Check out these apps for camping in Canada

I grew up camping in forestry campsites in BC’s interior, a bit before folks had computers in their homes. At the time, a smartphone app would have seemed like something from Star Trek. Well, here we are in 2023, and if you aren’t using tech to plan your camping trips, you’re probably missing out.

Anyone who knows me recognizes that I do little in moderation, whether it’s pizza, wine, or research, I go all in. Over the past few days, I’ve looked at all kinds of camping apps. Today, I’m focusing on ones that you can use north of the 49th parallel. Let’s just giv’er, eh?

WikiCamps Canada

WikiCamps is a camping companion that services a handful of countries—and now has an app focused on Canada. WikiCamps’ crowd-sourced database of reviews, prices, and photos contains over 9,000 campgrounds, parks, hostels, day stops, points of interest, dump stations, information centres, and water points. WikiCamps works when you’re offline allowing you to find nearby locations, check features, and see how close they are.

Filters allow you to customize your search (e.g., pet-friendly spots, power availability). You can also favourite sites and sync them to keep track of the places you’d like to visit. WikiCamps comes equipped with a trip planner, camping checklist, satellite dish pointer, compass, and chat forum. You can use WikiCamps to plan road trips, add sites to your itinerary, and share your trip with those you know. WikiCamps Canada is available for iOS or Android.

Campspot

Campspot is a camping marketplace that lets you browse, compare, and reserve campsites on iOS and Android. Campspot partners with private campgrounds, to provide a booking platform and accurate information about each location.

Campsot destinations include tent sites, RV sites, and cabins—by the beach, in the mountains, and everywhere in between. Their app is simple and intuitive, allowing you to research campgrounds, view real-time campsite availability, book campsite reservations, and access 24/7 customer support. Campspot’s Canadian inventory is still limited compared to its U.S. coverage, but they do open up some new options for Canadian campers.

Parks Canada

The Parks Canada app is a gateway to over 450,000 square kilometers of destinations including parks, historic sites, conservation areas, and historic waterways. This Canadian travel companion allows you to research trips with helpful site information, maps, photos, and hours of operation. Once you’ve made your selections, the app will even assist with driving directions (even when there’s no official address).

The Parks Canada app’s mobile guided tours offer up insider information and note points of interest. You can also use the “near me” feature to view locations in you’re close to. Looking to learn more about camping and parks in Canada? The app’s quizzes, conservation stories (about protecting species, habitats, and ecosystems), camping workshops, and how-to videos are also available. The Parks Canada app is available in French and English, on (iOS and[Android)

Campnab

Provincial and national parks in Canada often sell out within seconds. That’s where Campnab (my friend and I built it) comes in. It monitors booking systems for cancelled reservations. When it spots an available campsite it sends a text message or email, notifying the camper of the new availability. Campnab doesn’t book campsites—it only notifies folks of new cancellations.

By signing up for a plan on Campnab’s website, campers can specify their desired park and dates. Once they have, the system goes to work for them, checking their desired campgrounds 24/7. Campnab scans more than 3,200 parks, 7,000 campgrounds, and hundreds of backcountry permits. It has (literally) sent millions of alerts to campers who were able to book sites that might have otherwise gone unused.

AllStays Camp & RV

Camp & RV from AllStays is a camping atlas for your back pocket. Focused on accuracy, The AllStays app (available on iOS) allows you to find and filter places and services, even when offline. Campers will find over 34,000 Canadian and U.S. campgrounds in the app. These include private resorts and campgrounds, national parks, and public lands—as well as hike-in, boat-in, and off-road spots. (You can even find places to park overnight.)

Looking for something specific? Camp & RV offers detailed amenity information allowing you to pinpoint what’s right for you. It isn’t limited to camping, though. You can use the app to locate grocery stores, shops, rest areas, repair shops, and other services. Got a particular rig? Camp & RV even offers up tunnel and incline information. Camp & RV’s free plan provides access to basic campground information and campgrounds around you. Paid subscribers can check campsite availability, add and view campground reviews, filter by over 30 amenities, and view maps offline.

KOA App

Looking to stay at a KOA in Canada? Start by downloading the app for iOS or Android. Use the app to search KOA’s selection of campgrounds by proximity, or you can filter by city, state, or attributes (e.g., swimming pools, cabins, fishing), and bookmark favourites. The app works offline meaning you can access campground info while you’re on the go.

Once you’ve found the right spot, you can book it in-app (an internet connection is required for booking). The app ties into your navigation system to offer driving directions to your campground. The KOA app can give you a heads-up on hot deals, events, and partner offers. It also ties into your KOA Rewards information so you can get those member perks! The KOA app also provides weather information and can alert you to road closures, storms, and campground emergencies.

ParkAdvisor

ParkAdvisor helps you find RV Parks in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. It offers information on many RV parks and campgrounds including privately-owned RV parks (e.g., Thousand Trails, KOA) and public ones. Commercial parks can be sorted in the app by rating. On the road, ParkAdvisor provides information on rest areas, welcome centres, gas stations, RV dump stations, low-clearance areas, and RV-friendly stores and stops.

ParkAdvisor claims that the app’s local database makes it run fast. That said, you’ll need internet access to view the app’s photos and maps. ParkAdvisor is made available free of charge and without ads. Download ParkAdvisor for iOS or Android.

Roadtrippers

Roadtrippers is a neat tool (iOS and Android) for making your next road trip (Canada and U.S.) a little more fun. Use the app to plan and build a route. Then let its turn-by-turn navigation guide you, out on the road. Not quite sure where to begin? Pre-made trip guides can highlight once-in-a-lifetime routes.

As you travel, the app will highlight unique attractions, local diners, scenic points, and hotels. You can plot up to seven waypoints for free, or upgrade to Roadtrippers Plus for up to 150 waypoints per trip. Paid Roadtrippers subscriptions all collaboration features, exclusive deals, custom map styles, and offline maps. You can also save places you enjoyed and sync them across your devices. Over 38+ million trips have been planned on Roadtrippers

Bonus!

Want to discover other useful apps for your outdoor adventures? Here are some links to our other camping app round-ups:

• Boondocking apps round-up
• Backcountry camping apps round-up
• Car camping apps round-up
• Nature apps round-up
• Outdoor apps round-up
• Overlanding apps round-up
• RVing apps round-up

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