How to Monitor Alberta Parks for Cancelled Campsite Reservations and Permits

Posted Thursday, October 5, 2023

Eric Karjaluoto

I’m one of the two people working on Campnab. I like to run, ski, bike, and camp with my family and friends. (I love saunas.)

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Whether it’s Banff National Park, Jasper National Park, Bow Valley Wildland Provincial Park, or one of the additional 3 national and 469 provincial parks, Alberta has a lot to offer! As you might expect, camping at some of the more popular parks gets booked fast!

If you didn’t get the campsite or permit you were after on opening morning, don’t sweat it. Plans change and when they do, folks cancel their reservations. You just need to know when, they do. Once you spot a newly cancelled campsite or permit you just need to swoop in there and try to book it before someone else does.

The manual approach to finding cancelled campsite reservations in Alberta

Reservations at Alberta’s national parks can be made via the Government of Canada’s booking site: Parks Canada Reservations. (FWIW: Setting up an account on the national parks booking site is a bit tedious. Here’s an article that will step you through the process.)

Alberta’s provincial parks are booked through a standalone system found at reserve.albertaparks.ca. As this is completely separate from Park’s Canada’s campsite booking system, you’ll need a unique account for each service. My advice is to set one up far in advance of needing a reservation, just so you’re ready to go once it’s time to pounce on an opening.

Once you have your accounts set up on each of these booking systems, you’re pretty much set. Just find the park you’re interested in, and check it for availability. If you spot a suitable opening, make your reservation. Nothing there? Just keep checking periodically. There are many thousands of cancellations each season. The more frequently you check, the better your chances of spotting one.

The easy way to find a cancelled reservation at Alberta campgrounds

Admittedly, hitting Refresh on a booking site day in and day out is rather unpleasant. That’s why we built Campnab. It’s a little web-based app that scans parks for cancellations. When it spots one that suits your needs, it sends you a text message.

Here’s a video that explains how Campnab works:

The upside to using our dedicated campsite availability scanner is that it does the checking for you. Just note your criteria and turn on your scan. Once you have, it’ll check your desired park for openings around the clock. It’s one of those “set it and forget it” sorts of things.

Pro-tip: The way you set up your scan can make a HUGE difference in the number of alerts you receive. Here’s a set of tips that can put the odds in your favour.

Want to give Campnab a spin? Here are some shortcuts to create scans at some of the Alberta parks we can monitor for cancellations:

National Parks in Alberta you can monitor for cancellations

Cancellation alerts for these Provincial Parks in Alberta

So, if you’re looking to camp in one of Alberta’s beautiful parks, Campnab can certainly help you do so. For what it’s worth, you can thank Clayton, who asked us to set up scanning for Alberta parks a few years back.

BTW: The above photo is courtesy of Kevin Mueller.

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How to Monitor Alberta Parks for Cancelled Campsite Reservations and Permits

Eric Karjaluoto

The manual approach to finding cancelled campsite reservations in Alberta

The easy way to find a cancelled reservation at Alberta campgrounds

National Parks in Alberta you can monitor for cancellations

Cancellation alerts for these Provincial Parks in Alberta

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