Crystal Beach Campground

11/09/2023

*****Update*****

We want to thank you all for your patience over the past year while we waited through the process of what options the campground might have moving forward, after the devastating damage caused by Hurricane Fiona. Unfortunately we have to announce that Crystal Beach Campground is closed permanently with no plan for alternate land use at this time. The campground was named after our sister Crystal, who passed away in 1988, so it makes it extra hard to see the grounds the way they currently are and accept this reality. We want to express our heartfelt gratitude to all our supporters, family, friends, staff and campers over the years. We had the pleasure of operating Crystal Beach Campground for 23 seasons and seen it through many upgrades right from day one. This picture was taken of our waterfront section of the campground in August, roughly 3 weeks before Fiona hit. We have loved getting to know each and every one of you, watch your children grow up, and your families make memories at our campground. This is not goodbye as we will see most of you around our lovely little Island.

08/20/2023

*******UPDATE**********

It has been quite some time since my last update for Crystal Beach Campground.

I found out not long after Hurricane Fiona, that The Cooperators Insurance would not be covering any of the damage incurred by the storm. This did come as quite the surprise considering they did adequately cover the storm damage caused my Hurricane Dorian. My policy did not change.

The next option that was available was the Red Cross. I filled out the application (which was quite the process as it’s geared for smaller amounts of damage that people can cover themselves) and waited for the longest time to hear back from a representative, but was getting no where. Finally, after a few calls were made, I was afforded a visit from one of their hired adjusters. I was quite hopeful after that visit that help would be coming my way, but, in an email, they decided that I didn’t qualify for the program. This did come as quite the surprise as well, considering they did adequately cover the storm damage caused my Hurricane Dorian. Not sure why it took them so long to figure this out, especially after they had taken the time to organize and pay for an adjuster.

Currently, I am in talks with representatives from ACOA who are administering the Hurricane Fiona Recovery Fund. A consultant is being hired to look at the situation on the grounds and advise on what needs to be done. Not sure how long this process will be, but I will post another update once I receive the recommendations from that report.

Thank you all for your well wishes by email, messages on FB, or those encounters in just about every place I go in public. Lol. It’s nice to know that people are concerned about the future of Crystal Beach Campground and also about me and my family’s well being. We are good. It has been a real adjustment for our family of four.

I took these pictures not long ago which show how overgrown things are at the campground. Never thought I would see it look like this… EVER!

Stay tuned for my next post in the coming months….

03/17/2023

2023 Camping Season

It is with extreme sadness that I have to inform our wonderful and loyal customers that we will be unable to open for the 2023 season due to a lack of timely funding (still not sure if we are eligible) for the damage caused by Hurricane Fiona along with the extent of damage.

Our campground has wide spread damage with all of our electrical, most of our buildings, pool, splash pad, roads, landscaping, most of our sites, etc.

We are at a loss as we know how many people this will affect, from seasonals to tourists, and of course, our valued employees. This is also a large investment that countless hours, blood, sweat and tears has gone into.

For anyone who has made a deposit for the 2023 season, we will be processing the refunds within the next few weeks. Please be patient as we go through this process. As for seasons beyond 2023, we remain uncertain. Future updates to come when we know more about what the province will offer for support.

Thank you for everything over the past 23 seasons. Hopefully we will have more memories to make in the future.

12/25/2022

From our family to yours, we hope your Christmas was merry and bright!

12/08/2022

A lot of folks I have run into over the past few weeks had no idea the level of destruction Fiona left on the campground. We have been cleaning just the debris since the Monday following the storm. Being on the North Shore of PEI is awesome 99.99% of the time, but that .01% of the time is a real kicker! Not sure of our future but right now we are doing everything we can.

Matthew Wedge's short video with ♬ Spooky, quiet, scary atmosphere piano songs

12/07/2022

I was planning to make this and post it well before Hurricane Fiona, however, life was busy and I never had the chance. So here it is….better late then never??? 😊

Matthew Wedge167's short video with ♬ It's a Beautiful Day

09/25/2022

**FOR EVERYONES SAFETY, DO NOT ENTER THE PROPERTY UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. WITH AN OPEN POOL, STRUCTURAL DAMAGE, AND SO MANY UNKNOWN RISKS IT IS NOT SAFE. **

After 23 seasons of hard work and sacrifice it’s difficult to see all the devastation Fiona unleashed on our campground. There was not one inch of land that sea water didn’t touch. As you can see by the photo on the left, the Splash Pad along with the pool deck collided into our rec centre and washroom building, causing significant structural damage, and then preceded down our tenting lane. Most of our main breakers (400 amps) are down on the ground. Our laundry machines were submersed after the wind blew off the door and the plywood we had covering it. The other bathroom was totally flooded, waterfront is a total mess, and a lot of trees are down. We installed a little tykes playground set after Dorian and it is totally gone with no trace it was ever there. Numerous trailers that should have been high enough to be safe, have been flooded and/or trees on them, with two being flipped on their side. At this point, we are devastated to say the least, and will be dealing with our insurance and hopefully some type of disaster relief or federal relief. We thank all our customers who have been reaching out and wanting to help. Very grateful for you all!

09/23/2022

As we continue to prepare the campground for this MAJOR storm we want anyone who has a camper here to know that you have until 4pm to remove it if you don’t feel safe leaving it here. With winds gusting to 150kph for a sustained amount of time, I’m not too sure what will be safe. We are doing what we can to protect our own infrastructure and minimizing the damage the best we can. I just want to make sure our campers do the same. Thank you all for clearing out of known flood zones and I pray for the best case scenario going forward, for all of us. Stay safe!

09/21/2022

As a result of the current path of Hurricane Fiona, and strong potential for a storm surge, we will be closing the campground at 4pm on Friday, for the season. We have also asked campers in known flood zones to remove their campers and prepare their sites for the storm. The campground has started to prepare the grounds such as removing picnic tables, checking to make sure all septic outlets have caps, moving all equipment to high land, preparing the inside of some buildings, etc. We will also be proactively shutting down our main electrical switches at 4pm on Friday to avoid damage. Stay safe everyone.

09/16/2022

On behalf of our Maintenance Supervisor, Luke Gallant:

“It’s hard to believe that it’s been 40 years working at this campground! A lot of memories and a lot of wonderful people that I met. Looking forward to making many more memories in the years to come. 😊
Thank you to all the seasonal campers for making my job enjoyable! ❤️”

The office staff would like to thank Luke for all of his hard work and dedication towards our campground.

08/30/2022

It is with a tremendously heavy heart that we announce the passing of a huge member of the Crystal Beach team, my father, David Wedge. Dad worked hard every season since we bought the campground and you would never see him sitting idle. He wasn’t a fan of the spotlight, and just wanted to do what he could to help. His presence in our life and around the campground will be forever missed.

The death occurred peacefully at the Prince County Hospital, Summerside, P.E.I. on Tuesday, August 30th , 2022 of David John Wedge of Linkletter and formerly of Summerside, P.E.I., aged 73 years. David was born in Summerside, P.E.I. to his late parents Clifford and Margaret Wedge. Beloved husband of...