Stanhope Beach

Algonquin Highlands, Ontario

Stanhope Beach is a 60-metre sandy beach with washroom facilities, children's playground, and picnic tables. Also known as Elvin Johnson Park, Stanhope Beach is regarded as one of the most popular public swimming destinations in the Algonquin Highlands township. Here you'll find a kids' play area, sandy beach, baseball diamond, covered shelters, a boat launch, picnic tables, BBQ pits, and parking. This area is also wheelchair accessible.

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COVID-19

Keep your distance from other people.

Practicing social distancing is still essential. Only go to the beach if you are able to keep 6 feet or 2 meters away from others. Follow the instructions provided by your local health authorities. If your community has asked that you remain indoors and away from others, do so. Spending a day in any crowded place is the worst thing we can do for our most vulnerable right now and will counter our efforts to curb the virus’s spread.

Water Quality

No data available
Current Status
This status is based on the latest sample, taken on August 26th, 2019. Lake Ontario Waterkeeper updates the status of this beach as soon as test results become available. These results were posted to Swim Guide on August 29th, 2019 at 3:58 PM.

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Current Weather

24°C

Mostly clear

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Monitoring Frequency

Source Information

The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit monitors recreational water quality at sites in this region. The sampling season starts June 1 and ends August 31. Water at all sites is sampled for E. coli and Total coliform at all sites. The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit issues beach advisories when the geometric mean concentration of at least five samples is above 200 E. coli / 100 mL of water or when a single sample is above 400 E. coli / 100 mL of water. This guideline comes from Canada’s Guidelines for Canadian Recreational Water Quality (2012). It is applied to beaches in Ontario in accordance with Ontario’s Recreational Water Protocol, 2018. Prior to 2018 beaches in Ontario were posted when the geometric mean of 5 samples collected within a 30-day period exceeded 100 E. coli / 100 mL of water.

In Swim Guide, a beach is marked Green when the geometric mean of at least 5 samples is below 200 E.coli / 100 mL water and each individual sample concentration are below 400 E.coli / 100 mL. A beach is marked Red when the results are equal to or above a geometric mean of 200 E.coli / 100 mL water and/or 400 E.coli / 100 mL. A beach is marked Grey when there are no current results or there is no available information. Water samples are collected weekly. Results are posted to Swim Guide as soon as lab results are available. They are also available at https://www.hkpr.on.ca/2018/06/27/beach-water-testing/. A Ministry of the Environment Procedure (F-5-5) says that a clean beach is open at least 95% of the swimming season, even if it is near a sewage pipe or combined sewer outfall. This rule applies to every place that is public, accessible, and feels like a good place to swim. When all else fails, the Ontario Environmental Protection Act strongly states that no one can interfere with the use that you can make of a public waterway - like swimming! DISCLAIMER: Historical data from 2017 and prior reflect the previous Ontario standard of a geometric mean of 100 E. coli /100 mL. Historical data from 2018 onward reflect the new Ontario Operational Approaches for Recreational Water Guideline, 2018: Geometric mean concentration 200 E. coli/ 100 mL and single-sample maximum concentration of 400 E. coli /100 mL.

Water Quality Graph