Reservations to Camp in Alberta Parks Open Soon
Here’s what you need to know, plus ideas on where to go
A scenic sunrise at Aster Lake Backcountry Campground
Yes, we’re still talking about summer camping in the middle of winter! This time it’s because Alberta Parks has announced bookings for their system open next week. Backcountry reservations launch Tuesday and then comfort camping opens Thursday, followed by individual campsites and group camping reservations the week after (find all the dates and times below).
Important: they are using a new online camping reservation system and a new account is required for this site. If you’ve booked through the previous system (Reserve.AlbertaParks.ca), your account will not be transferred over. (And note you can no longer log into your existing Reserve.AlbertaParks.ca account as of February 19, so if you want to remember the sites you camped at in the past, head there ASAP.)
Comfort camping at Dinosaur Provincial Park in canvas wall tents
Why the change? Alberta Parks explains here that the new system is a more stable cloud-based platform, it offers more payment options, and there’s numerous new and improved browsing and booking features.
Given how hard it can be to make summer plans in February, we’re particularly excited about the new “Camping This Weekend” feature to help you find a site for the coming weekend.
The new site is live now, so you can create an account and become familiar with the new system. (And check out the photos and captions in this post for some ideas on where to go.) Then get ready to book the following types of sites on these dates:
Backcountry reservations launch: February 20 at 9:00 a.m. MST
Comfort Camping reservations launch: February 22 at 9:00 a.m. MST
Individual Campsites reservations launch: February 26 at 9:00 a.m. MST
Group Camping reservations launch: February 28 at 9:00 a.m. MST
Note that reservations can be made 90 days in advance for individual and backcountry camping and 180 days in advance for group and comfort camping.
Group camping at Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park
Just like in previous years, we’re feeling a bit overwhelmed with the many logistics required in advance to try and book a summer site. Plus booking on launch day requires 9 a.m. weekday availability, which we recognize not everyone has.
This all leads to a conundrum we think about a lot with our beautiful yet busy outdoors spaces in Alberta. When barriers exist to getting outside, fewer people get to experience these special spaces, and that has vast consequences.
Comfort camping at Beaver Mines Lake in cabins.
