A BUSY JULY LONG WEEKEND FOR SASKATCHEWAN PROVINCIAL PARKS

The first long weekend of summer, combined with the sun and warm weather, made provincial parks a popular destination, as people from all over Saskatchewan and beyond headed to the parks to camp, boat and enjoy the sunshine.

"By all accounts this was an excellent weekend for our parks," Tourism, Parks, Culture and Sport Minister Bill Hutchinson said. "Despite a cool and wet spring, preliminary numbers show that park visitation is on track with previous years."

Saskatchewan provincial parks had an 82 per cent occupancy rate on the July long weekend in 2011, compared to 78 per cent in 2010.

"This is an impressive number of park visitors, especially when considering the difficulties some of our parks experienced with spring flooding and recent storms," Hutchinson said. "It is due to the extraordinary efforts of our parks personnel that campers are able to, once again, enjoy Saskatchewan's beautiful provincial parks."

The upcoming week should again be busy as Saskatchewan Parks Week runs from July 10 to July 16. Events will be held throughout the week celebrating the natural, cultural and historical landscape of our province.

This year also marks the 80th anniversary of Saskatchewan's provincial parks. This important milestone will be commemorated with events throughout the province.

For further information on Saskatchewan provincial parks, please visit www.saskparks.net.

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For more information, contact:

Tiffany Stephenson
Tourism, Parks, Culture and Sport
Regina
Phone: 306-787-3506
Email: tiffany.stephenson@gov.sk.ca
Cell: 306-550-5927