2017 has so far proven to be a busier year for provincial campgrounds than 2016.

Elisabeth Ostrop is Manager of Recreation and Education Services for Manitoba Provincial Parks. She says total reservations have reached nearly 82,000, which is up about 5 percent over last year.

The Labour Day long weekend will be the last weekend for many campgrounds in this province. Ostrop explains many campgrounds will be closed as of Tuesday, though some stay open as late as mid-October.

Ostrop says some Manitobans have certainly bought into the idea of fall camping. She notes after this weekend, campgrounds will be pretty quiet during the week but become popular again for weekends. But, in terms of volume, Ostrop says there is a dramatic difference between campsite bookings in summer compared to fall in Manitoba.

As for this weekend, Ostrop says they are anticipating campgrounds will be busy. Yet, she says some basic campsites are still available throughout the province, with a few electrical sites left unclaimed as well.

It is free entry to provincial parks this weekend. There will be a variety of special interpretive programming, such as an amphitheatre presentation on furs and trapping at Birds Hill Provincial Park, guided tours of historic houses at St. Norbert Provincial Park, a star-gazing party at Spruce Woods Provincial Park with the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, and opportunities to view migrating geese up close at the Alfred Hole Goose Sanctuary in Whiteshell Provincial Park.

The Labour Day long weekend is not the busiest of the summer. According to Ostrop, the August long weekend always brings the most traffic to provincial campgrounds. This is followed by Canada Day if it happens to land on a weekend.

Meanwhile, though there are no fire restrictions in provincial parks at this moment, Ostrop reminds campers to use caution when lighting a camp fire. She notes fires should always be inside an approved pit, should never be left unattended and should be extinguished before going to sleep.