B.C. camp reservation system gets new look after years of challenges

After years of complaints over the BC Parks camping reservations system, a promised new and improved website is set to roll out.

Starting Tuesday, soon-to-be campers can head to the redesigned site to create a profile and get familiar with the new layout.

In 2020, the Discover Camping website crashed during the first day of booking. A year later, there were further website glitches preventing some from checking out.

Many have complained the website had also made finding available campsites difficult. There were also questions raised after campers showed up at sold-out sites and found many empty, despite the pandemic leading many to turn to the outdoors as an alternative to overseas travel.

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BC Parks says it has listened and engaged with users and the new site will feature flexible search options to find and book a site, as well as a list of available sites for quicker navigation.

Bookings won’t open up until March 21 at 7 a.m. If it is anything like in years past, it is expected to be very competitive to land a site for the summer in the most popular parks.

The rules state campers can only book a site two months in advance of their desired arrival date.

Meanwhile, despite a temporary ban on out-of-province campers during the pandemic, the 2022 camping season will be open to everyone.

The province says in the last decade, demand for reservations has jumped by more than 200 per cent.

With files from Hana Mae Nassar