sẁiẁs (Haynes Point) Provincial Park — Attraction in Area A (Osoyoos Lake)

Long long read … Haynes PP campsite … needs care & attention.. our stay from Sept 2 - 9, 2024 … our 7 night allotment of allowable time in this park … remember that is all that you can stay here … regardless of season or availability.. Upon your entry into the park you are greeted by the narrow spit which is over flow parking ( it has been as long as I can remember) but it should be a thing of the past … on our walks it was easy to see campers staying longer than the posted 1 night … would highly suggest to BC parks to stop this practice as there are other available private camping in the area.. and BC parks has made this 100% reservable for most of the season … the full long narrow spit was wall to wall campers with slides out. BBQ’s, chairs etc .. Impeding both directions of traffic flow … dangerous for people walking with children or dogs , biking etc … the park cannot obviously handle this huge extra volume which almost doubles the campground size .. it certainly is taking away the beauty intended… there’s no good reason to have overflow camping .. and then the park operators do not enforce the one night only … go figure . So over the many years of visits to the park … it has started to show the lack of care and attention it truly deserves … this is an absolutely stunning piece of property but there are issues which yes you can look past but maybe it’s time for BC Parks to do a quality & safety check on what’s really going on here … note for the price you pay per night should be equivalent to having shower houses, playgrounds etc … this parks has only 3 flush toilets not spread out with in the park but lined up In the middle of the campground… each with their own sink .. and there is a line up ..and note all those over flow campers walk on in to the middle of the campground too .. The sites are relatively spacious and easy access to lake … however there are numerous signs indicating poison ivy … downed trees as there are substantial wind storms that go through the area and the old dead trees are left to the wind to drop them where they fall … hopefully not on a camper🤞… the vegetation is very overgrown and encroaching the sites and creates a place for garbage to be blown into and not retrieved by the campers or the park operators… We have travelled throughout all areas of BC and only Provincial Parks … we have never seen 2 huge dumpster canisters placed inside beside campsites to be the source of garbage vessels and do they smell and maggots too … of which the park has the appropriate blue recycling vessels for the campers use so where are the normal bear proof green & “twice daily cleaned ”vessels … we question why the difference here??? They are not safe and are are too high for some to reach, as mentioned just imagine days of garbage from 41 sites loaded up … rotting in the heat of Osoyoos and its bad if you happen to reserve the sites anywhere adjacent to them … then on the pick up day the dumpster truck comes into the very narrow heavily used campsite road to pick this liquified garbage up .. hmm no one cleans it out all year … is this ok ??? All other Provincial Parks keep these dumpsters placed in their working compound behind locked gates for safety of children and animals… I believe Bear Creek PP has over 10 in their compound area .. but normally within PP the bear proof/ child proof green clean garbage vessels are minimally pick up garbage twice daily … cleaned out garbage and disinfectant for safety reasons… now bringing us to the dead floating fish … from spawning or could be other detrimental reasons in the lake .. we’ve never experienced this before on our visits .. this is way beyond my knowledge… Fisheries should check it out … on our last paddle there were over a hundred dead large fish from our site to the ughh swimming area on the Osoyoos side … well it stunk is an understatement!! It was awful.. and very sad and concerning.. then some campers choose to bag up washed up fish .. hmm these by campers & also by park operators were placed in those garbage dumpsters just...

We arrived in early October without a reservation, little di we know it is BC Parks most popular campground. Luckily when we arrived in the dark, there were quite a few spots available and we had a Lakeside pitch. In the morning in daylight it was stunning. It was $32 and not the normal $20 we'd been used to, so we were a bit surprised. However, all the other private campgrounds were similarly higher in cost compared to similar grounds elsewhere. The flushing loos were an added bonus. The hosts were incredibly friendly to us and gave us loads of advice. Weather was great, the birdlife was fantastic and there's a great series of trails in the day use area of the spit which we loved. There was so much to do and see here that we could have spent weeks here with all the fruit and veg stalls and wineries. Could do nothing but praise the site...

Anytime, I am close to lakes, mountains and the great outdoors I find solace and peace of mind. A natural reservoir to recharge. Our soul reconnects to truth if we have lost it. Haynes Point just off Hwy 97 en route to US border is a great place to enjoy the outdoors for a leisurely stroll. Children ride freely and here in Osoyoos the Owl and Quail serenade you. A day picnic in one of many private well groomed spots, a beach for your pet with fire pits to grill if conditions permit. A close walk from Safari Beach and Lakeside motels. Wear good shoes.take a snack, water. Good facilities and change houses. A simple health giving family outing. Thanks OIB - Osoyoos Indian Band. Stay safe and smart, keep healthy UNMASK OUTDOORS PLEASE YOUR LUNGS NEED FRESH AIR. Speak to people...