Your favourite camping spot in the West Kootenay may be reserved for someone else as Discover Camping online saw a 41 per cent increase over 2011 when BC Parks opened for reservations on March 15.
In the first hour, more than 2,100 reservations were made. This represents approximately 35 a minute.
Overall, Discover Camping received 3,970 reservations on opening day compared to 2,815 in 2011, the majority of which were made online.
Campers’ top two picks were: Bear Creek near Kelowna in the Okanagan and Porteau Cove on the Sea to Sky Highway south of Squamish.
Discover Camping takes reservations up to 90 days in advance. Riding on the centennial high of 2011, BC Parks is enjoying a surge in interest with many British Columbians re-discovering provincial parks in their own backyard.
The proof is in the numbers. More than 90 per cent of the reservations were from British Columbia.
New this year is the ability to make up to three reservations in one transaction - reservation fees apply for each booking.
Reservations can be made in any one of 97 front country campgrounds. Discover Camping allows peoplew to view the availability and amenities at more than 125 reservable campgrounds, including group sites, in 94 provincial parks across B.C.
People can still book a favourite spot through the interactive online reservation system at www.discovercamping.ca. The system also offers mobile web services so smartphone users can make and change plans from the open road.
For a surcharge of $5, reservations can also be made through the call centre at 1 800 689-9025 or from overseas at 0+1 519 826-6850.