New glamping sites to extend visitor season and offer low-impact camping
COURTENAY, 11 October 2023 – The Cumberland Lake Park Society has embarked on a new project to expand and diversify the existing Cumberland Lake Park campground through a new project investment with Island Coastal Economic Trust.
The project will construct and install five new glamping-style sites with sleeping barrels and related amenities at the Cumberland Lake Park campground. The sites will be in a second-growth forest with picturesque views of Comox Lake and immediate access to hiking, rock climbing, mountain biking, swimming, fishing, and boating.
“We are excited to be offering an authentic, comfortable camping experience in this very popular park,” says Genevieve Burdett, Executive Director, Cumberland Lake Park Society. “The project builds on the continually growing popularity of camping and glamping over the last few years while providing alternate or additional revenue streams for the park that are aligned with our vision.”
The new sites offer the opportunity for the Society to offer a unique visitor experience, respond to camper preferences, encourage low-impact camping, extend the camping season, expand visitor accommodation, attract new visitors, and diversify revenue streams. In particular, the project will have zero long-term carbon emissions, which will also encourage safe, responsible, and respectful outdoor recreation with signage explaining leave-no-trace ethics.
“Over the past decade, Cumberland has become an international tourism destination and yet our seasonal campground is really our only bulk accommodation,” says Mayor Vickey Brown. “This project will provide much-needed, additional tourism infrastructure in a sustainable and respectful relationship with the land. It would not be possible without the support from the Trust and we are very grateful for their investment in our community.”
The 24-hectare park currently includes a campground with 17 serviced sites and 34 unserviced sites, a group campsite, boat launch and dock, as well as hiking trails. The park also offers a number of educational programs and is accessed by thousands of visitors from across Vancouver Island, the lower mainland, and beyond for camping and outdoor recreation.
“We are proud to partner once more with the Cumberland Lake Park Society as they continue their efforts to address the lack of visitor accommodation in the area, especially during the shoulder seasons, and promote the use of clean and renewable BC Hydro electricity,” says Aaron Stone, Chair, Island Coastal Economic Trust.
“People come from across Vancouver Island and beyond to visit the beauty of Cumberland Lake Park,” said Josie Osborne, MLA for Mid Island-Pacific Rim. “This investment will help attract new visitors for a unique camping experience, get more people outside to enjoy recreational opportunities in the Comox Valley, and give a valued boost to the local Cumberland economy.”
Island Coastal Economic Trust is investing with Cumberland Lake Park Society through the Capital and Innovation Program. The Trust will contribute $33,555 to a total project budget of $254,925.
The project is now underway.
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About Island Coastal Economic Trust
Founded by the Province of British Columbia in 2006, the Island Coastal Economic Trust works to build a sustainable and resilient coastal economy in reciprocal relationships with First Nations, municipalities, and regional districts across Vancouver Island, the Sunshine Coast, and islands and inlets from the Salish Sea to Cape Caution. Serving over half a million residents, we partner with communities in the development and financing of their economic infrastructure and diversification efforts through our unique structure that is led by, and accountable to, communities.
Since our inception, Island Coastal Economic Trust has approved more than $59 million to economic development initiatives that have attracted over $323 million in new investment to our region. These investments have created over 2,910 permanent jobs, and countless positive impacts, across the coast.
Island Coastal Economic Trust acknowledges that we work for communities across the ancestral and unceded territories of the Kwak̓wala, Nuučaan̓uɫ, Éy7á7juuthem, Ligwilda’xw, Pəntl’áč, She shashishalhem, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, Hul’q’umi’num’, diitiidʔaatx̣, SENĆOŦEN, Lekwungen, and T’Sou-ke speaking peoples. www.islandcoastaltrust.ca
Media Contacts
Brodie Guy
CEO
Island Coastal Economic Trust
brodie@islandcoastaltrust.ca
250-871-7797
Genevieve Burdett
Executive Director
Cumberland Lake Park Society
executivedirector@clws.ca
250-702-7219
