WELLINGTON COUNTY – Under step one of Ontario’s reopening plan, campgrounds were able to reopen on June 11.
Local campgrounds have been frustrated with the fact that they have had to close over the past few months, after remaining open for most of 2020.
“We’re happy to finally have people come out,” said Nolan Vallery, general manager and owner of Highland Pines Campground in Belwood.
“It’s long overdue. We’re going to make sure we are still following all of the rules.”
Vallery said the campground has lost revenue and customers because of the recent lockdown. The campground is still trying to employ the same amount of people despite the hardship brought on by the pandemic.
“We lost out on the May 24 weekend, and (due to the provincial shutdown) lost 25 per cent of our revenue for the year,” he said.
Vallery expressed disappointment with the province’s decision to keep campgrounds closed throughout most of the spring.
“It didn’t make sense that public playgrounds could be open but private playgrounds couldn’t,” Vallery said.
“In my opinion, there was nonsense legislation that was not based on fact.”
In a June 11 interview Vallery said he was thrilled with how the campground’s reopening was going.
“We’re having lots of customers show up nice and early that are just excited to get out camping,” he said.
“After being locked down for so long, this is a great relief for some people to come out and enjoy some special moments with their families and start the summer traditions they’ve enjoyed for years.”
Vallery said last year, the campground was able to operate “without a hook.” He said Highland Pines was fully occupied for the entire summer without a single issue due to COVID-19.
“We’ve got great processes in place. It’s unfortunate we weren’t given the option to continue those in the spring,” he noted.
“It’s definitely been an interesting couple of months, trying to balance out staff levels and just generally changing how we run the business.”
Vallery said now that the campground is allowed to reopen, it is looking forward to another fantastic camping season, utilizing some of the same protocols from last year.
Vallery said there is no way for the campground to make up for lost revenue from weekend rentals, as they were already fully booked for every weekend throughout the summer.
“There’s no way to make up for those weekends throughout the summer, but we should see some increased weekday rentals and stuff like that,” he said.
“We’re just going to do our best to try and enhance our customer’s experience throughout the year, to hopefully make it more memorable.”
The Grand River Conservation Authority’s (GRCA) parks also had a successful opening weekend of camping, according to the GRCA’s supervisor of strategic communications Cam Linwood.
“All of our conservation areas continue to operate at a reduced capacity and about 50 per cent of our campsites are currently available for booking due to the ongoing pandemic,” Linwood said in an email to the Advertiser.
Linwood said while many of those available campsites were booked last weekend, a few spots still remained open for booking, including some at Guelph Lake Conservation Area.
“In general, while the provincial government’s reopening plan did delay the start of our camping season, the closure did not impact the busiest time of year for camping at Grand River Parks, which typically occurs between June and August.”
Linwood said the GRCA has been seeing an increase in the popularity of camping this year. It operates approximately 2,200 campsites in eight conservation areas throughout the Grand River watershed.
“For those interested in the greatest selection of campsites, we recommend guests consider a weekday stay where many great campsites remain available,” Linwood added.
“Campsite reservation can be made online by visiting www.grcacamping.ca.”
Conestoga Family Campground and Pike Lake Golf Centre both declined a request for comment for this article.
