Staying wired in Canada's wilderness

The call of the loon could be drowned out by the click of the keyboard at some provincial parks in Ontario, and possibly at national parks across Canada.

The agency that runs provincial parks in Ontario is experimenting with wireless internet service at Pinery Provincial Park, near Grand Bend on Lake Huron.

'It's not 1950, and we want to look at what [visitors] needs are.' —John Salo, Ontario Parks

It will consider adding the service in other provincial parks if campers agree it's a good idea.

"We try to consider our visitors' needs and wants and things change over the years," said John Salo, southwest zone manager for Ontario Parks.

"It's not 1950, and we want to look at what their needs are."

The Wi-Fi service was set up on a trial basis this summer after some campers filling out comment cards said they needed to stay connected, even while getting away from it all.

"We do encourage people to come to the parks and relax and disconnect for a day or week or two weeks, but there are some people that just need [internet service], and that sometimes is their decision point," said Salo.

"We've had people call and say they are going to a private campground like KOA because they do have wireless."

Defeats point of getting away from it all

Some see the prospect of internet in the wilds of Canada as just a sign of the times.

"It might takes away from the camping experience, but kids will be kids," Joe Merhege told CBC News in Windsor, Ont.

Meanwhile, others think being able to stay connected to the office or friends defeats the purpose of camping.

"If I brought a laptop camping, then yeah, Wi-Fi would be useful," said Lisa Bassett.

"But the whole reason is to get away from technology and to kind of go back to doing things like using fires to make food."

Windsorite David Corman said it could mean both children and their parents sitting on laptops all day.

"They're not gonna get the full camping experience, family experience, that they're actually there for."

Nova Scotia expanding service

Parks Canada said last fall it was considering adding wireless service in some areas to help counter a steady drop in the number of visitors to national parks, but the federal agency did not return calls for comment Thursday.

Nova Scotia started testing wireless service in provincial parks a couple of years ago on a trial basis and is now expanding it to more parks.

California has installed wireless service in all 52 state parks and says it's been receiving praise from many visitors.

The wireless zone in Pinery Provincial Park is limited to a terrace outside the store in the middle of the park, and is not extended to campsites or into wilderness areas.

"It's concentrated in one location, just at the store, which is a fairly busy location as it is," said Salo.

The wireless program at Pinery will be reassessed at the end of the summer and if the majority of comments are positive, wireless could be established in some other provincial parks.

"If it's a positive response, obviously we would want to consider it seriously, but I think we'd be very selective about what parks we'd do it in and what locations," said Salo.

"Not every park has a situation like Pinery, where we have a park store with a nice flat, open area that is fairly busy and away from the campground."

Reaching that delicate balance between those who want to stay connected and those who go to campgrounds to escape busy lives filled with electronic devices will be a challenge, admitted Salo.

"There are people that do want it and we understand there's people 180 degrees the other side," he said.

Some U.S. state and national parks — including Yellowstone National Park — do have cellular phone service, which has prompted complaints from hikers about overhearing telephone conversations on back country trails.

Installing Wi-Fi service in parks will also allow some smartphone users to access phone services in addition to internet service.