It's been beach weather in Saskatchewan for quite some time now, and word came down from the provincial government yesterday that people will actually be able to use those beaches starting on Friday, June 12. The press release also stated that outdoor playparks would be allowed to open up that day too.

It was cause for a sigh of relief for many Saskatchewan residents, as their leisure activities continue to reopen. It was also huge news for Woodlawn Regional Park, as many of their services are among those allowed to start up again. 

"We are super pumped," said Maureen Daoust, Woodlawn Regional Park manager. "We've had lots of people asking, lots of people wanting to enjoy the outdoors and the weather just feeling the restrictions of COVID. There will be a lot of happy people that can just go and enjoy Boundary Dam Beach."

In what Daoust hopes is a sign of things to come for the season, weather forecasts for opening day are sunny, warm, and windless with a high of around 27 degrees. It's a positive sign, and jives with the positive outlook park management is trying to take on their shortened season. 

"I was telling people earlier that my mantra for the season is, we're open and the sun is shining," Daoust said. "We are trying just to be positive and move forward following the guidelines and restrictions in place, just doing our best to provide some outdoor recreation and entertainment."

That positive mentality gets a little easier every day, as more and more restrictions lift. Play parks at Woodlawn will also be reopening on June 12. Their food shack will be allowed to reopen, as will their bathrooms and kayak rentals. 

All of this positivity is not to say there won't be work involved, of course. Part of opening back up again is a stricter standard for cleaning and disinfecting when it comes to bathrooms and rental equipment, and anything else people may regularly touch.

"Our maintenance crews at both locations, Woodlawn and Boundary, will have to step it up a notch," said Daoust. "We need to make sure that we are following those guidelines. In our short-term guidelines, camping, we've been disinfecting anything possible that campers can touch in between short-term visits."

Daoust said the number of park passes people have been buying hasn't really changed due to COVID-19.