“Overwhelming numbers” of people trying to reserve campsites on the first day of availability led to technical problems with bookings on the B.C. Parks Discover Camping website, the Ministry of Environment says.
Some took to social media to complain about not being able to get their summer vacations squared away.
Would-be campers said they were greeted with busy signals on the reservation phone line and error pages online. Some said they got as far as entering payment information, only to have the web page crash.
Last year at this time, the system was busy with 1,100 reservations in one day. Monday saw 800 reservations processed in the first half hour alone, the ministry said.
“More than 50,000 people were online at opening trying to simultaneously access the system.”
The system went live at 7 a.m. The ministry said 35,000 bookings had been made before noon Monday, with more being processed at a rate of 10 reservations per second.
“While we made efforts to be ready for additional demand, this rate of reservations exceeds those seen anywhere,” the ministry said. An apology was issued to people unable to access the system: “We thank everyone for their patience and encourage them to keep trying.”
The ministry noted that a two-month “rolling window” for bookings — meaning bookings can be made a maximum of two months in advance — means new options will come online each day.
“So there are still lots of opportunities coming up to book campsites throughout the last week of July and all of August.”
Liberal environment critic Peter Milobar, MLA for Kamloops North Thompson, said COVID-19 might account for some of the increased interest in camping reservations, but more preparation was needed to take bookings.
“I think if you look at the opening day of the reservation system in general, it’s incredibly busy,” he said, adding that the demand should not have come as a surprise. He said he knows a lot of people who had trouble getting through to make a reservation.
“I’ve tried going on myself,” he said. “I get the frustration totally.”
Joss Penny, who chairs the Camping and RVing Coalition of B.C., said the COVID-19 pandemic has altered summer travel plans for many people, “but camping locally in B.C. parks or recreation sites might be the break you need.”
Most provincial campgrounds and backcountry camping areas will be open as of June 1 following a closure of the entire parks system as part of preventive measures against COVID-19.
Reservations are available only to residents of B.C.
Facilities such as playgrounds and picnic shelters in provincial parks will remain closed. Physical-distancing requirements will be in effect at all sites.
