The provincial budget, announced on March 19th, plans for some upgrades and developments at Moose Mountain Provincial Park. The park will soon feature back country camping sites as well as upgrades to the Visitor Centre.
Tanya Lawson, the acting Executive Director for Park Operations with the Ministry of Parks, Culture, and Sport, said the two new backcountry locations are within their existing trail system and will provide an 'off the beaten path' style of camping for those who prefer a more rustic experience.
"These will be a hike-in or bike-in for campers to get to them, and then each location will have multiple spaces for tents and some cooking areas. We will have a little more rustic facilities for washrooms and they each have a shelter that is there that could be utilized to stay in, an open-air shelter if you will, just to give a little bit of a weather break, especially if you're doing it in the off-season when it can be a little cooler out, but they will each be set up to have spaces for multiple tents."
She said the back-country sites will be an affordable option for those who don't require water, electricity, or ultra-modern facilities. However, booking for these sites will need to be done in person at the Visitor Centre for the time being, and is on a first-come, first-served basis.
"What we will have there are facilities that we've used in other backcountry areas in the park," Lawson explained. "We have what we call a 'urine-diverting toilet'. It's a composting toilet, so that will be installed, and that way there's no actual plumbing required out at these sites because they are a little distance from the core area where the facilities are."
Saskatchewan Provincial Parks, as always include firewood in the camping fees.
"We don't want introduced invasive species, and that can happen when people bring in their own firewood, so we do provide firewood and it is free of charge that comes with your camping reservation."
Over the next three years, the Chalet at the park, which also serves as the Visitor Centre and administration offices, will be undergoing upgrades as well.
"This is one building we're very proud of in our park system," Lawson expressed. "This is a nearly 100-year-old heritage property. It has heritage designation and has for a couple of years now, so the intent is definitely not to replace but to renovate, to maintain the building in its current appearance and structure."
She said the work will include a roof replacement, window upgrades, accessibility improvements, as well as replacement of some mechanical systems within the building.
"The overall appearance and structure of the building will remain in that heritage state."
Lawson noted these decisions are made through inspections and jointly with a facilities team.
"We look at all of our facilities throughout parks and do regular maintenance on them. During the course of that, these items were identified as needing to be upgraded so that we can maintain the viability of this heritage property."
She added, "These are very exciting happenings for Moose Mountain and we're really excited to see both projects going forward."
Moose Mountain will be open on the May long weekend, with the first day being May 15th. The season is set to last until closing day on September 30th.