On the heels of the recent partial reopening of Ontario's provincial parks and today's announcement that some national parks will likewise open again on June 1, Premier Doug Ford has provided even more good news for residents eager to get out of their houses and into the great outdoors.

Along with marinas and boat clubs, golf courses, private parks, and animal boarding businesses, the province's campgrounds will officially be allowed to resume some operations once again as of 12:01 a.m. this Saturday, May 16. (Unfortunately, this will not yet extend to camping in the now-open provincial parks.)

According to the Ontario website, these operations will be, for the time being, limited to "preparation for the season" and access for "trailers and recreational vehicles whose owners have a full season contract."

As soon as 12:01am on Saturday, May 16, 2020, Ontario private parks and campgrounds may open to enable preparation for the season and to allow access for trailers and recreational vehicles whose owners have a full season contract. #camping #ontariocamping https://t.co/ylFxBmVKPP

— CampingLife Canada (@CampingLifeCA) May 14, 2020

Ford said that Ontario's COVID-19 situation has now reached a point where we can safely enter Stage 1 of his framework for re-launching the economy thanks to our collective efforts.

"We've laid a solid foundation for our economic reopening and recovery — we have the framework, we have the workplace safety guidelines, we have the capacity in our healthcare system," Ford said in his daily press briefing on May 14.

But, he added that these new steps forward will all be "dependant on the numbers," as "the truth is, we can't fully predict where things will go... we need to be ready to react if we see a sudden increase in cases. We cannot let our guard down now. We must watch the trends like a hawk."

Another spate of reopenings are slated to take place a few days later, on Tuesday, May 19 — the official start of Stage 1 — including retail stores with street entrances, pet grooming facilities and animal shelters, cleaning and maintenance services, in-person counselling and scheduled surgeries, and all non-essential construction.

Outdoor sports fields, tennis courts, and off-leash dog parks will likewise be available for residents to use again starting on Tuesday.

Well they just reopened camping sites in Ontario 🇨🇦🤷‍♂️

— Peighton Slaughter (@PeightonSola) May 14, 2020

The premier said that he is counting on Ontarians to exercise their best judgment when using these newly-reopened areas, and to continue to properly socially distance.

Also, that there will be announcements in the days ahead on topics like size limits on gatherings, childcare services, and more across the province as things begin to return to a new normal.