The B.C. government is spending $600,000 to upgrade background camping facilities at a popular site in Garibaldi Provincial Park near Squamish.
The upgrades in the Elfin Lakes area, announced in a statement issued on Thursday (May 17), will include a new, 30-site campground, toilets and public shelter, as well as improvements to the Garibaldi Park access road and ranger stations in the Diamond Head-Elfin Lakes area.
The Elfin Lakes projects are part of $13.98 million in capital upgrades to B.C. Parks facilities directed at attracting young families, offering new recreation opportunities, improving accessibility and increasing attendance, the statement said.
The total capital budget represents a $3 million (27 per cent) increase over last year, government officials said. The B.C. government has allocated $53 million to capital upgrades to parks facilities over the past five years.
While almost 20 million people visit B.C. Parks every year, we want to encourage even more people to get out and enjoy B.C.'s spectacular parks, said Environment Minister Terry Lake. One way of doing that is to invest money money in infrastructure.
Parks not only contribute to our environment, they are important to our economy. These improvements will keep visitors coming back and encourage other, more diverse groups to visit in the future.
