SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Attention Yellowknife campers: are you tired of smelling like sweat and insect repellant? Sick of the stench of outhouses? Annoyed at getting your feet soaked while walking the Prospector's Trail?

Parke users at Fred Henne, Prelude Lake and Reid Lake Territorial Park can look forward to various infrastructure additions, including solar-powered showers, flush toilets and new playgrounds for kids, according to the GNWT's Parks and Tourism division. - Guy Quenneville/NNSL photo

Then the GNWT's Parks and Tourism division has some good news for you.

The division is planning to add flush toilets, solar-powered shower stalls and several other pieces of infrastructure to Yellowknife's three territorial campgrounds – Fred Henne, Prelude Lake and Reid Lake.

In all, a total of $1.9 million in additions and renovations are being made to these parks and other campgrounds throughout the territory this year.

The projects were recommended to the GNWT in 2008 during consultations with campers.

"One of the things that came out of the consultation was, 'If you're going to charge us more, then there should be more services,'" said Kevin Todd, ITI's regional superintendent for the North Slave region.

The department of Industry, Tourism and Investment (ITI) raised fees for non-powered sites to $22.50 last year from $15 in 2008. The ballot draw seasonal campsites at Prelude and Reid Lake, meanwhile, were reduced to two months at the shoulder ends of the season while staying at the same $500 the department charged the year before for a full four months.

Some of the projects began to take shape last year.

Late last summer, the department renovated the shower blocks and change rooms at Fred Henne. The camp is located three

kilometres from downtown Yellowknife and home to 64 powered sites, 39 non-powered sites and 12 tent pads.

"Some of the parents suggested it would be nice to have change rooms where you could sort of see what your kid was doing – see their legs, at least," said Todd.

Flush toilets were installed in place of "long-drop" toilets, and Prospector's Trail received some touch-ups, too.

"There's a few mushy areas on the trail that are now boardwalked," he said.

At the beach, the division unloaded 50 dump truck loads of new sand, with more on the way this year.

"It wasn't done for many years," said Todd.

The newly renovated shower block – containing two stalls for men, two for women and a 250 gallon water tank – was retrofitted with solar panels and a circulation system that uses glycol to heat the water.

The panels, which will be backed by with a more conventional propane-fuelled system to assist on busy weekends, will supply half of the water demand for the season, said Todd.

Similar showers will be installed at Prelude Lake and Reid Lake at the end of this summer, ready for use in 2011, added Todd. Those camps will also receive flush toilets for the first time.

"Showers was one the of the big ones," said Todd of the suggested projects during consultation.

Prelude Lake is located 30 km east of Yellowknife and contains 63 campsites of various types, both powered and non-powered.

Reid Lake is located 60 kilometres east of Yellowknife and has 47 non-powered camp sites and nine tent sites.

Last year, the boat launch at Prelude Lake was retrofitted by Prelude Lake cabin dweller Rick Barry. Barry's daughter, Jennifer, managed the dock.

"It worked out quite well for us," said Todd, adding that Barry has expressed interest in adding more berths to the dock this year.

A new playground was also built late last season at Prelude Lake, as well as at the Yellowknife River day use area and the Madeline Lake day use area, he added.

At Reid Lake, the GNWT is planning to replace the small, crowded dock with a fixed, floating dock to provide additional room for visitors and tourists to dock their boats – but that project will have to wait for another year, said Todd.

"I think people will be very happy to see that the parks people are thinking about them and the needs of campers," said Bruce Davidson, longtime manager of Prelude Lake Territorial Park. "For a number of years, people have asked about showers."

Adding showers may also entice some campers to extend their stays, he added.