It was a record-breaking year for visitors at Saskatchewan provincial parks.
The province said there have been more than one million visits to parks so far in 2021, surpassing the previous record set last year.
Park officials said there were more than 400,000 camping nights spent in parks, breaking the previous record from 2016.
“With residents staying close to home this past year, we’ve seen a number of new visitors exploring our parks in addition to many returning visitors,” said Parks, Culture and Sport Minister Laura Ross in a release.
“We are pleased that more people are taking advantage of the recreational opportunities we have right here in our own province, and discovering all that our beautiful parks have to offer.”
While cooler temperatures have moved in, park officials said camping is still available at many parks, but with reduced services.
Winter doesn’t mean the end to camping services either.
Park officials said online reservations will start in early November to book sites at any park offering winter activities.
Some of the winter offerings include Christmas tree cutting in Cypress Hills, a Festival of Lights tour in Pike Lake and Candle Lake, Skate the Park at Echo Valley, plus snowshoeing, tobogganing, hiking and more at Buffalo Pound, Moose Mountain, Great Blue Heron and Duck Mountain provincial parks.
Camp-easy reservations will be available at Echo Valley, Cypress Hills and the Resort at Cypress Hills.
Accommodations are also available at Kenosee Inn and Madge Lake.