If you’ve got big outdoor plans in BC next year, there’s one date you’ll need to mark on your calendar: January 3, 2023. That’s the day camping reservations open up for BC Parks.
The reservation website opens at 7 am, allowing people to book a site four months before their desired arrival date. This is an improvement over the previous system, allowing only a two-month booking window.
George Heyman, the Minister of Environment and Climate Strategy, said this change was due to user feedback.
“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.”
- You might also like:
- Big White Ski Resort to have its earliest opening since 2015-2016 season
- This hike 2.5 hours from Vancouver takes you past golden larch trees
- 48 hours in Nanaimo: Here’s how to spend a wonderful weekend this winter
He added that the province would continue to listen to user feedback.
Last year, BC didn’t launch the reservation service until March.
On top of these improvements, more options will be available as more campgrounds are being added to the new reservation service for the 2023 camping season. Those campgrounds include Gwillim Lake Park near Chetwynd, Yahk Park near the Kingsgate border crossing, and Allison Lake Park near Princeton. Those new sites will consist of a balance between reservable and first-come-first-served sites.
There’s one campground you can reserve even before the January date.
Reservations for Bowron Lake Canoe Circuit in Bowron Lake Provincial Park will open on December 1 for the entire 2023 season.
According to a statement from the ministry, over 317,000 reservations were made on the new BC Parks reservations service last year, an increase of 26.5% compared to 2019.
There will likely be more details about the BC Parks reservation system ahead of the January launch. Click here for more information.