Anyone here familiar with British Columbia Provincial Parks?

[MrNoodly]

I've been searching around their site ( http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/ ) and I finally learned, after all the info about reservations, that some sites in some parks are first-come-first-served. So, how likely is it for FCFS sites to be available this time of year? I suppose it depends on the location, popularity and day of the week, as with campgrounds in the US, right? Or since there are hundreds (thousands?) of campgrounds, are full campgrounds not really a problem?

Also, what's the Canadian equivalent of dispersed camping on public land? Does it work pretty much the same way?

 

[dawnann7]

I don't know about camping on public land but park campgrounds are usually quite busy until school starts in the fall. One trick I learned is to stop early, like around 1:00 pm or so.

There are some public rest stops that seem pretty relaxed about the rules. At Craigelachie, for instance, I've seen people sleeping there overnight and I even saw tourists set up a small tent once. There are good washrooms and even a small store there. Good wifi, too.

 

[Suanne]

I spent some time on Vancouver Island last year and found this BC resource very useful to find free camping -- http://www.sitesandtrailsbc.ca/

I also used https://www.bchydro.com/community/recreation_areas.html

Really beautiful free camping spots there!

 

[Willy]

Dispersed camping on public (Crown) land is what I DO here in BC. The Island sux, near everything gated off, but the rest of BC has TONS of Crown land open for camping. The Okanagan is especially good in this respect. ..Willy.

 

[MrNoodly]

How would I identify Crown land? Does it show on maps?

 

[Almost There]

I second the bc trails and rec sites and BC hydro for finding low cost nice campsites.

As to the FCFS at provincial parks - it's a crap shoot - August is the busiest travel/holiday  month and the vast majority of tourists stay either at provincial parks or private RV parks - they're not set up for off grid living and so they need the hook-ups each night.

When I came out here as a tourist 5 years ago we used rec sites and hydro sites except for every 4th or 5th night when Miss Amy wanted a shower. I took my chances on FCFS at provincial parks and wasn't turned away but sometimes the site I got was the last and the least desirable site in the park.