British Columbia

B.C. Parks' campground reservation system opens Jan. 3

Reservations for many of B.C.'s provincial parks will open on Jan. 3 at 7 a.m.

Province says 317,000 reservations were made for the 2022 season

Maple Ridge's Golden Ears Provincial Park in 2020. Reservations for many B.C. Parks campsites will be available as of Jan. 3, 2023. (Ben Nelms/CBC)

Campers, mark your calendars so you can mark your calendars.

Camping reservations for many of British Columbia's provincial parks will open for the 2023 season on Jan. 3 at 7 a.m. A list of park operating dates has been posted on the B.C. Parks website.

B.C. Parks says campers can reserve sites up to four months ahead of their planned arrival date. Previously, campers could book sites up to two months in advance.

"Through our ongoing visitor engagement, we've heard the majority of campers prefer a four-month rolling window, allowing people to book a site well in advance of their visit," said Environment Minister George Heyman. 

B.C. Parks says more than 317,000 reservations were made last season on its updated online booking system. (B.C. Parks)

The province says more campsites are being added to its reservation system, including Gwillim Lake Park near Chetwynd, Yahk Park near the Kingsgate border crossing, and Allison Lake Park near Princeton. A balance of reserved and first-come-first-served spots will be maintained, it added.

Reservations for the Bowron Lake Canoe Circuit in Bowron Lake Provincial Park will open on Dec. 1 at 7 a.m. 

Most of the Berg Lake Trail, which takes hikers through nearly two dozen kilometres of Mount Robson Provincial Park in northern B.C., will remain closed in 2023, except for 14 sites at Kinney Lake Campground. Reservations for those sites will open on Feb. 1. The world-renowned hiking trail was closed after being seriously damaged by flooding last summer.

Camping reservations for 2023 can be made on the B.C. Parks website.

B.C. Parks says more than 317,000 reservations were made last season on its updated online booking system, an increase of 26.5 per cent from 2019.