The Parks Canada website ran into trouble Friday due to heavy demand for free 2017 passes, and the issues appeared to continue into the weekend.
The beauty of Canada’s national parks matched with the offer of free admission had nature lovers flocking to the site, which prompted the site to issue a statement warning of delays.
READ MORE: Parks Canada seeks to manage free 2017 influx
A click on the website’s “Get your free discovery pass” link resulted in the page timing out for some users; those who got through struggled to get much further.
Parks Canada posted a statement on the page addressing the website issues, due to high volume. The statement reminded park-goers that there are plenty of passes for everyone.
“Due to the exceptionally high volume of Discovery Pass online orders, you may experience delays in accessing the site,” the post read.
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“We wish to remind those who are trying to order their pass online that this is not a limited time offer and encourage you to come back and try again later.”
The website continued to experience issues on Saturday.
Access to all national parks will be free in 2017 to mark Canada’s 150th birthday. Camping, tours, and other for-fee services are not included.
There has been apprehension about the free admission; some worry it will result in overcrowding, garbage issues and damage to the parks’ ecological integrity.
Parks Canada said it has been increasing camping spots as well as promoting its less-used parks in order to handle the increase in visitors.
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