‘Trying to stay calm’: There is still snow in this Saskatchewan national park as long weekend approaches

Waskesiu Lake is one of many lakes in the area still frozen over, preventing the marina from opening.

Businesses in Prince Albert National Park (PANP) are bracing for a slow start to their busy tourism season due to a stubborn snowpack.

The prolonged spring melt in central Saskatchewan is muddying plans for those traveling to the park for the Victoria Day long weekend, while forcing some businesses to stay closed.

Lingering snowbanks sit along some of the roads, tree lines, campsites and shaded areas throughout the park. Waskesiu Lake is still frozen over and there’s snow on the beach.

“Spring is definitely delayed here,” said PANP promotions officer Jacelyn Perret.

The Waskesiu Golf Course has up to two feet of snow in some areas, according to general manager Tyler Baker, preventing the course from opening for the long weekend.

“It sets us back two weeks,” Baker said, adding the golfers are usually on the course in the first week of May. “There’s a few disgruntled people, but you can’t really do anything about it.”

There have been years when there’s been some snow in shaded areas of the course, but never anything like this that Baker can recall.

He says the course typically sees about 700 rounds of golf played during the May long weekend.

“The revenue is a good bump for the start of the year, which unfortunately we’ll miss out on,” Baker told CTV News.

May long weekend typically signals the start of the busy season at Waskesiu, a small tourist town located in PANP.

The restaurant and pro shop at the golf course will be open over the long weekend. Baker’s hoping the course can open late next week, but even then, he says some holes will have piles of snow for “quite a while.”

“We’re trying to stay calm,” he said.

“We’re working together as a team to put a plan in place for an opening date and working together to make sure it’s a successful opening when we do.”

Down the road, the Waskesiu Trading Company is open for business. But general manager Jason Carroll says there’s been a noticeable decline in foot traffic this spring compared to previous years.

“Just not as many people because they can’t get into their cabins,” Carroll said.

“But, in my eyes, it’s just giving us more time to get things under control and as well enjoy the peace and quiet of this beautiful park.”

Mid-May is typically when people come to open their cabins for the season, campers start staying the night, and the park is filled with visitors hiking and fishing.

Fishing season for the area begins this weekend. The Waskesiu marina typically aligns its opening day with it, but not this year. The marina is closed as several lakes in the area are frozen over.

PANP officials are reminding visitors to stay off the lakes and ice this time of year.

“While people may think it’s a funny idea to go out ice fishing on the lake for May long weekend, the ice is very thin and very dangerous,” Perret said.

Most of the park’s campgrounds will be open for the weekend, but some won’t have potable water, and others won’t have running water at all.

“It is pretty atypical for the May long weekend,” Perret said.

“A lot of these things are weather dependent. and with the snow still lingering and the late spring conditions, it’s made access to infrastructure very challenging to get crews to be able to clear everything ahead of the long weekend.”

While snowbanks linger in some areas, other parts of the park and townsite match the season, with green grass and clear sidewalks.

Perret says visitors should still prepare for snowy and muddy conditions within the campgrounds.

Despite the slow start to the season, businesses are hopeful foot traffic will pick back up once conditions improve.

“I feel like once we have all the water and everything opens up, we’re going to get a lot more people coming up more than usual, just because we didn’t get the May long weekend,” Carroll said.