Cow lake campground - locked gates at 11pm, legality ??

[rdguy2015]

Hello fellow outdoorsmen,

This weekend we went camping at cow lake campground - first off not a bad place to take the family. Nice sites, close to the lake, decent beach to take the kids, however I have one major complaint.

The gates are locked at 11pm. As in there is absolutely no way around them come this time - you have to call an "on call" number to get in, or out, of the park for a $20 charge.

My concern is if, one of the hundred campers has a medical emergency and has to leave in a hurry, could be a major concern.

Has anyone seen this before at an alberta park?? My wife left to do a load of laundry and have a shower at home (after finding feces smeared all over the walls of the women's washroom), only to be locked out when she returned to the park.

Me, I don't have a fuzzy feeling of being totally confined with the only chance of getting out after 11pm in case of emergency left to a single "on call maintenance personnel". Then on top of that they demand $20 to regain entry to the park.

Will not be coming back to cow lake campground nor could recommend it to family and friends due to the poor sanitary conditions and rediculous policy.

Rant over

[Wild&Free]

Is there a charge to leave?

is it free camping or do you have to pay for a site?

How far away is the park staffed? 24hr?

Is the policy displayed at the gate?

[stubby99ca]

Have stayed at a few campgrounds that do this, Jubilee Park on Wizard Lake does. I believe it cuts down on late night parties as quests have to leave before the gates get locked. I can't remember where but one campground had a spike gate which allowed people to exit in an emergency but was not possible to enter through it.

Pretty sure it is legal as no one is forced to stay there and by staying there you agree to follow their rules.

[Rumtan]

Cow lake campground is privately owned I think, they make the rules.

[recce43]

cow lake is run by the county ..and the people who run are A##
.
a few years ago a storm rolled through and we where at out west camp ground power lines where down . no water for the water well pump and I had no water in the trailer . so I went to cow lake with some jugs to get some water . their power was back on well he wanted to charge me 10 bucks to fill up a 5 gallon water jug this after I told him the power lines where down .. so I told what I thought about them .
I wrote to the county and the province about it .

[Skybuster]

I thought most campgrounds that are maintained and staffed have gates. I don't understand why this is a surprise. Maybe the "on call" aspect is a tad concerning. But "No way around" ? uhh, that's the point of a gate.

[Talking moose]

Gates are awesome. It's really wonderful when some teenagers take a tour through your campground at 3:00 am with the stereo cranked and the bass pumpin....

[357xp]

Big fish campground in slave lake does it too. I don't mind, keeps the punks out at night. If I need to get out in an emergency, my old super duty wouldn't slow down at the gate.....

[neilsledder]

The gates are nice to keep the rif raff out. But the $20 charge is mind blowing.

[fish_e_o]

if i was really upset i'd pay $100 to wake them up at 12, 1, 2, 3, and again at 4

[javlin101]

Originally Posted by stubby99ca

Have stayed at a few campgrounds that do this, Jubilee Park on Wizard Lake does. I believe it cuts down on late night parties as quests have to leave before the gates get locked. I can't remember where but one campground had a spike gate which allowed people to exit in an emergency but was not possible to enter through it.

Pretty sure it is legal as no one is forced to stay there and by staying there you agree to follow their rules.

There was a full blown riot out at Wizard back in the eighties and soon after that locked gates.

[ren008]

If it's stated upfront or on the gate on the way in no problem. Have had enough nights ruined by idiots ripping around and partying. If I was on-call and it was up to me I think the fee would be at least $50 to make it worth my while to get out of bed in the middle of the night.

As for emergencies just take along bolt cutters or a zip saw and use 'em to get out if you feel you have to.

[Grizzly Adams]

Originally Posted by neilsledder

The gates are nice to keep the rif raff out. But the $20 charge is mind blowing.

Westward Ho even charges for visitors if you're camping there.

Grizz

[JB_AOL]

Don't like it, don't camp there..

I like it.. I prefer not having people driving through at all hours of the night. I like the face that guests have to leave, or at least there vehicles do. It also keeps people from arriving late at night. I've been at alot of campgrounds where some one will show up at 1am, and proceed to set up camp, while leaving there diesel running so they can have lights while setting up. Except now they've woke. The whole campground.

While i agree a medical emergency is a concern, the camphosts are usually fairly close by anyways

Why didn't your wife just walk in and go pick up the car the next morning??