Best Tips for Reserving Alberta’s Wonderful Campsites
Alberta’s provincial parks are home to some of Canada’s most spectacular campsites. Picture yourself waking up to world-class mountain vistas in Peter Lougheed Provincial Park, pitching your tent amid the surreal beauty of Dinosaur Provincial Park’s badlands or snagging beach-front real estate on the sandy shores of Lesser Slave Lake Provincial Park. Scoring these campsites, especially during the peak summer season, is part strategy, part luck.
What Kind of Campsite Are You After?
Alberta Parks campsites come in four styles—vehicle accessible front-country campsites; comfort camping including cabins, yurts and glamping tents; group camping sites; and backcountry campsites for tents that are accessed on foot, by bike or by boat.
Spend some time on the Alberta Parks website researching the parks you’d like to visit, so you understand what they offer for campsites, facilities and activities. Then narrow your choices—acknowledging that front-country campsites and comfort camping are site-specific, whereas backcountry campsites have first come, first served services, even with a reservation. Group camping isn’t offered in all parks.
Be Flexible with Dates
Pick the dates you’d like—along with a couple of backup options if you don’t get what you want. Wiggle room with your dates is key. This is where it pays to usethe “Flexible Dates” feature to search a range of dates for either two or four weeks to increase your odds of success.
You’ll need Lady Luck on your side if it’s a long summer weekend, whereas mid-week in the off season is relatively easy to get. Small groups and short stays are also a winning combination.
How to Book a Reservation
All reservable campsites in Alberta’s provincial parks are booked either online at here or by phone at 1-877-537-2757. Reservations for front-country and backcountry open 90 days before your arrival day at 9 a.m. MST. Group and comfort camping reservations open 180 days in advance. As the booking window approaches for your dates, check the Alberta Parks website to confirm the current booking dates.
Strategies for Success
Some popular campsites are literally full within minutes, so you need to be ready to go the instant Alberta Parks opens for reservations at 9 a.m MST.
Set up an account in advance to avoid wasting time logging in. Next, practice before the big day. I don’t find the Alberta Parks campsite reservation portal to be intuitive, so to reduce my stress level, especially with the clock ticking, I spend time learning the ins and outs of the reservation system beforehand. If you don’t master it, someone quicker will beat you to it.
On the reservation day, I log into my account five to 10 minutes ahead of opening time. Once I’m allowed in, I navigate through to the campsite I want as fast as I can. It always helps to have all people in your group try for the campsites too—but you’ll need to be able to text each other if one of you succeeds.
If you haven’t had time to research, there are filters on the reservation page you can use, including the type of campsite—whether RV, group, comfort or tent. If you’re looking for waterfront, if you have accessibility needs or if pets are allowed—find out using the filters.
To increase your chances of scoring the campsite of your dreams, aim for the shoulder season—April, May, September and October, where possible. If summer is your only option, choose mid-week over weekends.
Missed Out? Here’s Plan B.
Don’t lose hope if you don’t get the campsites you want. People change plans so there are always cancellations. Be prepared to move quickly when they arise. If the dates matter but the park doesn’t, look for lesser-known parks like Whitney Lakes or Lakeland Provincial Park where demand is lower.
There are three other options to getting a cancellation before anyone else does. Sign up for email notifications when campsites become available by using your Alberta Parks account. There are also two paid services, Schnerp and Campnab. For a small fee, they’ll notify you of a specific campsite cancellation, giving you the chance to snag the spot before anyone else.
Be a Good Person
If you’re not going to use your campsite reservation, cancel it to free up the opportunity for others. You’ll get the campsite fee back, but not the reservation fee if you cancel 72 hours beforehand.
Good to Know for the Future
In addition to campsite fees, which can vary, there is a non-refundable reservation fee of $12 per reservation and a $10 non-refundable fee should you want to change or cancel your reservation. As of May 1, 2025, seniors in Alberta can benefit from reduced rates of 25 per cent at select campgrounds.
There are limits to the number of nights you can spend at any one campsite—from as little as five nights in a group campsite to as many as 16 nights in an individual campsite over a 30-day period.
Good Luck
Planning and quick action is required to reserve campsites in Alberta Parks. With the right strategy, your chances of getting an amazing campsite are high, whether you’re looking for mountains, lakes, beaches or badlands. Being prepared and flexible will give you the best chance at a great camping experience.
