Whistlers Campground in Jasper National Park reopens July 12 after two years of renovations
The largest campground in Jasper National Park is reopening on July 12 and campers will be able to book sites online starting Thursday.
Whistlers Campground is reopening after a $60 million renovation that took two summers to complete.
Parks Canada said in a statement that half of the nearly 800 sites will be available for park goers to enjoy on July 12. The remaining half of campsites at Whistlers will become available a week after, the park’s authority said.
Bookings will open on Thursday, June 24, at 8 a.m. and can be completed online using the Parks Canada Reservation Service.
Parks Canada recommends interested campers create a My Parks Canada Reservation Account ahead of time to be ready for online reservations. The park says they expect a “high volume” of people reserving sites at Whistlers Campground on the first day of bookings.
The renovations included building a new registration centre and three all-gender accessible washrooms.
Wider roads throughout the campground will allow for two-way RV traffic and a new separate entrance road for guests returning to the site after already registering will help alleviate traffic bottlenecks, Parks Canada said.
Eighteen new combined shower and washroom facilities throughout the campground have been built. According to Parks Canada, campers will not have to walk more than 250 metres in order to use a washroom or shower.
Jonathan Wilkinson, federal minister of the environment, said in a statement that the renovations will help contribute to tourism and high-quality experiences for park visitors in Jasper.
“Throughout the pandemic, Albertans and all Canadians, have reconnected and rediscovered nature,” Wilkinson said.
“These substantial investments our government has made in Whistlers Campground in Jasper National Park will ensure this iconic national park continues to offer safe and breathtaking experiences to Albertans and visitors from all around the globe for decades to come.”
According to Parks Canada, visitors to the renovated campground will notice young saplings in place of many of the removed mature trees.
“It will take many years for these saplings to gain height,” Parks Canada said in a statement. “In the meantime, many campsites in Whistlers now have more sun and greater mountain views than before.”
Ground around electrical, sewer, and water lines was “significantly disturbed,” Parks Canada said as Whistlers underwent utilities upgrading. The park authority is asking campers to stay off the newly seeded areas to ensure natural grasses and vegetation can grow.
Parks Canada says it hopes to hold an official grand reopening ceremony in spring 2022 when all renovation work is completed.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
Majority of Canadians believe in life after death: Angus Reid survey
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.
MyPillow, owned by U.S. election denier Mike Lindell, formally evicted from Minnesota warehouse
A court ordered the eviction Wednesday of MyPillow from a suburban Minneapolis warehouse that it formerly used.