Released on January 27, 2016
Summer is park season in Saskatchewan and avid campers will be able to book their provincial park campsites beginning Monday, April 11. The campsite reservation launch, which typically happens in March, has been moved to April for 2016 to avoid overlap with the upcoming provincial election.
“Saskatchewan’s provincial parks continue to be extremely popular destinations, as shown by the nearly 4.0 million visits recorded in 2015,” Parks, Culture and Sport Minister Mark Docherty said. “We are looking forward to starting another busy and exciting year with campsite reservation launch in April.”
As in 2015, the launch will be staggered over a 10 day period, with different parks becoming available for reservations on different days. A queuing system will also be in place again this year to manage the high volume of traffic on the reservation website. The 10 day launch and queuing system was very effective last year at managing demand and ensuring the stability of the reservation system.
The schedule for reservation launch is as follows:
- Monday, April 11: Blackstrap, Pike Lake
- Tuesday, April 12: Buffalo Pound, Danielson, Douglas
- Wednesday, April 13: Echo Valley, Rowan’s Ravine
- Thursday, April 14: Duck Mountain, Good Spirit Lake, Greenwater Lake
- Friday, April 15: Crooked Lake, Moose Mountain
- Saturday, April 16: Cypress Hills
- Sunday, April 17: The Battlefords, Saskatchewan Landing
- Monday, April 18: Meadow Lake
- Tuesday, April 19: Bronson Forest, Chitek Lake, Lac La Ronge, Makwa Lake
- Wednesday, April 20: Candle Lake, Great Blue Heron, Narrow Hills
Due to the impact from the fires in the summer of 2015, two campgrounds at Lac La Ronge Provincial Park will not open for reservations in April. Remediation work is still underway at Nemeiben and Wadin Bay, though these campgrounds will open for reservations at a later date.
Reservations will open at 7 a.m. each day and the queuing system will begin each morning at 6:40 a.m. As customers attempt to access the reservation website between 6:40 and 7 a.m., they will be moved to the queue waiting area. Beginning at 7 a.m., customers in the queue waiting area will receive a random number and will be admitted to the reservation website based on their unique number. As new people attempt to access the reservation website after 7 a.m., they will be placed at the end of the line.
Campers who are interested in the opportunity to have a seasonal campsite in one of the provincial parks have until tomorrow, Thursday, January 28 at midnight to submit their applications online. The draw to award the campsites will be made Monday, February 1.
Since 2007-08, the Government of Saskatchewan has invested nearly $92 million in upgrades and improvements to provincial park infrastructure. Projects undertaken include the development of two new campgrounds, upgrading or replacement of service centres, extensive campsite electrical expansion and upgrading, water and wastewater system upgrades, new and enhanced boat launches, and new campsite furnishings.
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For more information, contact:
Karen Webb
Parks, Culture and Sport
Regina
Phone: 306-787-7828
Email: karen.webb@gov.sk.ca
Cell: 306-529-4087