Visitors pack Sask. campgrounds in first long weekend without COVID-19 restrictions
Campgrounds were packed with people looking to enjoy the nice weather, great outdoors and the first three-day weekend since COVID-19 restrictions were lifted on July 11.
Matthew Lee made his way to Pike Lake Provincial Park to camp with family, traveling from La Ronge.
“The first night was already just a blast and a half. I’ve had so much fun seeing everybody’s friendly faces.”
Joining Lee are 22 family members from Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. They have been waiting for the opportunity to gather after Lee's grandfather Wayne Lee, 70, passed away. The pandemic put plans on hold with inter-provincial travel closed off and other restrictions in place.
“This weekend what we're doing is a family memorial trip for my late grandfather who passed away last year,” said Lee. “We all wanted to do something in the old man’s honour.”
The mighty Lee contingent weren’t the only ones packing into the Pike Lake.
“When it comes to sites you can reserve, we are at capacity,” said Dan French, executive director of park operations for Saskatchewan Parks.
French said the parks have been busy since the beginning of the season and have stayed busy since the beginning of July after the schoolyear ended. The province's parks are also seeing lots of day visitors come out to the beaches at spots like Pike Lake, Blackstrap, and Good Spirit.
“Our day-use visitors are off the charts.”
Sturgeon Lake Regional Park which has been busy all summer is jam-packed this weekend. The park hosted a volleyball tournament, horseshoe tournament and held a beach party with fireworks on Saturday.
“It has been unprecedented actually,” said Melanie Neufeld who manages Sturgeon Lake Regional Park. “We can’t take any more campers, we are like beyond full staff, and we called in more people.”
Fire bans remain in place at some of the provincial parks.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
2 teens charged in Halifax homicide: police
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
12-year-old hippo in Japan raised as a male discovered to be a female
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
Here's why Harvey Weinstein's New York rape conviction was tossed and what happens next
Here's what you need to know about why movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction was thrown out and what happens next.
Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole dies at 90: CBC
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.
Humanist group threatening to sue Vancouver over council prayers
The B.C. Humanist Association has threatened legal action against the City of Vancouver for allowing prayers at council, following a similar warning issued earlier this month to a smaller community on Vancouver Island.
LHSC performs a Canadian first in robot-assisted direct lateral spine surgery
Spine surgery may never be the same for people with chronic back pain and other physical ailments.