Winkler's 25-site campground nestled within the Parkland area of the city was again well-used over the summer months.
Jordan Driedger, Director of Community Services for the City of Winkler, says the majority of campers were short-term campers versus summer long campers. He says they had people coming from the United States and other parts of Canada to visit families and a lot of campers who also stayed during ball tournaments, summer hockey schools, or other festivities.
"In any given year when there was more work being done in our area with the pipeline, then we definitely hosted a lot of long-term campers. Often the people that worked on that pipeline would stay with us," said Driedger.
Driedger notes one change over the last couple of years has been the loss of the campground's overflow area that was lost with the construction of the Meridian Exhibition Centre.
"It has had some impact," said Driedger. "I think we feel it a little bit when our campsite is full. There are certain weekends, whether it's a baseball tournament, Harvest Festival, or Thousand Oaks where we could definitely make use of additional sites. Those sites were also a little bit bigger, so it could accommodate the larger campers. But overall, we haven't seen a major impact."
Driedger says they would like to see some upgrades take place at the campground in the next few years. He notes they are working with some of the local business community about how they could potentially be a part of that.
This was this second year with new booking software as well for the campground, which campers have been getting used to, noted Drideger.
Over the last number of years, campers have also enjoyed the addition of the nearby Jumpstart play structure in Parkland Park and the Meridian Exhibition Centre.