B.C. campground reservation system upgraded for 2022 season

People can start booking reservations for provincial campgrounds next week and when they do, they will notice some improvements to the online system.

The Environment Ministry says the new reservation service, camping.bcparks.ca, is part of a redesign of BC Parks’ digital services to improve the park experience from computer to campground. People can now visit the site to create user accounts and save booking preferences to prepare for their upcoming camping excursions.

(Photo credit: BC Parks)

When the new reservation service opens on March 21, 2022, at 7 a.m. (Pacific time), people will be able to reserve a campsite up to two months before their desired arrival date at most campgrounds. Reservations for group campsites open March 24, 2022, and reservations for the popular Bowron Lake Canoe Circuit open in early April.

A list of campground operating dates and reservable dates can be found here.

Designed with input from campers, park operators and other service organizations, the new reservation service includes:

• more flexible search options such as a map to search campgrounds by region, park listing or site availability;
• information on nearby facilities and large photos of campsites so people know what to expect when they arrive;
• an interactive calendar that shows when booked sites will become available; and
• saved booking preferences within customer accounts.

“As more people explore British Columbia’s spectacular outdoors, we are improving the online services they rely on to plan their visits to BC Parks,” said George Heyman, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy. “Providing a more reliable, responsive and easy-to-use reservation service will better meet the needs of people wanting to access and connect with nature by easily identifying available camping opportunities in provincial parks.”

More accessible information will be integrated into the new reservation service as extra features are added over the coming months.

Click here to view the reservation website.

Of the 10,700 campsites BC Parks manages, 55 per cent are reservable and 45 per cent are available on a first-come, first-served basis (FCFS). Most campgrounds with reservable sites also offer FCFS sites.

Eleven campgrounds are 100 per cent reservable during peak season: Rathtrevor Beach, Gordon Bay, Cultus Lake, Sasquatch, Alice Lake, Porteau Cove, Golden Ears, Swiws, Bear Creek, Wells Gray and Okanagan Lake.

In 2021, more than 350,000 reservations were made for BC Parks campgrounds, the most on record.

Since 2017, more than 1,700 campsites have been added to BC Parks and Recreation sites in high-demand regions.