History

The Salvation Army commenced its camping ministry at Pine Lake in 1958. PLC shares the shoreline of Pine Lake with a number of other camps and campgrounds; including Pine Lake Christian Camp, Camp BB - Riback

Camp BB - Riback

Camp BB - Riback is a non-denominational, Jewish residential summer camp located in Pine Lake, Alberta.-History:Camp BB - Riback was founded in 1955 on the shores of Pine Lake, just outside of Red Deer, Alberta, making it the oldest Jewish overnight camp in Western Canada...

 and Green Acres Campground. The Pine Lake Tornado

Pine Lake, Alberta Tornado

The Pine Lake, Alberta Tornado was a deadly tornado in central Alberta on July 14, 2000 that struck a campground and trailer park. Twelve people were killed, making it the first killer tornado in Canada since 1994 when a doctor was killed by an F2 tornado in Saint-Charles-sur-Richelieu, Quebec...

 of 2000 did not damage PLC or BB, but did significant damage at Green Acres.

Structure

Pine Lake Camp has a trailer park

Trailer park

A trailer park is a semi-permanent or permanent area for mobile homes or travel trailers. The main reasons for living in such trailer parks are the often lower cost compared to other housing, and the ability to move to a new area more quickly and easily, for example when changing jobs to another...

 that can service 16 trailers

Trailer (vehicle)

A trailer is generally an unpowered vehicle pulled by a powered vehicle. Commonly, the term trailer refers to such vehicles used for transport of goods and materials....

 at once. Its largest building is Evergreen Lodge, which contains 16 bedrooms and a common room. From September to June, the camp is rented out for school groups, business and government retreats, and family and church retreats. During July and August, there is a full-time camp staff that organizes seven week-long camps for children and teenagers. Registration for the camps is subsidized by The Salvation Army. One of the week-long camps is a music camp which welcomes a special guest musician each year. David Catherwood

David Catherwood

David Catherwood is an Irish Composer and conductor, with both vocal and choral works currently in print.- Biography :David Catherwood was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1956 and joined the Salvation Army at the age of 7 through its Young People's work...

is one such notable guest. In 2006, a four-week Leaders in Training program was started for new staff members. This program consists of service projects, spiritual exercises, and wilderness trips. Pine Lake is a ministry of The Salvation Army, Prairie and Northern Territories Division.