KANANASKIS COUNTRY – Alberta Parks is giving campers a head start as it prepares to open bookings for the 2024 camping season.
Camping reservations will move from reserve.albertaparks.ca to shop.albertaparks.ca, where those with an account on the new website can make backcountry camping reservations beginning Feb. 20.
Other camping opportunities such as comfort and group sites will open for booking in the days to follow.
“You will have access to your existing Reserve.AlbertaParks.ca account until Feb. 18 to take note of sites you have reserved in the past, as this data will not transfer over to the system,” states a bulletin on the Alberta Parks website.
The old website will no longer be available as of Feb. 19 and existing accounts won’t be merged with the new site.
Camping inventory is now viewable on https://t.co/dtTgAbFN3B! Take a moment to get acquainted with the site so you'll be ready when reservations begin.
— Alberta Parks (@Albertaparks) February 12, 2024
Visit https://t.co/zgcjW8NhzR to learn more including how to create an account and how to make reservations. pic.twitter.com/CXz1HvuoAm
Alberta Parks is boasting other new features, including an option to reserve last-minute weekend camping.
The feature will show last-minute campsites available to book for that upcoming weekend.
The agency said it will strive for “fair and equitable access” by limiting overbooking practices to ensure campers only reserve dates they intend to use.
Reservations can be made as early as 90 days for individual campsites and backcountry camping, and 180 days in advance for comfort and group camping.
For bookings made on the first day of the 90- or 180-day window, campers will not be permitted to change their arrival or departure dates for 31 days, but can still cancel reservations and change other trip details like the number of people within that period.
“Reservations cannot be moved or changed until the entire dates of stay, including the departure date, are within the 90-day booking window in order to prevent sliding,” the bulletin further states.
The Outlook reached out to Alberta Parks on Thursday (Feb. 8) with questions about the past and upcoming camping seasons in Kananaskis Country provincial parks and to learn more about new booking measures but did not receive a response before publication.
Reservation fees will remain the same for 2024 and the same fees will apply to vehicles parked at provincial parks and public land sites in Kananaskis Country and the Bow Valley corridor.
The Kananaskis Conservation Pass is $90 annually for personal vehicles or can be purchased as a day pass for $15. In 2022, when there were about 4.2 million visitors to Kananaskis, the pass collected $11 million. In its inaugural year, in 2021, it collected $12 million, with the province counting about five million visitors that year.
2024 Alberta Parks camping reservations launch dates:
- Feb 20 at 9 a.m. MST: Backcountry camping
- Feb. 22 at 9 a.m. MST: Comfort camping
- Feb. 28 at 9 a.m. MST: Group camping
