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With the wildfire risk now lessened thanks to the work of firefighters and recent rainfall, provincial parks in northern Saskatchewan are getting ready to welcome hundreds of visitors this weekend ahead of Canada Day.
“There’s lots of great parks up north that weren’t impacted by the fires. There’s lots of availability in some of our northern parks,” said Paul Johnson, assistant deputy minister for Sask Parks.
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“Candle Lake was certainly under threat, but survived excellent and we’ve got some great campgrounds in Candle Lake, La Ronge, parts of Lac La Ronge are reopening here this week. Meadow Lake we’ve got lots of great options … and they are in great shape and looking beautiful.”
Johnson said Canada Day is the one of the busiest times of the year for Saskatchewan’s provincial parks.
“We are welcoming a lot of guests to our parks, and that includes people coming out for a day just to visit the beaches, the picnic areas, or go for a hike,” Johnson said.
“It also includes an awful lot of campers coming into our parks. Numbers look great for us. In July, across the park system (bookings were) 70 per cent full, which is great news because that means we’ve got a lot of people coming, but there’s a lot of room for more people to come and enjoy our parks.”
There are very few fire bans in place for the weekend ahead in provincial parks, Johnson added.
“It’s great news heading into the busiest time of the year,” he said.
“We do have one small recreation site near Cypress Hills that still has a campfire restriction on, but our main parks, campfire restrictions are all lifted so people can really sit down and enjoy a good, warm campfire and really enjoy that part of the camping experience.”
Johnson said provincial parks will be full of activities during the weekend and on Canada Day on Tuesday.
“We’ve got inflatable parks up and running. The golf courses are going, the hiking, the beaches are looking great, and all kinds of programming, too,” Johnson said.
“Lots of craft clubs going on this weekend, campground games across many parks, we have Canadian Jeopardy happening, guided hikes, geocaching.”
You can check out a full list of activities happening on the Sask Parks website.
The glow of wildfires burning near Lower Fishing Lake. (Facebook)
Lower Fishing Lake open for day use
A lot of the trees may be gone but the beach and the fish are still there. The province has announced the re-opening of Lower Fishing Lake in the Narrow Hills Provincial Park for day use only.
Users can access the beach, launch a boat and use the parking areas, but no overnight stays will be permitted.
Upper Fishing, Zeden, Baldy, Nipawin, Sealey, Burtlein, Shannon and Pine lakes are all open to fishing and boating.
More lakes may open soon, so people should keep an eye out for more announcements to come.
Important reminders are that all park operated campgrounds are closed for the season but there are no fire bans or restrictions in effect anymore after days of rain.
An ATV and UTV ban is still in effect for the entire season in the Narrow Hills Provincial Park.
The park was closed this spring after the Shoe Fire destroyed campgrounds at Gem Lake and Lost Echo Lake.
— with files from PA Now
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