Cold weather tanks camping reservations for long weekend

There will be fewer Manitobans out camping this May long weekend.

Provincial parks officials blame the cold weather for a 20 per cent drop in campground reservations. In fact, it's been so cold that water pipes at some campgrounds are still frozen, said spokesperson Tracy Elbourne.

“Our field staff are working extremely hard to get water systems up and running. I heard very late yesterday that Paint Lake up near Thompson is struggling to bring their systems on," she said.

Campgrounds at Rainbow Beach and North Steep Rock will be closed this weekend. The snow just melted at those sites and it's too muddy to let campers in, Elbourne said.

"When it's this wet and this cold for so long, sometimes the ground is so very soft, we can't let trailers in. They'll be up to their axles in mud," she said.

"So we just have to wait til things dry up a bit."

On the subject of dry, Elbourne wants to remind campers this is an alcohol-free weekend at all sites.