check left, right, left again for vehicles, and to scan for pedestrians before proceeding.