Carberry campground with 36 sites set to open this spring

Carberry’s mayor says he hopes that the town’s new campground will be open later this spring.

The campground, situated on the west side of Wellwood Road across from the Carberry Plains Community Centre, will have about 36 sites, Ray Muirhead said.

“We want to see campers in there, I’m hoping, (in) June,” Muirhead said on Wednesday. “We’ve got the campground pretty much done.”

Water and electrical work have been completed, while sodding and some sewer work need to be finished before the grounds can welcome its first campers, Muirhead said.

“There was a lot of engineering, a lot of project managers, (a) lot of people involved on both the town and the (Municipality) of North Cypress-Langford. And there still is, we’re still dealing with it,” he said.

The Town of Carberry announced last week that it is hiring campground staff.

The campground — which hasn’t yet been named — was built in conjunction with North Cypress-Langford.

A building for washrooms and showers is also in the works, but a timeline on when that will be operational wasn’t available.

Muirhead said having the campground up and running will be good for the town.

“Recreation is a major component of any municipality or town — you want to provide good recreation,” he said, adding that campgrounds are commonplace in communities.

Carberry already has a small five-lot campsite next to the baseball diamonds. Those sites will continue to be operational after the new site opens, Muirhead said.

“We just wanted to make a new campground. We wanted to have a … good entrance to town, and we just want to up our game,” he said.

The sites will also help increase business in the community, he said.

“They come, they park their camper, they go to a grocery store and shop, they got to get fuel in their vehicles. If they’re coming to take advantage of swimming lessons, they’re going to pay for swimming lessons and going to eat at our restaurants.”

The adjacent community centre has a variety of recreational facilities, including a pool.

The campground is also relatively close to Spruce Woods Provincial Park, the Carberry Golf Course and the Sand Hills Casino, he said.

Muirhead estimated the total cost of the project at “well over $1 million,” which he called a “wild guess.”

The project started roughly six years ago when the municipalities bought 40 acres of land in Carberry to turn into the campground and recreation grounds for future developments, Muirhead said.

North Cypress-Langford Reeve Ray Drayson said he thinks the opening of the campground is positive.

“Doing a campground is a good idea,” Drayson said. “For the community in the area, maybe it’ll draw some people to town a little bit, and that’s what it’s all about.”

He said it will also be good for families in the area who might want to go camping at the new site.

“It’s a good deal for the town. They need a good campground, and they’ve got a bit of a one there now, but this one … I think it’s good to have,” Drayson said.

Additionally, Muirhead said the town is working to have the speed limit lowered on Wellwood Road, which is an extension of Highway 5 that leads into the community from the north.

The town is also working to get a crosswalk with lights on Wellwood near the community centre, he said.

Once the campsites are closer to opening, bookings can be made through the campground office.

» alambert@brandonsun.com