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Despite fires, Saskatchewan parks open for the camping, fishing season

May 18, 2018 | 12:00 PM

The May long weekend is here, signalling the start of the summer parks and camping season across Saskatchewan.

Officially known as Victoria Day, residents can enjoy an extra day in the sun due the statutory holiday Monday. The forecast in the Prince Albert region is calling for warm weather throughout the weekend.

As the summer season kicks off, staff at Saskatchewan’s regional and provincial parks, along with the Prince Albert National Park, are getting set to welcome more visitors and tourists to the province. Provincial parks across Saskatchewan officially opened Thursday, and feature a range of activities and events throughout the summer for visitors to enjoy. Activities at provincial parks include a Learn to Camp program, Learn to Fish, interpretive events and more.

As in past years, alcohol is banned at all provincial parks in Saskatchewan during the long weekend. Campfires are also prohibited at many parks due to the dry weather.

Regional parks in the province are also open for business, and Stevie Peiffer, with Regional Parks of Saskatchewan, said many locations offer online reservation options.

“There’s lots of great fishing spots, lots of campgrounds,” Peiffer said. “Kayaking, canoeing, hang out on the beach; there’s lots of great things at regional parks.”

Fires are also prohibited at the Prince Albert National Park, according to park spokesperson Shannon Bond. Propane and natural gas cook stoves and barbecues are still permitted, she said.

The Beaver Glen campground within the park is completely booked, and Bond said park officials are expecting a busy weekend. Some camping spots are still available this week in other campgrounds, and Bond says the overflow areas are also expected to be busy.

There are new exhibits at the Nature Centre this season, Bond added, and the Visitor Centre will be opening at 7 a.m. this season to accommodate eager anglers.

“Right now’s a great time for people to get out and hike on the trails. The bugs are not out yet, and the leaves are just starting to come out so things are really beautiful,” Bond said. “This is an exciting time of year when the business owners all start coming back to town and the cabin owners start coming and opening up their cottages … the hum is here, so we’re looking forward to all the visitors coming back too.”

Visitor Information for Prince Albert National Park

Visitors to the national park may notice smoke in the area this weekend due to a 17,000-hectare wildfire which is currently burning in the southwest area of the park. The fire is approximately 40 kilometres from the townsite of Waskesiu and officials said there are no risks to visitors at the national park this week.

Some trails around the fire zone are closed to the public, including Amyot Lake Trail Spur, Valleyview Trail Network, West Side Trail, Elk Trail and Hunter’s Lake Trail. Cookson Road is closed west of Mayview Road to the park boundary, along with Camp and Fish Lake backcountry campgrounds.

 

Charlene.tebbutt@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @CharleneTebbutt