Strong Camping Season for Provincial Parks

Nova Scotia’s provincial parks had a strong 2019 season with nearly 80,000 campsite nights booked.

Camping park attendance was up three per cent over last year at the end of August. Numbers dipped in September due to closures and cancelled reservations from Hurricane Dorian. All parks were closed during the hurricane and re-opened when it was safe to do so.

Camper nights have gone up about 30 per cent in the past five years.

Several infrastructure projects were completed this year, including:

• an accessible and gender-neutral comfort station was opened at Valleyview Provincial Park, which saw a 33 per cent increase in camper nights
• Battery Provincial Park had additional upgrades to serviced sites and saw an increase of 15 per cent in camper nights until the end of August
• a new water system was installed at Caribou-Munroes Island Provincial Park, which finished the season as the fourth most visited property

"I am very encouraged to see continued growth and enjoyment of our provincial parks. We are committed to promoting accessible and inclusive parks that draw residents and tourists to all corners of our province." said Iain Rankin, Minister of Lands and Forestry.

Quick Facts:

• there are 20 camping parks and more than 130 day-use and beach parks in Nova Scotia
• the 2019 season totalled 79,738 camper nights and more than 220,000 visitors
• camper nights fell 39 per cent for the month of September due to cancelled reservations from Hurricane Dorian
• about 60 per cent of campers came from Nova Scotia and 40 per cent came from other parts of Canada, the United States and other countries

Additional Resources:

Nova Scotia Provincial Parks website: http://parks.novascotia.ca