How to get there

It's the stuff of urban legends except that it's a true story — an angler once caught a piranha in Professor's Lake in Brampton.

The man-made lake and its public beach were closed for four tense days in August 1998 when it happened. The City of Brampton paid more than $5,000 to have environmental consultants scour the 65-acre lake with nets, traps, snorkels and even electrical currents to stun fish and bring them to the surface. The city lost thousands in revenue from beach admissions and cancelled programs.

Experts eventually decided that the red-bellied piranha that Tom Whitaker caught while fishing with his family was someone's unwanted aquarium pet dumped in the lake when the water was warm enough for it to survive.

Twelve years and no more piranhas later, lifeguards at the Professor's Lake Recreation Centre field only a handful of flesh-eating fish questions every summer, usually from worried kids.

There's no idle piranha chitchat on a recent holiday Monday.

It's overcast but this urban oasis is packed with a multicultural blend of the usual beach suspects: swimmers, splashers, sun-worshippers, sand castle builders, watersliders and sporty types who're renting canoes, paddleboats, kayaks and water bicycles.

Do they realize what a treasure they have hidden in plain sight in this city of nearly half a million people just a short drive northwest of Pearson International Airport?

They surely appreciate the well-groomed sand, which is raked each night and morning by staff on a tractor.

They must notice the absence of Canada geese droppings. The city pays a woman and her dogs to come every morning and chase them away (it's an official technique called hazing). They also oil the eggs to prevent embryos from developing while tricking the geese into trying to hatch them.

Some beach-goers might even know the story of how this urban oasis came to be here for their summer pleasure.

Professor's Lake is a former gravel/sand pit and small municipal dump that was transformed into a lake-oriented community in the 1980s by Amex Developments.

It was named for Hans Abromeit, chairman of the board of Amex's parent company, the Lehndorff Group. (He had a doctorate and was nicknamed “the professor.”)

The spring-fed lake fights pollution by vetoing motorized boats and preventing storm sewers from discharging into it. The former dump on the northwest shore was surrounded by polyethylene barriers and the lots around it can't be developed.

The city claimed three acres on the south shore for a public beach and recreation centre that opened in 1981 after the beach area was dredged to a maximum depth of 5 feet (the lake can be more than 40-feet deep.)

“You wouldn't even know it's here, but once people have experienced it, it's very, very popular,” says Gene Duval, Brampton's director of parks maintenance and operations.

People come from across the GTA, Mississauga and Caledon to this well-organized beach, which is fully fenced and designed for 3,500, although it never quite reaches capacity.

At this family-friendly spot, kids dominate.

They all sport wristbands issued by rec centre staff. Green means they've passed a test and can swim in the deep end out to the raft. Blue means they're 10 to 14. Yellow means they're under 10 and must stay within arm's reach of an adult in shallow water. Red means they're age 7 to 9 and want to pass a test to swim without an adult. You can borrow free lifejackets to help keep your kids safe.

The shallow and deep swimming zones are well-marked with ropes and buoys. There are lifeguards everywhere. Three in wooden lifeguard stations on the beach. A couple at the boat rental docks. One on the raft. Two at the new waterslide beside the wheelchair ramp that leads to a waterside unloading area.

The radio plays Boom 97.3 FM, with hits from the 1970s to the 1990s. Some days it's tuned to 98.1 FM for CHFI's “lite favourites,” or Z103.5 FM for “today's hits.”

It's all very easy-going — as long as people follow the rules, namely no alcohol, pets, barbecues or fishing at the beach. And you have to be 48 inches tall to use the waterslide.

People bring picnics or eat from the snack bar. There's an express line for snacks like single-serve coffee, Slush Puppies, Freezies, ice cream, candy and chips. There's a slower-moving line for hot food like pizza slices, mozzarella sticks, chicken strips, hot dogs, bagels and Jamaican patties.

There are 25 picnic tables, two beach volleyball courts, change-rooms and showers. They've thought of everything.

The city-run beach is fenced and you have to pay to get in through the recreation centre. It opened June 24 this season and closes on Labour Day. It's open daily from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. so there's no late-night carousing.

“We don't encourage a party atmosphere at all,” warns Duval. “This is about coming to the beach and enjoying the amenities.”

Mary-Pat McBride, Brampton's recreation supervisor for community services, says Professor's Lake is ideal for families with children. “It's close. You've got nothing to do. Your kids are bored. Let's go to the lake. Boom. Plus we have boat rentals.”

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During a preliminary visit on a cool and windy June day, only a half dozen teenagers who had just graduated from Harold M. Brathwaite Secondary School could be found.

“We wanted to chill together,” Vivian Hua said.

Sheila Qassemi, at Professor's Lake for the first time, declared it “really nice, clean and cheap.”

The teens were keen to rent boats and too old to be excited about the new waterslide.

This is a beach with options. When people are all beached and boated out, they can walk, jog or bike the 11-kilometre trail around three-quarters of the lake's perimeter (just not in front of the lakeside homes). Or they can fish (catch-and-release) from the shore — after buying a permit, of course — outside of the beach area.

But they're more likely to catch a perch than a piranha.

jbain@thestar.ca

Address: 1660 North Park Dr. (between Bramalea and Torbram Rds.), 905-791-7751. More info: City of Brampton, www.brampton.ca.

Hours: Daily from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. to Sept. 6.

Parking: Free in two big lots.

Price: Youth (16 and under): $2.55. Adult (17 to 54): $3.80. Junior senior (55 to 69): $2.75. Senior (70+): Free. Group of four (maximum 2 adults): $8.25. On Wednesdays, youths pay $1, adults pay $2.20, junior seniors pay $1.10 and groups of four pay $5.50

Summer water temperature: 72F to 82F

Signature food: Picnics or standard snack bar fare.

You'll be sitting on: Concrete and brick sand.

You'll be swimming in: The south end of Professor's Lake, a man-made, spring-fed lake that used to be a sand/gravel quarry.

Pet policy: No pets allowed.

One superlative: The most child-friendly beach around.

Diversions: Free beach volleyball courts and waterslide. Paddleboats, water bicycles, kayaks and canoes for rent. There are summer recreation programs and you can rent the main hall (with a balcony overlooking the lake) for weddings and parties. Outside of the recreation centre, you can fish (catch-and-release only) from shore or use the paved trail that surrounds most of the lake.

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