(Submitted/Saskatchewan Parks Facebook)

By CKOM News - Gillian Massie

Great outdoors

Campers flock to Saskatchewan’s parks for long weekend

Aug 3, 2024 | 4:00 PM

Paul Johnson said people love Saskatchewan’s parks and it shows.

The assistant deputy minister of the Saskatchewan Parks Division said on Friday that campsite reservations were sitting around the 86 per cent occupancy mark heading into the Saskatchewan Day long weekend.

“We certainly love our long weekends in parks, and we only get a few of them,” Johnson said. “Summers are short so we are really looking forward to having very full parks this weekend.”

Johnson spoke with the Greg Morgan Morning Show guest host Kevin Martel on Friday morning.

He said reservations for campsites often change “rapidly and daily,” and encouraged people to book in as soon as possible to guarantee a spot at the Saskatchewan Parks website.

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If the site a camper wants isn’t available, Johnson said they can sign up for a notification when it does become available.

“We are expecting a pretty busy weekend across the system,” Johnson said.

Johnson said while the heat had drawn in campers to the parks, recent wildfire smoke has not deterred them.

“We’ve had a good year. We’ve got good occupancy, our parks are full,” he said. “The heat and smoke really hasn’t had a negative impact on our operations this year.”

Johnson encouraged campers and guests at the parks to enjoy their weekend, but reminded everyone to keep an eye out for any fire bans.

A fire ban map can be found on the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency website.