Remember a few years back when people kept trespassing while playing Pokémon Go? Well, there is a new trend going around, a much more Canadian one, that has Ontario Instagrammers flooding onto the private property near Frontenac County. According to The Ottawa Citizen, flocks of tourists are flooding to the county’s famous Heart Lake in hopes of capturing a gram-worth snap and enjoying the natural wonder. Sounds harmless, right? It would be if it weren’t for the fact that these social media hungry folks also happen to be trespassing on private property. In fact, there is no public access to the lake, but that hasn't seemed to stop Instagrammers. The constant swarm of trespassers has gotten so bad that residents of the area are telling the photographers, who are apparently even flying drones over people’s cottages, to get lost. “Recently, photographers have been flocking to Ompah to get their own shots of this uniquely shaped lake. And we get it; It is beautiful. But there is no public access. You’re trespassing on private property, and that’s not right. Plus, hunting season is a very dangerous time to be wandering around in the forest,” the country wrote in a cautionary Instagram post. “Stay safe, be respectful, and stick to admiring the pics on your screen,” it added. View this post on Instagram We know that #heartlake #infrontenac is amazing, but you need to stop visiting! Recently, photographers have been flocking to Ompah to get their own shots of this uniquely shaped lake. And we get it, it IS beautiful. But there is no public access. You’re trespassing on private property, and that’s not right. PLUS, hunting season is a very dangerous time to be wandering around in the forest. Stay safe, be respectful, and stick to admiring the pics on your screen. Please repost to help us spread this message. #exploreontario #comewander #DiscoverOn #NorthFrontenac A post shared by Frontenac County (@frontenaccounty) on Oct 23, 2019 at 8:45am PDT According to Alison Vanderveide, a community development officer with the county, Heart Lake first became a viral sensation on social media a few years back, when a stunning photo of the beautifully formed lake and the fall foliage soon went global. Frontenac County even shared a photo promoting the growing tourist attraction last winter. Ontarians soon fell in love with the heart-shaped lake and began heading to the area to grab some photos of their own. View this post on Instagram Hiked to heart lake and found that castle lake looks like a heart too! 💙💚 A post shared by Jeanie🧞♀️ San Francisco Blog (@traveljeanieous) on Aug 1, 2019 at 8:44am PDT View this post on Instagram La nature fait bien les choses 💙🍂 Suivez-nous @quebecmoica pour les plus belles photos du Québec par des photographes d’ici ! . 📸 par 🏅 @oli.langevin 🏅 A post shared by Québec moi ça (@quebecmoica) on Oct 16, 2019 at 8:49am PDT View this post on Instagram We've seen a few photos of this ♥ lake and have been dying to visit! And how awesome does it look in Autumn?! 🍁🍂😍 We loooove Summer, but the change in season is rather pretty... 🌠 Currently staying in the tiniest town called Plevna, in a little bakery. Such a good way to recharge and escape the rat race 🌻 . . . . . . #thekiwicouple #heartlake #discoverON #dronenature #traveltime #travelworld #ontario #exploring_shots #travelingourplanet #wanderluster #travellove #worldtraveller #letsgoeverywhere #adventureawaits #wheretonext #canada A post shared by Rachel & Jeremy 🌍Travel Couple (@thekiwicouple) on Oct 20, 2018 at 5:05pm PDT However, it's not just the lake that people are flocking to. It seems that Instagram photos have swept across the nation. In attempts to curb the stress behind posting the perfect photo, Facebook announced back in April that Instagram would be running a test in Canada where they would be removing the total number of likes on photos and the total views on videos from the app. The theory is that removing the total number of likes and views will alleviate pressure from Instagram users who are desperate to get more likes. There are stories everywhere. If you spot a newsworthy event in your city, send us a message, photo, or video @NarcityCanada on Twitter and Instagram.
