With spring now in full effect, we sit only a couple of weeks away from people starting to reserve their campsites.

When they do they will be doing it on the new and upgraded online reservation system that the Ministry of Parks, Culture and Sport has layed out.

The new online system changed early this week and replaces the previous online system which has been around since 2012.

Minh Truong, director of parks experience with the Ministry of Parks, Culture, and Sport, said that this new system is going to give them the ability to offer new services online.

"You will be able to book a seasonal campsite online which previously you couldn't," he said. "You can book group camping sites online and when you go to book these campsites it will be very similar to other booking sites that you may have experience when booking hotels or car rentals."

Troung added that they are replacing the old system because it was at the end of its life and that their service provider wasn't going to be providing support on it anymore, so they decided to upgrade to latest version of the software that they could.

He said that with this new system it will mean that if you had an account previously, you will have to create a brand new one.

"With the new system none of the old account details and camping history carried over," he said. "For the 2019 camping season when you do go to book a campsite in one of our provincial parks you will need to create a new account on the new system."

For the new account, you will need an email address, a password, and personal details.

Reservations open April 2 for seasonal sites, April 4 for group camping sites, and April 8 to 18 for nightly sites.

A look at the new Sask Parks online reservation website. Photo courtesy of Saskatchewan government