ST. PAUL - Westcove Campground in the County of St. Paul will not open during the 2020 camping season and many of the amenities associated with the recreation area just north of St. Paul, including the walking trials, day use picnic area, spray park and tennis courts, will also not be open to the public. The only area accessible will be the boat launch.
CAO Sheila Kitz said the decision, which appears to have been based on the fact the campground had few bookings for the summer, was made by council during the county public works meeting last Tuesday.
“The County is hesitant to speculate regarding why people were not booking,” Kitz said. “We do see a correlation of bookings in relation to events that happen in the Town of St. Paul such as Centerfield, ball tournaments, soccer tournaments, and the rodeo. Since many of these events are not taking place, perhaps this has reduced the number of bookings. Bookings at our other parks were much higher.”
Kitz stated there were other factors the led to the decision including money with the county weighing the economics of opening with few bookings against the cost of staffing the park. She also said keeping the park closed this summer will allow for the opportunity to upgrade the day use area that is subject to periodic flooding and to expand some of the camping stall to accommodate larger units.
“Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the spray park would not be operating which is a big draw, and the tenting sites and the group camping sites are closed. Fortunately, there are three other municipal campgrounds that are tentatively scheduled to open on June 25. The three other municipal campgrounds – Floatingstone, Lac Bellevue and Stoney Lake – are tentatively scheduled to be open on June 25,” notes a posting on the county’s website.
People who have made reservations at Westcove will receive an email from Camp Reservations Canada to re-book at a different campground or to receive a refund.
