Camping season officially kicks off at Pike Lake Provincial Park

For Warman’s Tyler Stolz and his family, campgrounds opening up couldn’t come sooner.

The Stolz family were the first campers through the gates at Pike Lake Provincial Park Monday morning, as campsites reopened for the first time for the season. Typically, the May long weekend kicks off the unofficial beginning of the camping season, but the COVID-19 global pandemic closed all parks across the province.

The Re-Open Saskatchewan Plan allowed overnight camping to begin Monday, much to the delight of Stolz and his wife.

“Well, we’ve been waiting (for) a long time. I’ve got a seven-year-old daughter that’s been hounding us since Christmas time,” she said. “She just can’t wait to be out at the lake, and chasing birds and lookin’ for rabbits.”

The Stolz family has a seasonal site at Pike Lake, but with campgrounds only operating at 50 per cent capacity, opening day feels different according to Stolz.

“It’s going to be weird not having campers everywhere, like beside you and all around. That will be a weird adjustment. We don’t know if we like it quieter or if we like people being around. Other campers break the wind for you.”

Meanwhile, Ellie May Hagglund and her Langham family also hit up Pike Lake early Monday.

With some services not being offered due to COVID-19, Hagglund says she hopes to make the best of it.

“I’m going to miss how you could go to parks, (do activities) and go to the beach (with) your family,” she said. “It’s a lot quieter around. So, you can hear the nature and adventure a bit.”

Stolz and his family also are feeling the pinch of missing out on key leisure services.

“It’ll be a weird adjustment, (not) being able to go to the park and the pool. That’s the main things my daughter looks forward to,” he said.

“We’ll make fun on our own. Do lots of activities, and I’m sure we’ll hit up the nature trail several times.”

With wind gusts up to 99 km/h felt in Saskatoon Monday and Pike Lake just a quick 30-minute drive southwest of the Bridge City, Stolz says it made things a bit tough for set up.

“Pullin’ the camper wasn’t the (best). (The) wind blew us here quite a ways,” he said.

“We’ve got a gazebo that we (have) to set up. We’re going to be holding off on that because it’s brand new. I feel like it would be broken if we tried setting it up in this wind.”

He did add that there was one positive to setting up with the wind, something many Saskatchewan campers can agree with.

“It kinda keeps the bugs away when you’re setting up,” he said. “I think I’d rather have the wind than the mosquitoes.”