Cold, wet weather gets Quebec camping season off to a muted start

The May long weekend usually marks the start of camping season in Quebec, but cool, rainy temperatures and a late thaw have kept numbers low and many campsites empty.

Usually campgrounds in the Massif du Sud regional park, southeast of Quebec City, are full or nearly so this time of the year.

But this year, with a late spring thaw leaving many roads still inaccessible to vehicles, only about a third of sites were rented over the weekend.

"This is an area where small recreational vehicles are allowed," said Philippe Toussaint, a spokesperson for the park. "Usually, it's full this weekend."

But with the roads in poor condition, campers weren't allowed in. Those who did rough it over the weekend had their luggage transported by all-terrain vehicle to their campsite.

At higher altitudes, there is still snow to contend with.

However, Toussaint isn't too worried. The season will just start a bit later, he said, and when that happens, it tends to last longer.

And that's just fine, he added, because "we know autumn here is more and more beautiful."

Finding alternative lodging to reconnect to nature

Some nature lovers have chosen to splurge on more luxurious accommodations to enjoy rolling tree-lined landscapes and oxygen-rich air without the worry of frigid overnight temperatures.

"We rented a shelter, a pod," Marie-Claude Paradis told Radio-Canada. "It's easier at this time of the year with dogs and children."

Even with the shelter to keep warm, she admitted, "we didn't think it was going to be that cold. It's still mid-May. We thought it was going to be a little warmer."

The season has been slow to start at Camping de La Joie in Saint-Émile, Que., as well. The campground is located just north of the province's capital city.

"Some brave people have still made it" said the campground's assistant director Karine Lajoie. "There are even some people who slept in a tent. There is at least one who came with his child."

While there are those brave souls willing to pitch a tent in the frosty, wet weather, using the bathroom was a different story. This year, Lajoie said she was asked to heat the bathrooms.

"I never had that as a request," she said.

"To take a shower when it is five or six degrees in a building that is not heated, I guess it's pretty cold."