People sleeping in queues for a park site this weekend
People queue at park gates at dawn in record year for reservations
The hopes of dozens of would-be campers hung on a handful of tiny blue squares on Thursday morning.
In the gatehouse at Golden Ears Provincial Park, each campsite is represented by a colour-coded tag, with blue representing vacant, non-reservable sites.
At 7 a.m., the gatehouse attendant counted the squares, then counted again: Twelve blue tags.
A dozen people would get a place to camp — but dozens more would need to make other plans for the Canada Day long weekend.
School’s out and there’s even a little sun in the forecast, making the coming weekend one of the summer’s busiest at campsites across the province.
According to the Ministry of Environment, it’s going to be a record year for the B.C. Parks reservation system, with bookings up 10 per cent from this time last year, and up 80 per cent over the last five years.
Reports of campsite scalpers selling sites outside park gates and travel companies booking large blocks of sites to resell to European travellers have some calling for changes to protect a B.C. summer tradition.
At Golden Ears, where a portion of the sites are reservable and the rest are available on a first-come first-served basis, the long-weekend lineups begin early in the week.
“We used to fill on Wednesday for the long weekend, but now it’s Tuesday,” Stu Burgess, the operations manager for the park, said. Some people will purchase a site several days in advance, pitching an empty tent to hold their place, and then show up on the long weekend, he said.
“People have been doing that for years,” Burgess said. “We’re powerless to stop that.”
But while demand for the 409 campsites at Golden Ears is high in the summer, the year-round occupancy rate is only 18 per cent.
I work on the road, so I never know when I’m going to be home … We go camping on the spur of the moment.
“I estimate we could fill 600 to 700 sites in the summer, but definitely not in the winter,” Burgess said.
At the front gate Wednesday night, there was one car (and a bear, but it didn’t stick around), according to the gatekeeper.
At 4 a.m. Thursday, Enrique Cerrato pulled in, tilted back his car seat and tried to get some sleep before the gate opened. By 6 a.m., there were 10 cars behind him.
Jordan Wells, ninth in line, was unsure about his chances.
“I can’t reserve. I work on the road, so I never know when I’m going to be home,” he said. “We go camping on the spur of the moment.”
Meanwhile, inside the campground, another line was forming. People who were able to get a single night on Wednesday lined up outside the gatehouse to get first crack at any available sites for the long weekend.
Chili Yalamanchili and his family spent the night in the gatehouse lineup, hoping for a good position on the waiting list.
Yalamanchili’s strategy was successful as he scored No. 5 on the waiting list, almost guaranteeing him one of the 12 vacant sites. Wells was No. 32. Both were told to return after the camp’s 11 a.m. checkout time to see what was available.
Burgess said camping’s popularity lies in our desire to “get away from it all.” Families connect in nature as kids get off the couch. With loads to do, including swimming, fishing, boating and hiking — all within an hour of Vancouver — Golden Ears is a popular destination.
After spending a little time in the lineup, the campground began to look like a haven for a lucky few.
As the rising sun crested the mountain, illuminating green lichen-covered trees, Angela Larochelle rustled up breakfast and her daughter Maia played with a hula hoop. Larochelle came early to get their site.
“It’s upsetting to see all these tents and empty sites with no people in them,” she said.
Kids in pyjamas and jackets raced their bikes down the gravel road to the shared bathrooms. The smell of woodsmoke mingled with the scent of the trees and water.
Helen Malik, stepson Liam Murray and their dog Sprokett were eating bacon and avocado while preparing for a day on the lake. The family reserved their site months ago.
Malik was contemplating her first pint of the day.
“It’s going to be a great day,” she said with a smile.