Infrastructure in Saskatchewan’s southern provincial parks are receiving some tweaks and touch ups as the camping season will soon be winding down.
The Government of Saskatchewan announced an investment of $7.8 million for improvements that will be made during 2019-2020. Some of the projects are nearing completion while others will be starting soon or before the next camping season.
A total of $11 million is being invested into the provincial parks system this year.
“We need to keep them well-maintained, reliable and safe for our park visitors, so that’s part of the reason why our government is investing so heavily in park infrastructure,” said Byron Davis, the executive director of Saskatchewan Provincial Parks Infrastructure and Capital Planning.
Along with the current upgrades to dock, washrooms, day-use facilities and signage, the following projects will be taking place over the next while before the 2020 camping season:
- Swimming pool and related facility replacement at Buffalo Pound;
- New campground service centre at Danielson and service centre upgrade at Douglas;
- Major road improvements at Echo Valley;
- Campground electrical upgrades and expansion at Pike Lake and Sask Landing;
- Boat launch upgrades at Crooked Lake and Moose Mountain and completion of boat launch improvement work at Buffalo Pound;
- Full service campsites at Rowan’s Ravine; and
- Phase one of water system upgrades at Duck Mountain.
Davis mentioned how they picked these specific projects through recommendations, conditions of the infrastructure, and sometimes feedback from park goers.
“We try to make progress in several different areas whether they be recreation facilities, roads, campground service centres or campground electrical,” he said. “We’ll be working through the fall and winter to ensure that next season almost all the improvements are ready for park visitors to enjoy.”
While there are no official numbers yet, Davis talked about how the 2019 season has been very successful for Saskatchewan’s parks.
He expects it’ll be an even bigger year in 2020 once these projects have been completed.
