There’s at least one campground in the Kamloops area you can camp overnight this weekend.
Logan Lake is opening its municipal campground for the season tomorrow. It’ll only be open for dry camping as washroom facilities will remain closed, meaning no tent camping will be allowed.
Mayor Robin Smith says council had to decide last month, before the province came out with its reopening plan.
“Even though we made the decision probably a little bit earlier than we would’ve liked to make that decision, we kind of had to go down that road at that time. Because we also were in the process of looking at whether or not we would be hiring students for this year as well. They play a big part in the operation of our campground.”
Provincial parks reopened for day-use as of today, and overnight camping could be brought back at those parks in June or July.
Smith says she thinks council made the right decision, but says there have been some concerns.
“Some are really struggling with that. But at the same time, we’re sending the message that if you feel like you’re unsafe and you’re being exposed, you absolutely should stay home. We’re also pretty confident with the local businesses and the structures they’ve put in place to keep people safe, and keep people distant,” she says/
“Our local grocery store is doing a fantastic job, and everybody’s really stepped up to the plate in terms of making sure they’re keeping their employees safe. And we’re pretty confident people are doing the right thing. I think we’ve seen in B.C. that people are, and they are being responsible. And I think that’s why we’re seeing the numbers staying relatively low for us.”
In terms of revenue, the campground brought in more than $160,000 for the District last year according to staff.
Smith tells NL News that even if campground usage is down this year, with people being told to stay close to home, the District doesn’t expect the site to lose money this year. She says revenue was not part of council’s reopening conversation, saying the decision had a lot to do with people’s well being.
