Thousands of happy campers in Manitoba have booked their spots in a busy start to the camping season in Manitoba.
The provincial reservation system, which has been a source of frustration for would-be campers in the past, has held up to the demand of eager campers having their first chance to book sites.
Elisabeth Ostrop of Manitoba Parks told 680 CJOB that it’s been a relatively seamless path to more than 10,000 reservations at three popular parks, Birds Hill, Winnipeg Beach, and Grand Beach campgrounds.
Ostrop said there was one issue that quickly arose: shorter minimum booking times meant many weekends were taken, leaving sites only open for weekdays.
“There will be some places where those who like to stay longer will have a better opportunity to get a longer-term stay. … But weekends are the most popular, so those get snapped up pretty quickly.”
Ostrop said 2024 marks the first year individual weekends could be booked on their own, which has led to a lot of week-long dates going partially filled.
“We do have some campgrounds where we have set aside camping inventory that’s for longer-term stays — the minimum start is a seven-night stay — but we don’t offer that inventory at all campgrounds.”
Campgrounds in the Whiteshell area open up for booking Wednesday morning, while further spots will be open for bookings later this week, with northern and western campgrounds opening Thursday, and all others in the province Friday.