Camping website back up
by Rob Gibson
UPDATE 11:30 a.m.
The provincial government’s Discover Camping reservation system is more stable after a crush of web traffic brought it down Monday morning.
Minister of Environment George Heyman says more than 7,000 reservations were made this morning, when the province opened reservations in advance of campgrounds opening on June 1.
“There is lots of inventory remaining and we are working hard to ensure BC residents can book as quickly as possible,” Heyman said.
“I appreciate people's patience, and am glad to see so many people excited to enjoy BC Parks this summer. Our plan is to safely open as many parks as possible so that BC campers and day visitors can rediscover the wilderness beauty close to home.”
UPDATE 8:20 a.m.
While BC Parks opened its camping reservations site Monday morning, few people have been actually able to book a site.
A Castanet reporter has tried, and failed, to book a site for the past 90 minutes, but the Discover Camping portal is crashing repeatedly. Numerous other Castanet readers have reached out to say they have been unable to get through.
"Annoying experience and so disappointing that a government website is so useless!" said one reader.
Social media is also full of B.C. residents frustrated with the situation, likely caused by heavy web traffic.
ORIGINAL 7:20 a.m.
There should be some happy campers in B.C. today as many campgrounds across the province are prepared to open June 1, reservations open on the Discover Camping website today at 7 a.m. Bookings can be made on a rolling two-month period, so as of Monday, reservations can be made up to July 25.
B.C.'s provincial parks were temporarily closed because of a lack of physical distancing during the pandemic, but many have reopened.
BC Parks website says, "to ensure physical distancing, you may notice some changes in campgrounds, including additional spacing between campsites and limitations on the number of guests in campgrounds."
Access to campsites is limited to B.C. residents for the entire 2020 season but not all sites will open and some will open with reduced capacity.
Non-B.C. residents with a previous reservation can contact the BC Parks call centre for a refund before June 15. Non-B.C. residents who try to make a reservation after May 25 will have their booking cancelled.
