Get your tents and trailers ready—the winter season has officially ended for most of the BC provincial parks on Vancouver Island!
Although provincial park reservations have been open since January, April 1st marked the end of winter operating times for the vast majority of provincial park campgrounds.
This means that the parks who allow year-round camping will soon halt first-come-first serve camping and will require advanced booking if they haven’t already done so.
For example, French Beach Park will require booking starting on April 12th and Bamberton Park campground won’t require booking until May 11th.
Some park campgrounds will still remain closed until the beginning of May, such as Englishman River Falls Park campground—though they offer day-time visits, so people can come and scope out the falls.
There are 20 provincial parks on Vancouver Island that people can reserve spots at. These include:
- Bamberton Provincial Park
- Cowichan River Provincial Park (Stoltz Pool)
- Elk Falls Provincial Park (Quinsam)
- Englishman River Falls Provincial Park
- Fillongley Provincial Park
- French Beach Provincial Park
- Goldstream Provincial Park
- Gordon Bay Provincial Park
- Juan de Fuca Provincial Park (China Beach)
- Little Qualicum Falls Provincial Park
- Loveland Bay Provincial Park
- Miracle Beach Provincial Park
- Montague Harbour Marine Provincial Park
- Morton Lake Provincial Park
- Newcastle Island Marine Provincial Park
- Rathtrevor Beach Provincial Park
- Smelt Bay Provincial Park
- Sproat Lake Provincial Park (Upper & Lower)
- Stamp River Provincial Park
- Strathcona Provincial Park (Buttle Lake)
Booking requirements and operations will vary depending on which park you choose to stay in, so it’s always best to review the information before you plan your trip.
Whether you plan on booking the main campground or a group site will also shift booking requirements and is worth looking into while planning your adventure.
You can make reservations up to four months in advance for your desired spot!
Last year, more than 366,000 camping reservations were made, which was a 15% increase from 2022.
In March 2022, the Province’s online reservation system launched, and has been improving since its implementation saw people waiting in an hours-long queue.
Book your camping getaway online here.
With files from Curtis Blandy
