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More campsites coming to Fred Henne Additional 25 campsites under construction this summer, ready for use in summer of 2014 Laura Busch Northern News Services Published Friday, January 11, 2013
"The usage in Fred Henne (campground) has been high for years," said Tracy St. Denis, regional superintendent for the North Slave region with the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment. Currently, there are 92 campsites at Fred Henne Territorial Park, which is the closest campground to Yellowknife, near the airport. During the summer months, the campground sees a high number of campers. Yellowknifers represent the vast majority, said St. Denis. "Every weekend, that park is full," she said. "We're seeing an increase in use for local residents, and we're also seeing an increase in tourists." According to occupancy numbers recorded by the GNWT, in 2012 the average weekend occupancy at the campground was 80 per cent between May 15 and Sept. 15. Meanwhile, the average overall occupancy was measured at 56.8 per cent and the average weekday occupancy was 47.26 per cent. In October, the department was granted approval by the legislative assembly for $245,000 from the capital investment fund to be used for constructing a new road and additional campsites at Fred Henne in 2013. Construction plans for this coming summer involve creating a new road that will run from near the public beach at the territorial park north towards Fox Lake, said St. Denis. A smaller road loop will then be connected to this new road, which will lead to additional campsites. The department is hoping to add an additional 25 campsites to the park, increasing its capacity by 30 per cent, she said. These new campsites are unlikely to be available for public use before the summer of 2014. Creating a new road towards Fox Lake will open up a new area of the park for campers to use, said St. Denis. During the beginning stages of a highway bypass construction project - connecting Highway 3 to the Ingraham Trail, bypassing the Giant Mine site - the possibility of using that roadway to give access to a new camping area was considered, she said. However, that idea was later abandoned, in part due to the fact that much of the land in the area of the park near the new bypass road is rocky, making it less than ideal for campsites. Also, keeping the new camping area closer to the existing campground allows for the department to take advantage of existing infrastructure, including out-buildings. "At this stage, our preference is to utilize our pre-existing infrastructure because it helps us spend our money more efficiently, rather than having to create all new infrastructure where there is nothing else in the area," said St. Denis. However, a new shower building is scheduled to be constructed by the new camping loop near Fox Lake during the summer of 2014 in anticipation of more campsites being added on that end of the park, she said.
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