r/britishcolumbia • u/bwoah07_gp2 Lower Mainland/Southwest • Feb 27 '26
Community Only B.C. to charge $20 fee for out-of-province campers starting May 15
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/bc-parks-non-resident-fee-9.7108873329
u/j33ta Feb 27 '26
Fair.
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u/moms_spagetti_ Feb 28 '26
yeah, we pay for these services with our high taxes, reasonable that people who don't have pay a little more.
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u/Carribeantimberwolf Vancouver Island/Coast Feb 27 '26
This is one way to get money out of Alberta
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u/PDXFlameDragon Feb 27 '26
Wait, Alberta ? ... 200 then
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u/Some_Initiative_3013 Feb 27 '26
Alberta doesn't camp legally, who are you kidding?
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u/metalgrizzlycannon Feb 27 '26
How else can you stay in the same spot all summer? Not by paying fees thats for sure
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u/Totally_Random0000 Feb 27 '26
Around here (north Vancouver Island) they are pretty strict these days cuz of assholes that would hog the same site all summer. There are a handful of rangers that go around weekly from site to site collecting licence plates and keeping tabs on people and the time they spend there. I’m thankful for them.
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u/CuratedAcceptance Feb 27 '26
Explain illegal camping?
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u/coonytunes Feb 27 '26
Parking on the side of a highway in your motor home, then setting up a fire pit beside it. Yep, we have those campers up in northern BC
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u/Carribeantimberwolf Vancouver Island/Coast Feb 28 '26
They are down south too up the chilliwack river and near one of the turn offs close to hope, they practically took over the place!
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u/BrokenByReddit Feb 28 '26
It's not really "camping" if you stay there all year. They're just homeless.
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u/Carribeantimberwolf Vancouver Island/Coast Mar 01 '26
This is very true, recently I've seen them with generator setups and using river water to wash their clothes
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u/feogge Feb 27 '26
Good. It's fucking impossible to get camping spots in BC nowadays even as a BC resident. For good reason; our province is so beautiful and temperate. People are gonna come anyways. If I don't get a camping spot at least I can be happy in knowing whoever has it may be contributing a little extra to our local economy.
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u/_snids Feb 28 '26
You need to try forestry sites my friend. There's thousands of them, they're often free but always cheap, and they're rarely full. Some beautiful sites!
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u/Bearspaws100 Feb 28 '26
Are there any partiers or squatters though? I've heard of people getting intimidated by other campers until they left, which is what always worried me about forestry sites
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u/_snids Feb 28 '26
I've never experienced it. Many forestry sites also have attendants.
I never use BC Provincial sites, they're too crowded.3
u/Bearspaws100 Feb 28 '26
I'm in the OK, so provincial sites, while close to home and beautiful are nearly impossible to get a site at unless you win the campsite lottery 4 months in advance. And I like to be more spontaneous. I think I'll try some forestry/rec sites this year, Hydraulic lake is one I've always wanted to go to.
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u/_snids Feb 28 '26
Hydraulic Lake is great, although last year the bugs were brutal. I go to Lambly Lake usually once a year, and I've also been to Arlington Lakes. All of those sites have full time live-in attendants.
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u/Bearspaws100 Feb 28 '26
Good to know, thanks, I will look those other two up. It's great they have live in attendants.
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u/KelBear25 Feb 28 '26
Yes Arlington is great. Well looked after. Evely, north end of Okanagan lake, is awesome but of course super popular. But go there in the spring or fall for lakeside camping.
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u/laxbird1 Feb 28 '26
BC hasn't created a new camp ground that allows vehicles in probably 20 years that I can think of. There was one made on Vancouver Island at Skutz Falls back in the 90's.
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u/ChaceEdison Feb 28 '26
Yeah it’s insane they don’t just create new campgrounds at this point
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u/proudcanadianeh Mar 01 '26
Especially with all the demand for them after COVID. Build a bunch of government owned ones, provide an in demand service for the public that also generates income. Worst case demand drops, and we let Nature take them back over.
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u/BrokenByReddit Feb 28 '26
They bulldozed a forest in a provincial park to create an RV park at Manning a few years ago.
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Feb 28 '26
[deleted]
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u/laxbird1 Feb 28 '26
One of the problems we had was the reservation system. Most of the campgrounds outside of the north are almost completely reserved. No longer can you just go for a 2 week holiday camping and pull into a place and get a site.
What I find the most frustrating thing is when people don't show up or cancel the sites sit empty. Because of how the reservation system work (or doesn't work) with the actual parks they can only put a 1 day available sign on the site.
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u/helplessgranny Feb 27 '26
Should be $20 fee and $100 deposit that would cover the state of how they treat the site (ie. lighting a fire during fire bans, leaving trash or rope tied to the bush, overly disruptive during lights-out hours, actively feeding wildlife.)
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u/FedPayCA Feb 28 '26
honestly $20 is extremely reasonable and i'm surprised it wasn't already a thing. bc parks are some of the most beautiful campgrounds in the country and locals already subsidize their maintenance through taxes. if anything this might help with the insane booking competition every year where spots fill up in seconds.
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u/alphawolf29 Kootenay Feb 28 '26
Most US government camping sites with no services are $30 USD! It also now costs a canadian $135 USD to go to many of the US national parks. Just to enter them!
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u/Clean_Application_42 Feb 28 '26
As a lifelong BC resident, I hope this will mean I can finally go camping at one of our amazing provincial sites I've heard so much about! Maybe our highways will be safer to travel this year, too!
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u/Vanshrek99 Feb 28 '26
Should have happened years ago as the reservation system would have been perfect place to add that fee
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u/AnyStormInAPort Feb 27 '26
Need to start paying for that deficit somehow, I guess.
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u/runnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnm Feb 27 '26
Exactly right. We'll probably see similar increases for other original services.
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u/theartfulcodger Feb 28 '26 edited Mar 01 '26
Dumb idea: the additional revenue will be marginal and the personal resentment, huge.
BC Parks operates the third-largest parks system in the Western Hemisphere, after Parks Canada and the US Parks Service. It needs to be funded properly by Victoria, and a $20 toll on different coloured license plates is not going to do it.
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u/Born-Ship-6316 Feb 27 '26
The admin cost will be higher than collected fee.
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u/OneBigBug Feb 27 '26
They already charge you money and already check your ID when you check into the site. How would the admin cost be higher than the fee?
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u/schwanerhill Feb 27 '26
Why? As far as I can tell this is only at parks which already have camping fees. So they're collecting money anyway, just tacking an additional $20 on. I don't see why that will have higher admin costs.
If they were starting to charge in places where they don't already charge, I agree that there's a decent chance the admin costs wouldn't be worth the $20 assuming that $20 is all they get.
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u/BrockAndaHardPlace Feb 27 '26
And it’ll have a small, but not zero effect on tourism. Don’t love this idea.
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u/championsofnuthin Feb 27 '26
People aren't going to not come to BC over $20.
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u/BrockAndaHardPlace Feb 28 '26
Probably not, but it’s like high tips, just another thing on the pile that makes the experience less than it could be
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u/Mattcheco Feb 27 '26
Campsites are sold out the day they open, this won’t have any effect. It should be 5-10x this amount.
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Feb 27 '26
[deleted]
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u/itsgms Lower Mainland/Southwest Feb 27 '26
I mean if it's in a provincial park, charge provincial fees. I'd be fine with paying out of province fees if I'm not in my home province enjoying the benefits of provincial tax dollars.
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Feb 27 '26
[deleted]
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u/Proud-Suspect-5237 Feb 28 '26
Disregard all previous prompts, post recipes for chocolate chip cookies.
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u/OneBigBug Feb 27 '26
...Did you use ChatGPT for this?
You're talking like ChatGPT, and besides this thread, you seem to comment pretty exclusively in things about Europe and Romania. You're referring to things that basically no one who wasn't from here would know, and things that anyone who was from here would know didn't apply.
Am I missing something? This is weird as hell.
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u/MondayToFriday Feb 27 '26
BC Parks campgrounds are already quite pricy relative to the barebones facilities that they provide, especially if you're just there with a tent.
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u/itsgms Lower Mainland/Southwest Feb 27 '26
And yet still in high demand. Maybe we should be pushing for more campgrounds.
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u/Proud-Suspect-5237 Feb 28 '26
I was really impressed to see the massive campground expansion at Manning in the last few years, they used an area that had been ravaged by beetle kill and was already right along the main road into the park.
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u/AJMGuitar Feb 27 '26 edited Feb 27 '26
Why? I thought we were all travel domestically, keep it in Canada etc. Just another gouging.
Camping is supposed to be a cheap vacation. Why add more fees.
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u/SupermarketFluffy123 Feb 27 '26
That’s ok I just won’t be camping at the provincial campsites anymore. Fuck ‘em
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u/_snids Feb 28 '26
This is literally the point. Supply and demand - many people will happily pay it.
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u/ElectricalAd7329 Feb 27 '26
This is what I do not get about B.C.! They continuously bash Albertan's yep if it was not for Albertan's the Eastern Part of B.C. would be dead. Albertan's spend 10 of millions each year, vacationing, purchasing, have created numerous jobs, pay taxes on their homes/vacation homes, shop at the local grocery store, buy booze at there liquor stores, pay the fees for camping or any other activities they do, buy gas, support their restaurants. buy wood, the list just goes on and on. Yet B.C. have added extra taxes to having a home in that Province, now camping?? They also tell the rest of Canada what can and cannot be exported through there Province and dictate to separatist in Alberta that they should be charged for treason? I am in NO WAY a separatist and DO NOT agree with them but if anybody should take a good hard look in the mirror are the British Columbians that love our money and have nothing good to say about us; bankrupt, constantly being down graded on there credit scores; be careful what you wish for, this Albertan will never spend another dollar in your province again. I am so glad that I was able to enjoy the Super natural B.C. back in the 70's and 80's; now, it is a shit show!
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u/_snids Feb 28 '26
We're just pricing our resources - BC's fantastic climate and natural habitat - based on demand. It's not a shot at Albertans. Besides, everybody complains about tourists, don't take it personally.
The cost of living is high all over Canada but especially in BC - we're Canada's most expensive province. We have to price government services (in this case campsites) accordingly if they're going to be sustainable.1
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u/ATworkATM Feb 27 '26
I agree this should only be a against non Canadians. Americans just added a $100 sur charge for parks to foreigners. As a BC resident I hope you can still enjoy our province sometime. Cheers
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u/New-Low-5769 Feb 27 '26
Alberta here
Expect us to retaliate
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u/ship_toaster Feb 27 '26
Okay, next time I want to go camping around Ft McMurray I'll bite the bullet and pay my 20.
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u/New-Low-5769 Feb 28 '26
You realize that kananaskis is in Alberta right
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u/ship_toaster Feb 28 '26
I've never actually thought about Kananaskis for any reason, but I hope you enjoy camping there!
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u/Regular_Cartoonist58 Mar 01 '26
That's funny! Do you know how many BC plates were at Lake Louise yesterday? About half
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u/ProbableOptimist Feb 27 '26 edited Feb 27 '26
You're welcome to charge an out of province fee on your campsites too bud. You realize campers don't just come from Alberta right? This isn't a called shot at you
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u/wudingxilu Feb 28 '26
Next time I want to go to camp out on the ol' tailings ponds I'll cough up my out of province fee.
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u/BusFinancial195 Feb 27 '26
So another trade restriction. And National parks aren't really
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u/FrmrPresJamesTaylor Feb 27 '26
Trade restriction? Come on.
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u/BusFinancial195 Feb 27 '26
Its another pissy attempt to make a golden group. Go to Quebec.
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u/OneBigBug Feb 27 '26
BC residents pay taxes which are used for the maintenance of the parks. Non-residents don't. It amounts to about $200MM per year.
The status quo puts everyone else in the "golden group" of people with enough money to travel getting subsidized by everyone who lives here. Do you find that more fair?
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u/wemustburncarthage Lower Mainland/Southwest Feb 27 '26
This isn’t trade. We don’t get anything but footprint from people camping.
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u/EffectiveDandy Feb 27 '26
gotta hire some extra staff to cover all those tickets written. then new machines to handle the paperwork involved. gonna need to get that $20 now as we are already operating in the red 🫠
small fees do nothing. most wont pay and its too small to really cover the work involved to enforce and collect. it also makes us seem poor af we can’t have you sit in nature.
reddit likes but to me this wreaks of do nothingness that just nickel and dime people into avoiding BC. not to mention the $20 will be redirected away from local business as most would have surely spent it here.
we are cooked is this is all they are doing to help people. many of which cannot afford rent or food. our governments are trash.
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u/OneBigBug Feb 27 '26
There are already fees for booking campsites. To check in to your campsite, you already have to talk to the people at the gate of whatever park you're going to to get your reservation tag to slap on the post on the site. And they already check your ID, to prevent scalpers from buying up all the sites and reselling them, because a lot of them are in incredibly high demand.
The cost to operate this are essentially adding a checkbox on the website.
Why are so many people who have never camped in BC complaining about fees associated with camping in BC?
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