Mount Pleasant Nature Ponds

The Nature Ponds Park is a beautiful natural space in the village of Mount Pleasant. The historic fish hatchery and ponds are the focal point of the park. However, there are walking trails through the park, which also backs onto the LE&N rail trail system.

Stocked ponds are open to the public for fishing; however, you require a fishing license from the Ministry of Natural Resources.

This is a great area for nature walks or a picnic. Public washrooms are available, and a picnic shelter is available for events. Contact us if you wish to book the picnic shelter.

Volunteers from the Mount Pleasant Optimist Club maintain and manage the park, including grass cutting, garbage collection, and general upkeep so that the community can enjoy this beautiful amenity.

History of the Mount Pleasant Ponds

As a highly desirable natural mill site, the property was owned at various times by several leading land speculators and early Mount Pleasant settlers, including Absolom Shade (founder of Galt, Ontario) and the Nelles and Racey families. But even before white settlement began in 1799, native people used the area for fishing and camping.

By 1825, "Squire" James Racey, a wealthy and influential figure in Mount Pleasant affairs, had built his "log castle" on the south ridge overlooking the valley. As of 1842, Elljah Haight operated a carding and woollen mill, which stood on site until after 1911, when it was demolished to make way for the site's conversion to the first-ever provincial fish hatchery.

As early as 1857, in the original pre-Confederation Canadian government Fisheries Act, provisions were made for Dominion Fish Hatcheries because there was already an awareness that fisheries were deteriorating. After the establishment of the Ontario Department of Game and Fisheries in 1907, there was a gradual migration of fish culture stations to the province, beginning with Mount Pleasant in 1909.

The site's natural topography was greatly altered to create seven rearing ponds for brown trout, brook trout, and largemouth bass species. The building currently on site was built by the province circa 1915 to house hatchery operations. In 1962, the hatchery was changed to a public fishing "catchery", another first for Mount Pleasant. The seven ponds were drained, deepened, and enlarged to form the present three ponds, each approximately 0.4 hectares. The original dam on Mount Pleasant Creek was replaced, and the reservoir was enlarged in the mid-1960s. In addition to the main water supply from the reservoir, the ponds are supplied with fresh cold water from artesian wells drilled sometime prior to 1930. There is continual turn-over of water in the ponds via a stand-pipe system, and spill-way discharges overflow back into the creek.

Designated by the County of Brant under the Ontario Heritage Act for its historical and ecological significance, this park is a valuable heritage and recreational asset worthy of investment in its refurbishment and promotion for users of all ages. This approximately 25-acre site sits at the valley of Mount Pleasant Creek, which runs along the park's north side before exiting under Mount Pleasant Road on its way to join the Grand River. The creek is actively managed as a protected cold-water trout stream under the mandate of the Grand River Conservation Authority. As such, the creek is not open for fishing, though the park ponds have been a noted fishing spot for generations.