Construction is underway at Nickle Lake Regional Park on a new washroom and laundry facility and a future new Canteen building.
The oldest washroom building in the park, nearest the beach, was torn down in October and was likely close to 50 years old.
Park Manager Darren Wheeler said the foundation work for the new build began in January.
"It has taken a while to get to this point. We got all the piles in this last week, and this week the concrete grade beams are going in and we're starting to see some action out here finally."
He said the plan is for the new washroom facility to open by the beginning of the camping season and will include showers and a laundry room. While the new canteen won't open until 2026, the old canteen building will be in use this season.
According to Wheeler, this new construction will eventually be the hub of the park.
"It'll all be underneath one roof and there's going to be outdoor seating in between the two buildings underneath the roof and we're going to be putting gloss doors on the ends so on a windy day, we can just close the doors and everybody can enjoy still sitting outside and looking at the lake."
Located behind the old canteen, where no through traffic has been allowed for many years, the new buildings are designed to be flanked by the playground and the beach. Plans also include eventually moving the Mini Golf course to the area.
"We're going to build a sports court in that park area. We want to get pickleball, basketball, volleyball, street hockey, somewhere for kids to throw a ball and have fun."
"At some point, we'll have a water feature put in there, which just takes time, and the board is focused on getting all this stuff done as quick as we can," he noted, adding the project will take at least 18 months due to logistics and financial planning.
"We're looking at different options and then we're at least 18 months out to get any kind of water feature put in the park. We're looking at something that's going to last us for another 40 years. We'll have to put a chlorination system in it, and we'll have to put a water reservoir in because we don't have the water capacity to keep the water flowing, so we have to recycle the water and we need a big holding tank to hold the water."
Plans are, however, nearer in sight for an outdoor shower too closer to the beach.
"We're going to plumb that in in the spring, so it's more easy to come off the beach and it will be right there to shower off the beach. There is one there [next to the old canteen building], but it's out of the beaten way and this one will be right out there so everybody can see it."
While some seasonal campers are taking advantage of storing their RVs at the park throughout winter, most won't be moving in for the season until mid-May, with a season opener date to be set just before fishing season.
The fall draw for seasonal sites allowed 20 new seasonal campers to take advantage of living for the summer at the park, while another 100 remain on the waitlist.
"We opened up some new sites, took some other ones out there, and made some more sites available," Wheeler explained. "We're also starting the development of our new campground, so we're hoping to have 12 sites ready by next year."
Once the snow is gone, he said crews will get working on preparing the park for the season, which includes tree-trimming trees and raking of leaves, and some painting of washroom facilities. The park is also hoping to hire a couple of summer students.
Those hoping to take advantage of some local camping during their summer holidays can book online now HERE or by emailing nicklelakeregionalpark@gmail.com.
