Thanks to unfavourable weather, the May long weekend was relatively tame for local campgrounds and recreational areas.
Typical for a long weekend in this area, Friday, May 20, kicked off with light showers in the morning which continued on and off until Monday, May 23. Residents in the area even saw snow on Saturday night and into Sunday morning.
For Mike Weinert, owner of Ghost Lake Recreations, the company that operates the Ghost Reservoir Provincial Recreation Area, the weekend was a bust.
“It was terribly slow, I’m sure that was obvious,” Weinert said.
“I think we maybe had 12 campers this weekend out of our 80 sites … Two factors were against us – the weather of course but this year the water is so low that people can’t launch their boats,” Weinert continued.
He explained he did see a few “die-hard campers” brave the cold temperatures and wet conditions to spend the long weekend camping. He added they stayed “hunkered down in their motor homes and trailers”.
Weinert said he isn’t anticipating a busy summer overall since his campground is geared toward people who want to go boating on the Ghost Reservoir. The challenge he is facing is low water levels due to flood mitigation measures being taken by the province and TransAlta, which prevents boats from launching.
For Martin and Ingrid Tamnas, campground owners in Waiparous, North Ghost, Fallen Timber, Burned Timber, Red Deer River North, and Red Deer River South, the weekend was equally slow.
“In North Ghost we have 169 sites and in Waiparous we have about 53 sites and I’d say we were about half full in both of those grounds,” Ingrid said.
They did see quite a few off-highway vehicles making use of their grounds.
“I’d say there was a pile of monster trucks and four-wheel drives and lots of quads running all over,” Ingrid said.
Ingrid said people “can always find a camping spot at one of their campgrounds” and anticipates this summer will be a busy one despite the long weekend turn out.
