Though it feels like winter has barely arrived, the Saskatchewan provincial park system is already gearing up for the 2016 season with the launch of the seasonal camping program.

“We set a new record in 2015, with nearly 3.9 million visits to Saskatchewan’s provincial parks,” Parks, Culture and Sport Minister Mark Docherty said.  “The opportunity to spend time with family and friends in a beautiful, natural setting is very important to the people of our province, and is only growing in popularity.  We are proud to offer high-quality experiences and are always looking at ways that we can enhance our offerings.”

Seasonal camping is always a popular program, offering the opportunity to secure a campsite from mid-May to the end of August, or even into September at some locations.  

These campsites are offered at a discount from the regular nightly camping rate and allow campers to settle into a site for the whole summer.

There are 20 provincial parks and recreation sites that offer the seasonal camping program, and the campsites are always in high demand.

Due to the popularity of this program, sites are allocated via lottery system.

With the pending provincial election, dates for the nightly camping reservation launch will move to April for this year.

It will follow the same format as 2015, utilizing a queuing system and staggering the launch over a ten day period.

Application forms for seasonal campsites will be available online as of January 4.