While the number of overnight and short-term campers was down at the Woodlawn Regional Park this year, their two campgrounds were as popular as ever with seasonal campers.
Park manager Aaron-Lee Soparlo said all of their seasonal sites were full this season. They have 113 seasonal sites at their campground along Boundary Dam, and 52 more at their Souris River campsite.
But the number of short-term campers was down. Soparlo chalked it up to the economic downturn in the southeast.
“Last year we saw a lot of transient people working in the area, regardless of whether it was railways, the mines, people travelling for different projects, boilermakers or construction workers,” said Soparlo.
“Because the economic boom was happening in Estevan, they couldn’t find hotels, they couldn’t find accommodations to live in or housing, so they would camp for the summer.
“Things are a little different this year, and there’s more availability within our city and the rural areas, so we didn’t see these types of people coming through our parks in the short-term.”
But they did have a lot of people staying at the park from Saskatchewan and other Canadian provinces, as well as the United States. Since Woodlawn is near the border with the U.S. and Manitoba, Soparlo said they attract a lot of people from outside the province.
“I would say it was very similar to what we see on a normal basis, as far as people who are travelling here from out-of-town,” said Soparlo.
Woodlawn has a total of 288 camping sites between their two campgrounds.
Fourteen full-time employees worked at the park during the summer, and they worked hard to make this season successful and keep the park beautiful.
Campers have provided a lot of good feedback, she said. They were pleased with the changes and the capital improvements that continue to occur at the campgrounds.
“It’s always encouraging to hear from them about what we’re doing to grow our tourism industry in this corner of the province,” said Soparlo.
A number of capital projects were completed at the park this year. It was just the second year they had all their campsites available since the flood of 2011.
Signage was updated for both of their campgrounds. Fencing was installed, new roofs were added to existing buildings, lighting was added at both campgrounds and a new boat dock was constructed for Boundary Dam.
A septic truck, mowers and equipment were purchased, and they added lighting for the Dana Quewezance Memorial Field.
A new walking path throughout the free park area was built, and it was used during the first-ever Colour My Foundation Run for the St. Joseph’s Hospital Foundation.
The park received a grant from the Community Places and Spaces Program, which was used to construct a new performance stage that should be finished this week. And they received a donation from Regens Disposal to move some big spruce trees at Boundary Dam.
“We did a water project so that they can actually water (the grass) out there,” said Soparlo. “We’re putting a boiler and a heater into the Doug Third Hall.”
The new off-leash dog park at the park’s northwest corner also continues to show progress.
“It was a big year with lots of fencing projects and lots of big projects that got done this year,” she said.
Additional capital projects will happen each year to improve the park and enhance the amenities they have.
Soparlo noted four of the events for the 2016 Saskatchewan Summer Games – golf, soccer, triathlon and canoe-kayak – will be happening within the park’s boundaries, and they look forward to showing off everything the park has to offer next year.
“It’s very exciting for not only Woodlawn and our community, but the whole region and the province, to host those games,”
said Soparlo.
