The Killarney Kinsmen Club are waiting to see what the Province will decide on privately owned campgrounds as COVID-19 precautions evolve.

The local Kinsmen Club owns and operates the Kerry Park Campground that’s on the west side of Killarney Lake.  The campground has 225 sites, of which close to 200 are seasonal, 25 transient sites.

Kinsmen Treasurer, Bart Sutherland, says club members haven’t really had the discussion yet as to what the summer looks like for the campground with regards to social distancing and COVID-19.

“We’ll be told what we have to do,” explains Sutherland, “but in my head I think we should be able to still look after our seasonal campers because for some folks it is their home.  For the snowbirds, this is where they come back to, some of them don’t have anywhere else to go.”

 “So, my thinking is that we should be able to operate for the seasonal campers, there’s lots of room out there, and lots of space between campers. They are 50-foot sites. But as I said we may be given direction of what we’ll need to do.”

Sutherland says the majority of seasonal campers have washroom/bathroom facilities in their unit so don’t need to rely on the campground’s public bathrooms, which could certainly be a factor.

If the province decides to close all campgrounds, including Kerry Park, Sutherland says that would hurt the Kinsmen Club as well as the entire community, as the Kinsmen supports many local projects financially through the collection of camping fees.

“It’ll be a learn as we go,” he says. “But if we can’t get the seasonal campers into the campground then that would be a huge hit for the Kinsmen and for our community because all the money circulates through the club and back into the community.”

“The management fees vary from year to year, it depends obviously on the capital projects we put in,” explains Sutherland, “but typically I would say around $80,000.”

Killarney Kinsmen Club donated $10,000 towards the Killarney Lake Action Committee’s aeration field system that was installed the summer of 2018

Most recently the Killarney Kinsmen donated $150,000 to the new Fire Hall building project.  Previous projects they’ve supported include $20,000 to the Killarney and Area Heritage Home for the Arts, $10,000 to the local Daycare Centre and $10,000 to the Killarney Lake Action Committee’s aeration system on Killarney Lake.

Having the campground closed would most certainly affect the entire community, he says.

Kerry Park Campground began in the mid-80’s with the Kinsmen building 70 sites to start. Over the past 40 years they have expanded their number of sites, with a great response from campers after each building stage.

Sutherland says the campground remains popular to outdoor enthusiasts because it’s close to the Killarney Golf Course, the business section of town providing all the necessary amenities, plus the water sports and fishing on Killarney Lake.

“Our rates are very reasonable,” he says.  “Our rates are up to $1500 for a seasonal site now, and it’s tough to find a campground with sites as big as ours.  Everybody has a yard and I think that appeals to people too.”

The Kerry Park Campground typically opens on May 1st. However, what happens over the next 30 days will dictate if the gates will be open when we turn the next calendar page over to the Month of May.