Dear Editor,
Sandy McNabb campground, a jewel of the foothills, is losing its non-reservable status as of 2021.
No longer will families of Okotoks and Foothills area be able to head out to this beautiful campground without planning in January when provincial campground reservations open.
Most of Kananaskis is now reservable and impossible to get into unless you book in winter. I agree that some people with set holidays do benefit from these winter reservations but, do not agree that all sites in all campgrounds should be this way. Sandy McNabb is one of the few campgrounds you can plan to go to with a little spontaneity.
Taxpayers built these parks and deserve to know who is pushing for this change. Is this change to make the parks more enjoyable for campers, or is it to lessen the workload of the private operators? Private operators I believe bid on these contracts to manage and operate these parks and it is doubtful there would be a shortage of bidders.
We think it is important that Alberta residents are aware of the change about to happen and hope that many will let our provincial government know that this is a mistake. We hope we have started a conversation that can save the non-reservable status of our beautiful Sandy McNabb.
What we think should happen is all Provincial Parks should have at least some sites left as first come, first serve, but that all campgrounds have a substantial number of sites left on the first come, first serve status. Judging from the usage at Sandy McNabb this year it is certainly being utilized and in financial terms should be turning a profit as a completely non-reservable campground. Please call or write your MLA and Alberta Parks or share on Facebook and let’s start a conversation about this before it just happens and it’s too late.
Lois and Ron Campbell
Okotoks
