Regional Waterfront Parks Construction

The Burloak Regional Waterfront Park is located within both the Town of Oakville and the City of Burlington. The Park extends 800 metres along the shoreline of Lake Ontario and is approximately 5.58 ha (13.8 acres) in size. It is bounded by Lake Ontario to the south and extends 70 metres east of Burloak Drive to the east, Lakeshore Road to the north and Hampton Heath Road to the west. View map of Burloak Waterfront Park (Google Maps link).

The current Master Plan for Burloak Park was approved by Council on April 16, 2014, with the latest update occurring in 2024.

The master plan identifies a mix of natural areas, meadows, and formal gardens for a passive experience and the creation of an interconnected pathway system. It combines these with open, un-programmed space, playgrounds, splashpad and opportunities to launch small non-motorized recreational boats such as canoes and kayaks. Halton Region and the City of Burlington have worked over many years to implement the master plan, including major shoreline erosion protection works and an aggressive invasive species removal and replanting program.

The design for the remaining features of the Burloak Waterfront Park Master Plan is now underway. The features include:

• accessible washroom building (located on the west side of park)
• splash pad/water play area (located on the west side of park)
• west side entrance
• west side parking lot upgrades

Park features you can enjoy that were completed between 2017 and 2022 include:

• outdoor adult fitness equipment on the west side of park
• gateway Plaza at end of Burloak Drive
• lower promenade along the waterfront
• east lookout and shade pavilion
• windows to the lake parking area
• demonstration garden and trellis
• main gazebo and plaza with bench seating
• west lookout
• picnic table and concrete pads
• boat launch (walk-in entry)
• main waterfront pathway paving
• pedestrian guardrail
• native trees and shrubs planting
• invasive tree and shrub species removal

Halton Regional Council approved a Burlington Beach Regional Waterfront Park Master Plan on May 20, 2015, and updated in 2023. Halton Region, in partnership with the City of Burlington and Conservation Halton, is now implementing the approved Master Plan. This plan outlines enhancements and improvements that aim to:

• maximize public accessibility to the Halton Region waterfront by increasing the amount of well distributed public space
• provide a variety of recreational, cultural and tourism opportunities along the Halton Region waterfront

Projects planned as part of the current stage of work include:

• shoreline protection and ecological restoration
• habitat restoration and dune protection
• related technical studies and monitoring

The Halton Region Waterfront Parks program recognizes the significant environmental, economic, cultural and recreational importance of the Lake Ontario (and the Burlington Bay) shoreline to residents of Halton Region and the Province. Future works will be focused on maintaining this objective.

A set of recently completed feasibility studies will serve to inform the phasing and future work at Burlington Beach. To learn more, please review our summary of the implementation strategy (PDF file).

Spencer Smith Park Phase 1 works completed include:

• upgraded gazebo
• concrete walkway
• pedestrian lighting and benches
• additional tree and perennial plantings

Spencer Smith Park Phase 2 works completed include:

• waterfront promenade improvements (including new bollards and asphalt surfacing)
• concrete surfacing at seating areas and pathway at west end of the park
• renewal of the short concrete wall between upper and lower promenade
• new railing along the west end of concrete wall

Note: These works were supported in part by a Canada 150 grant.