Flooding impacts camping opportunities at some southern Interior provincial parks

Flooding issues are derailing camping plans in five Thompson-Okanagan provincial parks, but the rest are ready for business as the May long weekend approaches.

The B.C. Parks website lists, as of May 16, five provincial parks compromised or closed due to flooding issues.

Haynes Point (S?i?s) Provincial Park near Osoyoos is closed due to the high water levels in Osoyoos Lake.

Kettle River Provincial Park near Rock Creek is open on a first-come, first-served basis with limited camping opportunities due to the high water. If you are familiar with the campground, sites 21 to 53 are currently closed.

Conkle Lake Provincial Park west of Rock Creek is inaccessible from Highway 3 at this time due to a washout on the access road to the park.

Darke Lake Provincial Park, located northwest of Summerland, is inaccessible due to a flooded access road.

The road to Murtle Lake in Wells Gray Provincial Park north of Kamloops is closed due to the high snowpack.

Customers with camping reservations in a park affected by closure will be contacted directly by the Discover Camping Reservation Service. For further information about camping reservations, contact the Discover Camping Call Centre at 1-800-689-9025.

B.C. Parks is advising provincial park users in the Thompson-Okanagan region to use caution this long weekend, due to increased risk of flooding and debris flow over the freshet period.


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Steve Arstad

I have been looking for news in the South Okanagan - SImilkameen for 20 years, having turned a part time lifelong interest into a full time profession. After five years publishing a local newsletter, several years working as a correspondent / stringer for several local newspapers and seven years as editor of a Similkameen weekly newspaper, I joined iNFOnews.ca in 2014. My goal in the news industry has always been to deliver accurate and interesting articles about local people and places. My interest in the profession is life long - from my earliest memories of grade school, I have enjoyed writing.
As an airborne geophysical surveyor I travelled extensively around the globe, conducting helicopter borne mineral surveys.
I also spent several years at an Okanagan Falls based lumber mill, producing glued-wood laminated products.
As a member of the Kaleden community, I have been involved in the Kaleden Volunteer Fire Department for 22 years, and also serve as a trustee on the Kaleden Irrigation District board.
I am currently married to my wife Judy, of 26 years. We are empty-nesters who enjoy living in Kaleden with our Welsh Terrier, Angus, and cat, Tibbs.
Our two daughters, Meagan and Hayley, reside in Richmond and Victoria, respectively.

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