Ready, set, book your campsites.
As reported in the Herald, Parks Canada is opening its online reservation service for camping several months earlier than normal.
With that in mind, here are five things you need to know about the 2016 camping season:
Reservations open for different national parks on different days. Some of the parks in British Columbia were first, opening this week. In Alberta and interior B.C., camping reservations open on Jan. 13 in Jasper National Park; Jan. 14 in Banff National Park; and, Jan. 15 in Waterton Lakes and Kootenay national parks.
Comfort camping, called oTENTiks in the national parks, are available in Banff, Jasper and Kootenay.
The popular Burgess Shale hikes in Kootenay and Yoho national parks, where you can find 505-million-year-old fossils while hiking with a guide, will start taking reservations on Jan. 12. They are limited to a maximum of 12 people per hike.
Hikers head up to the Burgess Shale’s Walcott Quarry in Yoho National Park, near Field, B.C.
Lake O’Hara, a coveted spot for camping because there’s a quota system in place, will still have a later reservation date. Overnight camping reservations open on April 1. The day-use reservations, which get you a spot on the bus, are on April 20. Be ready. Last year, it sold out by 10 a.m.
The shore of Lake O’Hara in July 2015.
If you prefer to camp in Alberta’s provincial parks, you have a little more time to plan. The province’s reservation system opens a little later, starting on Feb. 8 for group camping reservations. Comfort camping bookings open on Feb. 16.
Comfort camping at Dinosaur Provincial Park.
Regular campsite reservations for Alberta Parks open on Feb. 22 by region. South: 9 a.m.; Kananaskis: 11 a.m.; East Central: 1 p.m.; and, Northeast and Northwest: 3 p.m. They can only be booked 90 days in advance by going online at reserve.albertaparks.ca or phoning 1-877-537-2757.
Campers play bocce ball at the Mount Kidd campground in Kananaskis Country in May 2015.
