B.C. Closes Provincial Campgrounds to Non-Residents
As does Alberta and Saskatchewan
In support of staying local and avoiding unnecessary travel during the covid-19 pandemic, B.C. residents will be given preferential access for the 2020 camping season. Non-BC residents with Reservations made by non-residents after the system reopens on May 25th may be subject to immediate cancellation. For more information visit here. The news shouldn’t be a surprise as provinces are working to keep their residents close to home.
Alberta and Saskatchewan made similar announcements, the Alberta Parks website says: “Government and parks’ staff are working hard to make our campsites available as soon as possible so that Albertans can enjoy our parks again while adhering to current health orders. Again, at this time, sites are open to Albertans only. We anticipate opening more campsites as we get more staff in place with the proper protective gear.” The Saskatchewan Parks website says: ” Camping in provincial parks will be restricted to Saskatchewan residents starting June 1, until further notice.”
A number of climber’s campgrounds are located in provincial parks, such The Chief in Squamish and Applebee in the Bugaboos. Huts operated by the Alpine Club of Canada are also located in provincial parks, but the huts have been closed until at least June 13. See below for a statement from the ACC.
Alpine Club of Canada Huts
On March 13, 2020, The Alpine Club of Canada made the difficult decision to suspend all backcountry hut operations until June 13 due to the covid-19 pandemic. Please know that we’re doing everything that we can to get our backcountry huts reopened in the safest way possible as soon as we can.
On May 1, we announced that, until further notice, we will not be accepting new reservations as we plan and prepare to implement Health Canada guidelines and protocols in our backcountry huts. We’re committed to operating our hut network safely and we are reassessing our guidelines for hut use. We ask for your patience as we put these new policies and guidelines into place.
If you have a current hut booking that will be affected by the new guidelines we’re working on, we’ll reach out to you soon with more information. Otherwise, stay tuned for future announcements. Thank you and stay safe.