Warm weather and happy campers: Successful summer for provincial park

Despite the unpredictable weather in Saskatchewan, provincial parks like Echo Valley have been seeing high numbers of campers all summer long.

Shelley MacLean, the manager for Echo Valley and Katepwa Point provincial parks, said it has been a very successful season.

“Numbers-wise, in terms of occupancy on the weekend, we’ve been sitting at approximately 100 per cent occupancy. During the week we’re probably sitting around 74 to 75 per cent weekly,” said MacLean.

She thinks the weather has played a key role in those high numbers.

“It’s been a phenomenal summer with tons of sunshine, really warm weather. The lakes have been nice and clean and clear for everybody to enjoy,” she said.

The grounds at the park are fairly dry, but that hasn’t been much of a problem.

“It is dry, but we have been fortunate at Echo Valley. We have gotten some rain throughout the summer so we did not have a fire ban in place, which is great. So campers are still able to safely enjoy roasting their hot dogs and marshmallows,” she said.

The colder-than-normal evenings have also been a blessing.

“Folks get to be outside all day enjoying the nice sunshine. The cold weather probably gets them to bed a little bit earlier so they can get some rest and start all over again the next day,” MacLean said with a laugh.

While summer is drawing to a close, Echo Valley Provincial Park stays open all year round.

“We are kind of an anomaly. We don’t close the doors, we just continue on,” MacLean said. “We’re one of the few parks that offer winter camping experiences.”

The park expects to see good numbers well into the fall months before the water gets shut off in October.

“We have beautiful falls in the valley. The colours are absolutely gorgeous,” MacLean said.

She said the weather isn’t the only contributing factor to the park’s success.

“We couldn’t do it all without our seasonal staff. We bring in a number of summer students as well as seasonal staff that help us throughout the year,” said MacLean.

“It wouldn’t be possible without great staff and wonderful happy campers really make it enjoyable for us.”