Tag: campsite

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Cottage Life

Here’s how to snag a coveted Ontario campsite in 2023

Photo by Prapat Aowsakorn/Shutterstock

Even before the pandemic-driven spike in visits to campsites, securing a spot at some of Ontario’s provincial parks can be as challenging as trying to get tickets to a Justin Bieber concert. Though online reservations have made the booking process more straightforward, it’s also increased competition—so much so that Ontario Parks decided to limit the number of nights you can book at popular parks.

For most parks, reservations for campsites and roofed accommodations open at 7 a.m., five months out from the first day of your trip—so if you’re looking to camp over May long weekend, that’s as early as the end of January. Here are some tips to guarantee you get the reservation you want for your summer adventure.

Prep your device in advance 

Earlier this year, Ontario Parks revamped their website and reservation system to make it more streamlined—and they’ve even published a guide on how to prepare your device for online booking, whether it be a mobile phone, tablet, or laptop.

  • Make sure your browser, software, and all applications are up to date. This may seem basic, but if you’ve ever had the experience of trying to join a Zoom meeting only to have Zoom suddenly run an update, you know how frustrating it can be. The Ontario Parks site is compatible with Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Firefox, and Safari. Also, check that your browser’s privacy settings allow pop-ups, just in case—and be mindful that private browsing mode or ‘incognito’ may mess up the process. 
  • Clear your internet cache beforehand. A full cache (the data on your browser of recently visited websites) can slow down your browser and computer. Clear it before you start.

Have your key info on hand

Depending on the reservation type, you may need the license plate numbers of the cars at the campsite, the names and addresses of guests joining you, and your credit card/payment information. Also, if you have a Seasonal Day-Use Permit, you may want to have that on hand; consider purchasing one if you visit the parks often. 

Sign up for availability notifications

Despite careful planning and preparation, some Ontario parks book up fast, and you may not get the site you want. It’s definitely worth it to sign up for email notifications for availability at a specific park; as Parks staff note, cancellations often happen, many last minute.

When in doubt, just make the reservation—you can always cancel

With the relative affordability of an outdoor trip, the cost to cancel outside of a certain window is minimal—usually less than $10. Don’t wait on others if a coveted site at your favourite park is available on booking day. You also have the option to transfer a reservation to someone else if you can’t make it. 

Other key tips:

  • Make use of the ‘similar experiences’ feature. Introduced this year, this feature aims to give visitors similar options if the campsite or trip they usually do is booked up. Take the leap and try a new adventure! 
  • Set a reminder to book your daily vehicle permit. In 2021, Ontario’s busiest parks introduced this requirement, and they still apply even if you’re arriving for an overnight stay. You can reserve it up to five days before the first date of your trip, online or by phone. It’s easy to forget, especially if you book months in advance, so set a calendar reminder—and remember that a Seasonal Day-Use Pass doesn’t automatically come with a spot; you still need to book.
  • Try a park in Northern Ontario. Some of the most beautiful, secluded, and easier-to-reserve parks are just a couple of hours north of the more popular Central Ontario. Try places like Sleeping Giant, Pancake Bay, or Quetico, which have stunning lakes, beaches, backcountry sites, and are far less crowded than Algonquin or Sandbanks. 
  • When in doubt, pick up the phone. Parks staff still encourage folks to call if they’re having trouble with the online system (1-888-668-7275). You can still make reservations this way, and if you’re overwhelmed and don’t know where to start, it may be better to speak with a staff member.

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Cottage Life

Ontario Parks to restrict campsite bookings next summer

Photo by Bastian Sander/Shutterstock

Campsites in Ontario have become hot commodities, especially since the pandemic sent city dwellers scrambling for the outdoors. To accommodate the influx of campers, Ontario Parks has announced that it will be limiting the number of nights an individual can book a campsite at its provincial parks during summer months.

Previously, campers were able to book sites for a maximum of 23 days, but starting in 2023, Ontario Parks will limit the maximum stay in its more popular destinations to seven or 14 nights, depending on the park.

The limited stay will be in effect from July 1 to the Saturday of the Labour Day long weekend, and does not pertain to backcountry camping or roofed accommodations, only campground campsites.

The government agency says its goal is to provide more people with access to summer campsites, especially as interest grows. In 2014, Ontario Parks recorded 4.3 million camper nights. In 2021, that number grew to 6.6 million camper nights. This initiative will provide more booking dates, accommodating a greater diversity of campers.

“I’m really glad they made that decision because it’s going to make it easier for a lot of people to get campsites,” says Michele Craig, a camper who books sites four to five times each summer.

Some of Craig’s favourite parks include Algonquin, Arrowhead, and Grundy Lake, but she’s struggled in the past to book sites. In 2019, Craig booked a campsite in Bon Echo, but hasn’t managed to get one since. “That one’s very hard to get into,” she says.

By limiting the number of nights people can stay, Craig says she also hopes it puts an end to people overbooking. “You can start your booking five months before your arrival date,” she says. “So, people would book the whole 23 days when they only wanted the week at the end. And then they would start reducing their reservation.”

This way, people have a guaranteed three-week block, giving them more choice over which days they want to camp. But it also prevents others from booking those days. Craig says she found that it’s easier to book a campsite three to four months before her arrival date when the individuals who book the three-week blocks cancel the days they don’t want.

Sometimes—to avoid the cancellation fee, which can be as much as 50 per cent of the campsite’s total fee—these individuals resell the dates on other sites, such as Facebook. This way, the individual only has to pay the transfer fee, which is $7.52, Craig says. This also prevents the dates from going back into the system and being fairly distributed among everyone.

Craig says she does feel bad for the people who do stay for the full 23 days, especially those who use it as their summer vacation. “But unfortunately, that’s the game that has been played,” she says, “and I’m glad [Ontario Parks] is taking action.”

In a discussion on the Algonquin Parks Facebook page, one user, who’s supportive of the change, points out that prior to July 1 and after Labour Day, 23-day bookings are still allowed. “Learned to love camping in September/October, [because] I could never get a site earlier than that. I do book 3 weeks, but I actually stay 3 weeks,” the post says. Plus, the nightly limit only applies to certain Ontario Parks.

“I’m feeling positive about the change,” Craig says. “And I know that the reason is just that our parks are so beautiful and popular, and it’s not hard to see why.”

Maximum 7-night stay

  • Algonquin
  • Bon Echo
  • Killbear
  • Pinery
  • Sandbanks

Maximum 14-night stay

  • Arrowhead
  • Awenda
  • Balsam Lake
  • Bass Lake
  • Blue Lake
  • Bonnechere
  • Charleston Lake
  • Chutes
  • Craigleith
  • Darlington
  • Driftwood
  • Earl Rowe
  • Emily
  • Esker Lakes
  • Fairbank
  • Finlayson Point
  • Fitzroy
  • Fushimi Lake
  • Grundy Lake
  • Halfway Lake
  • Inverhuron
  • Ivanhoe Lake
  • Kap-Kig-Iwan
  • Kettle Lakes
  • Killarney
  • Lake St. Peter
  • Lake Superior
  • Long Point
  • MacGregor Point
  • Mara
  • Marten River
  • McRae Point
  • Mikisew
  • Mississagi
  • Murphys Point
  • Nagagamisis
  • Neys
  • Oastler Lake
  • Pancake Bay
  • Point Farms
  • Port Burwell
  • Presqu’ile
  • Quetico
  • Rainbow Falls
  • Rene Brunelle
  • Restoule
  • Rideau River
  • Rock Point
  • Rondeau
  • Rushing River
  • Samuel de Champlain
  • Sauble Falls
  • Selkirk
  • Sharbot Lake
  • Sibbald Point
  • Silent Lake
  • Silver Lake
  • Six Mile Lake
  • Sleeping Giant
  • Sturgeon Bay
  • Turkey Point
  • Wheatley
  • Windy Lake

Maximum 23-night stay

  • Aaron
  • Arrow Lake
  • Bronte Creek
  • Caliper Lake
  • Ferris
  • Kakabeka Falls
  • MacLeod
  • Missinaibi
  • Ojibway
  • Pakwash
  • Sandbar Lake
  • Silver Falls
  • Sioux Narrows
  • Voyageur
  • Wakami Lake
  • White Lake

Categories
Cottage Life

New Ontario Parks’ system notifies you when a campsite is available

Photo by Day of Victory Studio/shutterstock

If your search for a campsite at an Ontario Provincial Park has ended in disappointment these past two years, you aren’t alone. Due to high demand in 2021, Ontario Parks has now introduced several new features to make booking your campsite easier, including a new availability notification system.

Should your desired park and dates become available within the five-month booking window, you will receive an email alert that will allow you to book within this time slot. This feature is a simpler solution for campers to stay up-to-date with cancellations, and current availability.

“Cancellations are made up to the day before someone is set to arrive,” explained Zachary Tucker, management advisor with Ontario Parks. “If you’re looking for something in August, you could keep looking from now until August. You never know what’s going to come up.”

Popular destinations like Bon Echo, Sandbanks, Pinery, Killbear, and Algonquin Provincial Parks tend to fill up more quickly than others, but other parks, such as Inverhuron and Restoule, have also been flooded with a large amount of booking reservations.

“This year the volumes are still quite high. The reservations are going well and we’re still seeing some consistency with how things were going last year,” Tucker said. “Last year was actually our record year, so we’re just behind that by approximately 9 per cent this year.”

There are a few other features available to campers who are keeping an eye on campsite openings this year, such as the new similar experiences feature. This allows campers to find the best possible alternative to their park of choice.

Categories
Cottage Life

What you need to know before you book or list on Hipcamp

Photo by Tracy Boccini

As keen Canadian campers make their summer plans, reservations at campsites in provincial and national parks are becoming hot commodities—leaving last-minute planners and spontaneous tent campers with few options.

Hipcamp, an international online booking platform that allows private property owners to list their land for campers and glampers alike, is working to solve this problem. The company launched in Canada in June 2021 but was founded nearly a decade ago in California. Today, Hipcamp hosts listings for outdoor stays in every Canadian province.

A need for easier access to outdoor stays sparked the creation of Hipcamp, so launching in Canada was a logical step, says Kamila Mukherjee, the company’s manager of growth operations in Canada. During the pandemic, Canadians have been heading outdoors in droves, and traditional campsites fill up quickly when booking opens for the summer. “Demand for outdoor spaces was really outpacing supply, and so we wanted to bring this product to Canada to help people get outside and to nurture that love of nature,” she explains.

Hipcamp users will find everything from backcountry campsites to luxury yurts, and some sites include farm tours, hikes, and other activities, Mukherjee says. Campers can reserve in advance or on the spot, and booking is simple; choose a site, make a reservation, and wait for arrival instructions. But prospective hosts have a few extra considerations.

Before listing their property on Hipcamp, landowners need to “make sure that they understand their local policies” related to hosting campers, Mukherjee explains. Restrictions vary widely between municipalities—some don’t allow camping on private property, and others limit how long tents and recreational vehicles (RV) can be set up—and hosts need to know if the accommodations they plan to offer are legal.

In Greater Sudbury, Ont., zoning bylaws don’t permit the use of tents or RVs on private property. The same is true in Saanich, B.C. when it comes to RVs and secondary buildings.

But in Okotoks, Alta., property owners are welcome to host tent campers on their land. RVs, however, can only be parked on private property for storage or in driveways for 72 hours while being loaded.

Mukherjee notes that, so far, there haven’t been any issues with zoning during guests’ stays. Hosts are encouraged to contact their municipality or Hipcamp staff about applicable bylaws, and they also must abide by COVID-19 safety protocols.