If you’re looking to camp at any of Alberta’s national parks this season, the race is already on to book your site.
Parks Canada began taking reservations for all of the province’s national parks, including Banff, Jasper, Rocky Mountain House, Elk Island, Waterton Lakes and Wood Buffalo this week.
Reservations for backcountry camping will be open later this month — on Jan. 23 for Jasper and Jan. 24 for Banff, Lake Louise, Yoho and Kootenay national parks.
Reservations can be booked online or by calling 1-877-RESERVE (1-877-737-3783).
Jasper’s biggest campground — Whistlers Campground — will be closed this season for renovations.
Watch below: It’s by far the most popular campground in Jasper but as Sarah Kraus explains, Whistlers Campground is going to be closed for a while as it gets a facelift. (Filed July 2018).
Alberta Parks
If you’re wanting to camp in one of Alberta’s provincial parks, you’ll have to wait a few more weeks.
Reservations for provincial parks will open as follows:
- Feb. 4 – group camping
- Feb. 11 – comfort camping
- Feb. 19 – regular camping
- Feb. 25 – backcountry camping
The 2019 Alberta Parks camping season comes on the heels of a record-breaking season that saw nearly 171,000 reservations. That’s the highest number of reservations the province has seen in a decade.
There are about 250 provincial campgrounds with more than 14,000 sites in the Alberta provincial parks system.
The provincial government is investing $38 million in Alberta provincial park upgrades this year.
Campsites are reserved on a first-come, first-served basis.