EGANVILLE, ONT. -- The Bonnechere Caves, a major tourist attraction in the Ottawa Valley, will remain closed to the public until May 2021.
Owner Chris Hinsperger says the site near Eganville is not a safe place to be during the COVID-19 pandemic, given the amount of people that could be found on any given summer day at the caves. “Any day you drop by here in July and August, you would be on the property with maybe one to 300 other people,” says Hinsperger. “We are probably the biggest daily social gathering in the Ottawa Valley under normal circumstances.” The conditions do not get any better once visitors venture down into the caves. “Physical distancing is not part of our cave tour.