Alberta Parks ironing out budget details before opening camping reservation system

Alberta's campers are in a holding pattern and getting antsy, frequently refreshing the province's reservation landing page to find out when they will be able to book sites and shore up summer plans.

In its 2020 budget, the province announced campsite fees would go up in the 2020-21 season by $10 from $26 to $36 a night.

In 2021, a new $30 permit fee for off-highway vehicles (OHV) and camping trailers will come into effectto help staff more enforcement as well asbuild and preserve OHV trails.

The trail fee was a UCP campaign promise, according to Jess Sinclair, press secretary to Environment and Parks Minister Jason Nixon.

"We will be asking Albertans for further input on trail fees, and for suggestions to improve sustainable recreation experiences in the province," Sinclair wrote in an emailed statement. "The current goal is to have options developed for government consideration by fall 2020, with implementation in spring 2021."

Typically, booking opens in February and campers can pick dates 90 days in advance. But so far, no dice. And May long weekend the typical camping kickoff is approaching.

Reservations will open in early March

Sinclair said individual campsite reservations for the 2020 season will open in "early March" because of the changes to the overall parks model coming out of the recent budget.

Avid camper Trish Mills says it's just becoming more expensive to camp. And while the increase may seem small to some, she says those who camp every weekend of the summer, like her, will feel the increase.

"Is it going to be every campsite or, you know, is it just going to be some of the ones that need more work for more upkeep," Mills said. "You know, we're still very much in the dark."

Demand might overwhelmonline booking system

Typically, Mills says, she looks for first-come, first-served sites. But this summer, she's launching a business called Backwoods Glamping, and part of her plan is to have a presence at several campsites with her portable hot tubs and saunas to get the word out to a wider audience.

"I'm a little worried that the entire first 90 days are going to book up right away because there are so many people waiting to get into the system," Mills said.

Sarah Shaw, another camping enthusiast,says she understands fees are bound to go up.

'Spring is almost here'

"I could understand if they went up a couple dollars, but yeah, $10 a night is fairly substantial," Shaw said. "I will still pay it and it's not going to make me camp less."

But this year, because of the delay in booking, she's turned to private sites for the certainty she needs.

"It's a little nerve-racking because I am really excited to go camping and it's, you know, spring is almost here," Shaw said. "I'm wanting to get planning and figure out if we're going to be able to go camping when we want to."