Sophie Gray
Local Journalism Initiative
The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the lives of many Canadians, ruining travel plans and summer vacation opportunities across the country, but not all the impacts have been bad.
The highly sought after sw̓iw̓s Provincial Park (Haynes Point) is usually booked by international travellers, making it very difficult to snag a site, said park manager Ken Derksen. But regulations placed on travel have given British Columbians a chance to camp in the Osoyoos Indian Band run campground.
“We generally get a lot of Europeans and they’re unable to come this year so that’s been a bit of a difference,” said Derksen. “It’s made more sites available for locals and people from British Columbia.”
Derksen said the regulations have otherwise not affected much of the way the campground functions. Double sites that once hosted up to 16 people have gone down to a maximum of eight as groups are asked to remain small, but “everything else is pretty much the same as normal,” at sw̓iw̓s Provincial Park, he said.
“We’ve got things posted in the park asking people to keep their distance and wash their hands, and those kinds of things. People in general seem to be very good.”
Derksen did not seem worried about bookings either. He said the park, which opened to overnight campers on June 1, is already fully booked until the middle of August.
Discover Camping, the provincial site that manages and hosts campsite reservations for all provincial parks, restructured the usual booking system this year in light of the late opening of parks and anticipated high demand for camping this summer. Sites available for reservation are now posted on a rolling basis, allowing B.C. campers to reserve for up to two months in advance.
New reservations opened today for sites in the park from the middle of August onwards.
Despite the late start to the season, Derksen said he expects sw̓iw̓s to be just as busy as ever this summer, with the majority of campers coming to explore their home province.
