SASKATOON – Camping and road tripping season is well underway with a stop in Saskatoon on many travellers’ itinerary.
But some campers choose to spend the night in a Walmart parking lot rather than a provincial park.
Ex-military couple Betty Lavigne and her husband Bob spend their retirement travelling across the country in their RV.
But instead of checking in to a campground after a long day on the road, they seek out the local Walmart.
“It’s very convenient, it’s usually right off the highway and I have a book that tells us the address, we’re able to get our groceries and obviously one is it doesn’t cost anything, because you might stop at 8 or 9 o’clock at night and leave early the next morning,” said Mrs. Lavigne.
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The Lavignes say they save between $30 and $45 a night and they’re not alone.
They say to see more than a dozen campers in a parking lot isn’t uncommon.
“If they’re choosing to be there two, three, five, seven days in a row, that surprises me because campsites have so much more to offer, the RV by its very nature puts you outside in the trees and the gravel,” said Tom Oakes, owner of Trx RV in Saskatoon.
But in the Bridge City, campers sometimes have no choice.
“Peak season is always a problem and with the amount of construction going on, a lot of our RV sites are tied up with long term stays for workers so it leaves the travelling public a little up in the air as far as finding a good spots,” said Tourism Saskatoon CEO and President Todd Brandt.
Some campgrounds say, at times, it’s so full they’re forced to refer people to Walmart.
Brandt says it’s not ideal but they’d prefer that than having people skip the city altogether.
“It’s way more important to have them stay in the destination, explore and have that experience rather than lose them to a city down the highway,” he said.
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