The great outdoors is beckoning
Islanders and tourists head to the campgrounds during long weekend
Guillaume Landry had only one problem with his first visit to P.E.I.
It wasn’t long enough. The Montreal resident, Tomona Morrita and their fouryear-old child Tami Landry, stayed at the Cornwall KOA campground this weekend.
Before even leaving the province, Landry was already looking forward to someday returning.
“This was too short,” said Landry, who went on Lady Slipper Drive and toured O’Leary’s Potato Museum. “The people here and in Charlottetown are friendly… people on the street will look in your eyes and smile at you. That doesn’t mean Montreal isn’t a nice city too, but people are in more of a rush.”
It was also fun for the couple’s child.
“She really likes the campfire and roasting marshmallows,” said Morrita.
The site saw plenty of bonfires during the first ideal weekend for camping on P.E.I.
Although only a handful of campgrounds were open for the long weekend, enthusiastic adventurers had a couple of options in finding an outdoor fix.
The KOA campground was one of the busier hubs of activity, with about 165 of its 275 sites filled. Most of the campers came from other provinces, as well as some from outside of the country.
“We have people here from the United Kingdom this weekend, Germany, New Zealand. We have people from everywhere,” Donna Sentner, who manages the campground with husband, Kent.
Kent said the two always aim to open up during the long weekend in May.
He said that although it’s not the busiest time of the year, it’s a popular time for European travellers to visit.
“We get more (European visitors) in the shoulder seasons than the busier months,” he said.
However, there were also plenty of Islanders at the campground.
East Wiltshire student Julie Goodwin was one P.E.I. camper who was eager to get outside.
“It’s really nice here, especially down at the beach,” said Goodwin, who was staying at the KOA with her parents, brother and four friends.
The group of friends said there was plenty to enjoy at the campground, from watching the wildlife, to playing on the inflatable pillow jumper and walking on the beach.
“We went and sat on the rocks at the beach this morning as the sun was going up, it was really nice,” said Mairi Brydon.
Although Sunday was especially windy at the Cornwall campground, Donna noted the site faired better weather-wise than the KOA location in Gros Morne, Newfoundland, which also opened for the weekend.
“They had six cm of snow, it’s crazy. They definitely had it worse,” said Donna. “It was windy and cool here (on Sunday) but the weather got a little bit better and we still had people in tents.”
The Cavendish KOA site will open to campers next weekend.