Summertime is the busiest season for many of British Columbia’s most popular parks, and a Vancouver software engineer and hiker is helping fellow outdoor enthusiasts track down passes to them.
Vadim Yakhin is the creator of BC Parks Scanner, a website that highlights when day-use passes become available to three parks that require them in the summer: Garibaldi, Golden Ears, and Joffre Lakes.
The online tool also indicates when required parking passes are available for Butzen Lake, located near Port Moody.
According to Yakhin, the inspiration to create the BC Parks Scanner came from a missed opportunity to book passes himself.
Vadim Yakhin
“A few years back, my wife asked me to book a pass for Joffre Lakes,” he told Daily Hive. “I woke up at 6:45, opened my laptop, started reading the news, and realized it was 7:07 already. All the passes were gone.
“To make up for my mistake, I wrote a script that checked the BC Park’s website and showed me when someone cancelled. In a few hours, a spot became available, and I booked a pass for us.”
BC Parks Scanner is a platform where hikers can view cancellations without needing to constantly refresh the page. The website calls the BC Parks server and requests the number of passes available in each park. It then displays all the availability data on a single page and automatically updates it every five seconds, ensuring it remains current.
BC Parks Scanner
“I thought it might be interesting to a small group of people, but the response was almost overwhelming,” explained Yakhin, who shared that Garibaldi was his favourite park to visit. “So many people had the same problem and were happy to find a solution.
“I started getting emails from people visiting B.C. from other provinces and even from other countries. It’s very important for them to be able to book a pass for a specific day, so the website solves a big problem for them.”
B.C. Parks Scanner now receives several thousand visitors a week, with the majority concentrated on Thursday and Friday when passes for the weekend become available.
sodake/Shuatterstock
“May you never encounter a single inconvenience in your life ever again. Thank you,” said one user online.
“I used this for Panorama Ridge (Rubble Creek) last week and secured a spot on Friday for the following day,” added another. “Super helpful, thanks for making this.”
The creator of News Minimalist loves the great outdoors and is happy that his BC Parks Scanner can help others enjoy it as well.
“It’s been so rewarding to see a solution for my own small problem become something that helps so many others,” added Yakhin. Hearing from people who were able to have a great day out with their families or friends because of the site is the best feedback I could ask for. It’s a great feeling.”
For your own safety, please make sure you are prepared before heading out on your next adventure. Information on how to prepare for your trip and stay safe while on your hike is available from North Shore Rescue and AdventureSmart.