With sunny skies and balmy temperatures, the May long weekend and opening camping weekend went off with a bang for parks in the southeast.

"It was an excellent weekend of camping for both Boundary and Woodlawn (Regional Park). We were almost booked to capacity," stated Manager Joanne Schulte, "The weather definately helped in that aspect."

"It was one of the best in a while, and the people responded. It's a good start, obviously, to have that many people come out on opening weekend. It was very appreciated, and we're just hoping that the rest of the summer sees the same."

She noted that a variety of new programs and services are lined up to introduce this season in the Park. Some of these include the launch of their canoes and kayaks in both locations, an honor-system based life jacket loaner station at Boundary, as well as a ceremony gazebo for outdoor weddings, and washrooms with outdoor showers right at the beach. Family Day on July 29th will also see a big to-do.

Meanwhile at Moose Mountain Provincial Park, Manager Joan Adams was ecstatic about the results of their long weekend.

"It was so nice, it was just absolutely beautiful. Warm, sunny, very little wind, so it was really good."

"Our camping (numbers) was pretty much spot on from where it was last year. Entry gates went down a little bit from last year, but we currently have the fire ban on in the park, and of course all the May long weekend has the alcohol ban in place. We also are just firing up our water systems here, so we did have a precautionary boil water (advisory), so I just wonder if maybe some of the people from the local towns that would be normally coming in and getting their park passes opted to stay home and do their yard work and things like that," she speculated, adding that she also saw folks cleaning the cobwebs out from their cottages and cabins.

'Equestrian camping' will be among the new items offered at Moose Mountain this season, according to Adams, where horse owners can bring their mounts along when camping and hit the trails.