Ten brand new oTENTiks at Whistlers Campground are among a number of improvements made to Jasper’s campgrounds this year, along with a playground at Wapiti and a whole new reservation system at Pocahontas.
According to Geoff Danks, team leader for campgrounds and day-use areas at Parks Canada in Jasper, the oTENTiks give campers a unique new way to experience camping in Jasper, without as much pressure as traditional camping.
“People like other options that are somewhere between the hotel experience and full-on camping,” he explained, adding that the new soft-roofed structures have been booked solid pretty much all season long.
A cross between a tent and a “rustic cabin,” each oTENTik is equipped with three beds, and can sleep up to six people. Between spring of last year and the start of this year, 100 of the structures have gone up at national parks and historic sites across the country, and Danks said that consistency means that fans of the experience will be able to get it at a number of different campgrounds.
But it’s not just Whistlers Campground that got upgrades this year. Wapiti is also looking a little shinier, with a gleaming new playground that just went in about a month ago.
Danks said the campground used to have a few playground items, such as swings, but the full playground is a big improvement.
He was also excited about a new self-reservation system as Pocahontas Campground that allows campers to reserve a site by calling from a phone located at the campground entrance. The campground operates on a first-come, first-served basis, but now a few loops are reservable.
“You fill out your information on a envelope and deposit it—there’s not an attendant there to book you in,” he said. “It’s a new thing that we haven’t done in Parks Canada before, so there’s a learning curve on both sides, but it’s been working well, and people seem to like it.”
These improvements are likely part of the reason the park’s campgrounds have seen a significant spike in attendance this year. Danks said that in June, campground attendance was up by 16 per cent over last year. He didn’t yet have numbers for July, but said that anecdotally it looks like more people stayed that month as well, with overflow open more days than in previous years.
“It’s a pretty significant bump, so it’s been quite a bit busier,” he said.
Danks said weather might be playing a factor in that bump as well, but Parks “did notice right from when [its] reservations started in April, before weather even became a factor, there was more reservations than last year.”
With wifi becoming available soon—likely in September—at select public locations in the park’s campgrounds, Danks said he thinks it will be a good year for improvements at the park’s campgrounds.
“It’s little steps each year, that over time add up to a better overall camping experience for our visitors,” he said.
Trevor Nichols
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