Campsite registrations open Monday, March 21 at 7 a.m. with record-high demand expected. (Dreamstime)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

open season

Record demand expected as provincial campsite registration opens

Mar 21, 2022 | 5:22 AM

NANAIMO — Records will likely be broken as registration opens for B.C.’s thousands of provincial campsites.

Registration opens at 7 a.m. on Monday, March 21 with increased demand expected after two years of reduced capacity and availability due to the pandemic.

Campsites will be able to be booked on a rolling two month window on a revamped BC Parks website designed to make the process smoother.

In past years, the BC Parks website has crashed as thousands look to book getaways all at once.

In May 2020, when the camping season opened after the first two months of the COVID-19 pandemic, the BC Parks system failed as upwards of 50,000 people logged on at once.

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Reservations were only open to B.C. residents at the start of last year as travel restrictions prevented out-of-province campers from safely travelling.

Despite the tourist restriction, more than 350,000 reservations were made for campsites in B.C. in 2021 which set a new record.

“Providing a more reliable, responsive and easy-to-use reservation service will better meet the needs of people wanting to access and connect with nature by easily identifying available camping opportunities in provincial parks,” George Heyman, provincial minister of environment said in a release.

B.C. boasts around 10,500 campsites with just over half able to be reserved while the remainder are on a first come, first served basis.

Eleven campgrounds, including Parksville’s Rathtrevor Beach are 100 per cent reservable during peak times.

Reservations for the Bowron Lake Canoe Circuit, east of Quesnel in northern B.C. open Thursday, March 24.

To book a campsite, visit the BC Parks website.

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