Canyon Ski Resort, east of Red Deer. (Supplied)

By Sheldon Spackman

Enhancing Year-Round Options

Campground proposed for Canyon Ski Resort

May 27, 2021 | 12:41 PM

A proposal to build a campground at the Canyon Ski Resort has been deferred by Red Deer County’s Municipal Planning Commission (MPC).

The owners of the resort east of Red Deer are looking to utilize the property through the summer months by constructing a campground consisting of 202 serviced RV sites and 53 tent sites. Three washroom and shower facilities, with power and water supplied to each site are also proposed, along with sanitary stations.

The nearly 56-acre development would be constructed mainly within the northwest portion of the resort in a moderately open and flat area at the top of the hill, with no impact to the existing ski operations.

Access would be from Township Road 384 (asphalt). Meanwhile, the road into Canyon Ski area is privately owned by Canyon Ski Resort which is identified as Range Rd 264A.

Canyon Ski Resort Co-owner David Martel says like most businesses in Alberta, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced them to pivot and explore additional opportunities.

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“It’s going to be a seasonal campground. We’ve got a world-renowned resort planner kind of working on the design of the campground,” he explains. “It’s the same people who do a lot of ski resort designs for Olympics and whatever else. This campground is going to tie well with the existing events that we have such as weddings, running races, and mountain bike events that do happen at Canyon.”

Martel says having a campground would also offer their seasonal employees year-round work.

“The seasonal workers find others jobs and we don’t always get them back every winter, so having year-round employment is a big bonus for us and takes a big stress off of training year after year and hopefully will create some employment in the area as well,” says Martel.

The proposed project has drawn concerns from five nearby landowners, including the impact to roads, potential disregard for speed limits, noise pollution, increased littering, environmental disturbances, increased risk of wildfires, water availability, increased crime, increased traffic, and dogs running at large.

Martel says they are very much interested in working with their neighbours to address those concerns.

“We don’t want extra problems in the neighbourhood,” he points out. “By working with our neighbours, we’re able to create an understanding and go forth with some scale of camping area would kind of be our end goal. One of the things we’re working at in collaboration with Red Deer County is hosting town hall meetings or we can talk to our neighbours and hear their concerns so we can understand their concerns and mitigate any problems that might come up with having a camping area.”

Ideally, if approved, Martel hopes to see construction begin later this summer, with the campground opening sometime in spring of next year. Red Deer County’s MPC is expected to revisit the proposal at a later date.

In the meantime, Canyon Ski Resort is hosting its chairlift grad processional once again on June 18.