With camping reservations set to open for British Columbians on Monday, the Mayor of Clearwater is hoping the online reservation system has been improved after issues last year.
Merlin Blackwell tells NL News he expects people to come out in droves this summer after being cooped up all winter with restrictions on non-essential travel.
“I haven’t heard anything from my former cohorts in the parks system on whether or not the reservation system has been fixed or improved, but they’ve had an entire calendar year to work out the bugs,” he said.
When camping bookings opened last May after a delayed start to the season, the system was overwhelmed after 50,000 people were online at 7 a.m. trying to book a campsite. In all, the government says about 35,000 reservations were made in the first five hours alone.
“So far the government and the minister has managed this very well,” Blackwell said. “The team seems very positive and seem to have everything they wanted to do together so I’m expecting that they’re ready for this year.”
B.C.’s Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment, Kelly Greene, tells NL News the government is prepared for the potential surge starting at 7 a.m. on Monday morning.
“The reservation is for two months in advance so that people would have more flexibility to plan around pandemic requirements and the uncertainly that’s happening right now,” she said. “And we have worked with our systems provider to make sure that we’re ready and waiting for all the enthusiasm that there is for B.C. campgrounds.”
“Our service provider has totally assured us that they are ready for a lot of volume and a lot of enthusiasm for our parks system.”
Greene is reminding people to have a back up option ready should their preferred campsite not be available when they go to make a booking. About 55 per cent of all campsites can be reserved with about 45 per cent available on a first-come, first-serve basis.
“Its been a really long slog with the pandemic and I know that there’s a lot of interest in being outside and getting some fresh air,” Greene added.
B.C. residents will have first dibs on campsites through July 8, which is when bookings will be opened up to people from other provinces. Greene says she hopes non-B.C. residents respect the priority access that British Columbians have when it comes to booking campsites between March and July.
“By and large people are following the rules and keeping each other safe and they understand that right is maybe not the best time for inter-provincial travel and they are respecting that,” she said. “If that doesn’t work, we do have spot checks and they’ve been very successful and they have shown how much compliance there is in our parks system.”
“There is also the possibility that folks with plates that don’t read B.C. are actually B.C. residents and have real reasons that they are there, and so [we’re asking people] to be calm and kind and considerate.”
You’ll find the latest information on opening dates at BC Parks across the province here.
Reservations can be made online here.
