Chop your wood and grab your marshmallows. BC Parks is set to reopen to Discover Camping and will take new campground reservations starting May 25.
Campgrounds, camping opportunities and accommodations will start to open on June 1.
The reopening is not without changes to the upcoming camping season.
B.C. residents will be given first access. New reservations made after May 25 made by non-B.C. residents will be subject to immediate cancellation without refund and non-B.C. residents with reservations are asked to contact the call centre before June 15 to cancel and receive a full refund.
For locals, front-country and backcountry reservations will be available on a two-month rolling window starting Monday.
On May 25, the system will open to arrivals as far forward as of July 25. The system will continue on, each day allowing one more day of arrivals. On May 26, July 26 arrivals will be released, on May 27, July 27 arrivals will be released and so on. BC Parks says this daily release of inventory will continue until the end of the reservable period in each campground is reached.
Campers can reserve a spot for a maximum of 14 days, if available.
Reservations made within the first two weeks of inventory being released cannot be changed.
“This is to prevent people from overbooking and subsequently changing arrival dates to shorten their stay in order to obtain a favourable site or time ahead of other customers,” said BC Parks in a release.
These reservations can only be cancelled, and normal cancellation fees will apply. Regular cancellation rules and penalties will apply to all new reservations made on or after May 25.
“Customers should not attempt to book a reservation until exactly two months ahead of their chosen arrival date,” said BC Parks.
Not everything is opening up. Groupsites and reservable picnic shelters will remain closed for the time being, and all existing reservations are cancelled until the end of the year.
Sets of rules and guidelines previously set out by BC Parks are still in place.
Double sites will only be available for double site bookings and cannot be booked as two single sites for separate groups.
“In order to manage numbers and keep our campers and facilities safe, double sites will also only permit a maximum of one camping party for both halves (4 adults (over the age of 16) up to a max of 8 persons including children under 16),” said BC Parks.
If campers have existing bookings for double sites that do not meet these requirements, they can cancel free of charge by June 15.
There are no changes to the maximum party size for single sites.
All existing reservations that were not cancelled for June 1 onward will be honoured.
Those with existing reservations beyond June 1 who would like to cancel them will have until June 15 to cancel without facing a cancellation fee. After this date, cancelled reservations will face regular cancellation penalties. Reservations made once the system reopens will be subject to regular cancellation rules and penalties.
Nothing is set in stone, some parks and sites may open after June 1 or remain closed, which could affect some reservations. Cancellations and full refunds will be automatically processed.
For updates and general park information, visit the BC Parks website.
Various provincial parks across B.C. previously reopened for day use.
“We are all in this together, and we thank you for your patience and understanding as our staff and park operators work to safely re-open parks and campgrounds across the province. We look forward to seeing many of you out camping soon,” reads the statement on the Discover Camping website.
A listing of delayed openings and closed campgrounds:
Rebecca Lawrence
