BARRIE, ONT. After a summer season that saw none last year, overnight camping for youth is back in Ontario. Camp New Moon, located in the Lake of Bays in Muskoka, has welcomed back campers for the first time since the pandemic began. I hear the sounds of kids and laughter. I hear canoes being taken off the racks, says Jack Goodman, the owner and operator of the camp. It s just so great to see camp filled with who it s supposed to be filled with, happy campers and staff! As part of the province s second step of its Roadmap to Reopen Plan, overnight camping is permitted across Ontario. Camp New Moon, which Goodman calls a traditional recreational camp featuring various activities from outdoor water sports to arts and crafts, has introduced a host of new COVID-19 protocols.
TORONTO Last summer, for the first time in more than half a century, Willowgrove Day Camp in Stouffville, Ont., could not welcome campers. “You make all of your money for the entire year over these two months of the summer, and both of our camps did not run,” executive director, Johnny Wideman, told CTV News. “It was scary for sure.” It was financially devastating for the day camp, which also runs an overnight camp in Bancroft, Ont. “Fraser Lake” camp was also forced to close due to the pandemic. The Ontario Camps Association says, while it doesn’t have the exact numbers yet, it knows some of its more than 400 member camps have been forced to shut their doors. So the ability to re-open this year, could be make or break.