More people are visiting BC Parks to enjoy the great outdoors.

• As of June 30, 2018, BC Parks had nearly 168,000 reservations made through the Discover Camping reservation service, with the majority of reservations originating from within B.C.
• Of the approximate 10,700 campsites BC Parks manages, approximately 55% are reservable and 45% remain available on a first-come, first-served basis. The Province is investing up to $22.9 million to add more than 1,900 campsites over five years. More than 800 of the new sites will be in provincial parks, and more than 1,000 will be in recreation sites.
• In 2017, 375 new campsites were added in BC Parks and recreation sites.
• This year, 431 new sites will be added to 10 parks and 12 recreation sites in regions that have the greatest demand: the Kootenay Rockies, Thompson Okanagan, Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island.
• For the 2017 season, Discover Camping implemented policy updates to ensure fair access for everyone looking to book a campsite. Overall, these policies have been effective and well received by campers.
• By eliminating “opening day”, and extending the rolling reservation window from three months to four months in advance of an arrival date, there has been a 5% decrease in people making their reservations on the first available booking date.
• To prevent reservations being re-sold, changes were also made to prevent the change of names for permit holders. In 2017, there were only two reports of attempted reselling of sites, and no reports of this activity so far this year.
• By adjusting booking policies, BC Parks has eliminated the practice by some campers of overbooking, and then cancelling unwanted days, to secure long weekends and other prime seasonal periods.
• While peak demand has lessened with the new policies in place, spots still start to fill as summer approaches, particularly around long weekends.
• BC Parks manages the third-largest parks system in North America, behind the United States’ National Park Service and Parks Canada. The province’s provincial parks receive more than 23 million visits each year.
• In B.C., there are 1,033 provincial parks, recreation areas, conservancies, ecological reserves and protected areas, covering more than 14 million hectares or approximately 14.4% of the provincial land base.