We Can Scan Provincial Parks in BC for Campsites Set to Unlock

UPDATE: In 2022 BC Parks switched from USeDirect (acquired by Tyler Technologies) to Camis as their booking platform. As a result of this change, BC Parks no longer holds cancelled campsite reservations for future release. These openings are now made available as they become available in real time.

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A while back, BC Parks started holding some (not all) of their newly canceled campsite reservations for release the next day. As a result, many campers learned that they could scoop up these sites if they checked in each morning at 7:00.

That said, some of us aren’t that persistent. Or, we need to walk the dogs at that time of the day. Oh, the many warm dog poops I’ve had to start my day by collecting. But I digress.

Like with Reserve California and Florida State Parks, we can now scan BC Parks for canceled campsite reservations set to unlock. Sites can be in a “locked” state if a reservation has been cancelled, but not yet made available for someone else to book.

We’re able to spot these sites and give you a heads-up to be online—and ready to pounce—at the time the site will switch from red, to green. We’ll also note which campsite is set to release.

After that, it’s up to you to attempt to book the campsite. Please note that you will need to compete with other campers interested in those availabilities.

As with any alert, we don’t offer you any leg up on getting that site. We do not hold the available campsite or book it for you. We only offer convenience, so you don’t need to click Refresh all day long.

Unlock alerts are in addition to regular alerts. Campnab will still notify you of campsite availabilities that match your search criteria and are available for immediate booking. (These alerts will typically start with the words “Hurry” or “Yay”.) You’ll want to act quickly on these alerts as these sites will be available for rebooking immediately.

I should also note that BC Parks is currently working towards releasing a new booking system. You can read about this on their website and offer to participate in testing.

Some have asked how Campnab will be affected by this new system. We’re still unsure about this. That said, we’re keen to see what they unveil in March. We love camping in BC, and we’ll do our best to integrate Campnab with whatever changes they make.

📷 courtesy of Kobe Li

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