BC Parks' system grants 800 campsite bookings against provincial policy

After 800 visitors were granted partial stays at BC Parks this summer in error, the ministry responsible is now saying sorry.

“Due to an error in our online reservation system, bookings were made last week for only partial August long weekend stays,” the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy said in an email to Black Press Media.

Provincial policy requires campers during peak seasons to book for a minimum of three days.

By Tuesday, people took to social media to express frustration that single-night stays on Friday (June 30) prevented them from booking campsites for the rest of the holiday weekend.

Day 2 no fix, no communication. When is ##BCParks going to fix the reservation system? Single night stays on Friday are blocking the whole August long weekend. Unused campsites are bad for everyone @GeorgeHeyman @BCParks #discovercamping @CampandRVinBC

— Josh (@tweeterjosh) June 1, 2021

“We apologize for this error and any inconvenience it has created,” said the ministry. “This issue has now been corrected.”

Those who booked partial reservations are still allowed to camp. If they leave, their sites will be available for use on a first-come, first-served basis on Sunday (Aug. 1) and Monday (Aug. 2), a ministry spokesperson confirmed.

@sarahgrowch sarah.grochowski@bpdigital.caLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.