It will be at least a week before visitors can return to Gatineau Park, thanks to damage from this week's messy spring storm.

The National Capital Commission (NCC) says crews will need the time to clean up fallen trees and branches knocked down by a combination of freezing rain and high winds.

Christie Spence, the NCC's director of Quebec urban lands and Gatineau Park, told CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning Wednesday the cleanup is just starting.

"We've spent the last day or so going around the park trying to check out the conditions, and what we're finding is that there are still branches falling, there are still entire trees falling," Spence said.

"These things happen without warning, so we're just trying to protect people's safety. You can't necessarily tell, standing here, what's happening [in the park]."

Some people have been ignoring the closed signs and warning tape blocking the park's entrances, Spence said.

The NCC is imploring people to stay out until the park reopens.