Nine tips for finding a camping spot
Steve Shannon photo
It’s still possible to go on a spontaneous camping trip in B.C.
“Dad, where are we going to sleep?”
It’s my sixteen-year-old daughter asking and the emotion in her voice is not fear but frustration with her flaky dad. Before we’d left a family reunion in the West Kootenays, we’d discussed reserving a campsite for the night, but unsure of our plans I decided to risk it. I figured we’d find something.
It seemed like a reasonable assumption given all the options. Camping & RV in BC, a website representing commercial and government campsites, lists 1,751 campgrounds in the province with more than 31,000 sites for RVs and tents.
But, as anyone who has tried to go on a last-minute camping trip in B.C. can attest, it often seems most of those campgrounds are full all summer long. It was getting hard to find a campsite in B.C. before the pandemic sent everyone into nature. Now it can seem impossible. Reservable campsites fill in minutes. Commercial operations book out a year in advance. It seems like every pull-out and gravel bar is a free campsite. And even backcountry campgrounds spill off designated tent pads into nearby meadows.
It was around dinner time when my daughter and I started looking for an available site. When all the campgrounds around Merrit were full, we kept driving west, stopping at each campground near the highway. Now it’s eight o’clock at night, and I’m exhausted, we’re in no man’s land between Merritt and Hope and it seems we’ve run out of options.
Some would say I was doomed to fail. But I think the reality is more nuanced. It is still possible to find a camping site, even in the busiest areas, and even at the last minute. It just takes a proactive and strategic approach that starts with these nine tips.
Know your options
Campgrounds come in a few varieties in B.C. The most popular are the ones inside Parks Canada and BC Parks. Reservable sites often get reserved as soon as they have been made available for booking. However most campgrounds offer some first-come, first-served sites. The second variety is Recreation Sites & Trails BC, a branch of the province that manages 1,300 campgrounds. These tend to be more rustic and remote than the park sites, but that also means they’re less busy. These campgrounds do not accept reservations. Commercial RV resorts and campgrounds are the third type. They often have more amenities and sometimes more availability than nearby park campgrounds. Finally, I’ll add a fourth type: the parking lot of ski hills and other resorts. What they lack in ambience – often a patch of dirt literally in the parking lot – they make up for in availability and easy access to mountain biking, hiking and sightseeing. Check the individual resort website or call to find out about camping options.
Research before you go
Surf over to the Camping & RV In BC website and click on the Camping Map or Campgrounds tabs at the top. Both allow you to search and sort through all the various types of campgrounds. Most listings include a phone number. Call around to see if they have availability. People are always cancelling reservations. If not, ask about first come, first served sites, check out times and if they have a waitlist. You can find a list of BC Parks campgrounds that take a reservation here.
Bring a friend, or a few
Many campgrounds have double sites and group sites for larger parties. Because of the logistics of using them, they’re often the last to book. And in the week before campgrounds will often sell double sites like a single site. It’s always worth asking.
Show up early
Don’t wait until dinner to start looking. In fact, do it before lunch. Most campgrounds have an 11 am check out time. That’s when any campers not staying the night have to leave and when first come, first serve sites are up for grabs. I scored a prime site in Glacier National Park on a weekend by showing up at 10:30 and claiming an unoccupied site. The other empty sites were all taken by the time we’d set up tents and had lunch. Some campgrounds will start a waitlist. You can see how many un-reservable sites a BC Parks campground has by looking under “dates of operation.”
Ask at Visitor Info Centres
Finding a campsite in Tofino and Ucluelet is notoriously challenging, especially in the summer, but I have found them at the last minute by showing up at the Visitor Info Centre around 11 am. Their staff will call the various campgrounds to find out who has vacant sites. Even if they won’t go that far, the staff often have helpful insight and ideas. Find nearby Visitor Info Centres here.
Bring a tent
If you feel like there are more RVs on the road than ever before, you’re right. The RV industry has grown steadily for 40 years and exponentially over the last couple. More than 600,000 RVs sold in North America in 2021. That explains part of the scarcity of campsites, but it also presents an opportunity. If you’re willing to sleep in a tent, many campgrounds have walk-in-only sites that have much less demand than drive-through sites. The walk is usually short and the sites are often more secluded.
Drive a little further
Probably the best tip for finding a site is to drive a little further. Campgrounds within a two-hour drive of a city or town are going to be the busiest. The ones along major highways are likewise more popular. Instead look for campgrounds away from popular destinations, along secondary and backroads, and at the end of forestry roads. Think of it as an excuse to explore the road less travelled. Check out the Rec Sites & Trails and browse a Backroads Mapbook for ideas.
Take a hike or a paddle
The BC Parks campground at Buttle Narrows in Strathcona Provincial Park often has no vacancy, even when there are empty tent pads on Rainbow Island, a 10-minute paddle away. This is not an anomaly. The campsite options grow quickly with a canoe or the energy to schlep your gear a few kilometres into the backcountry. Plus few backcountry campsites take reservations. Check park websites and maps and the Backroads Mapbook to find some options. Tip: it’s still a good idea to get there earlier in the day.
Crown Land back up
More than 90 percent of B.C. is Crown Land and open for camping. Most of it is not suitable for pitching a tent or pulling up an RV, but there are some amazing sites out there, like a pull-off on a mountain logging road on Vancouver Island where we watched the sun set into the Pacific. There were no amenities, but we didn’t care. These random sites are harder to find, but they are out there. With these sites, it's vital to use low-impact camping techniques and Leave No Trace principles.
As for my daughter and I on the Coquihalla, we had one last chance: a Rec Site campground 10 kilometres up a logging road. When it too was full, we drove a little further to a pull-out and pitched our tent in the gravel. It was not a beautiful site. But it was a memorable night. I won't make that mistake again.
Ryan Stuart started writing about his adventures as a way to get paid to play. Twenty years later he’s still at it. Look for his name in magazines like Outside, Men’s Journal, Ski Canada, online at Hakai and The Narwhal. When he’s not typing at his home office in Vancouver Island’s Comox Valley, you can find him skiing, hiking, mountain biking, surfing, paddling or fishing somewhere nearby.
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