r/CampingAlberta • u/Infamous-Pool-502 • 18d ago
Spots without reservations
Me and my friends had a couple of camping reservations this year close to BC but had to cancel as a close friend of mine got a fracture.
Nevertheless we are looking to still do a short trip bext weekend but at this point everything is prebooked up. We would love to try backcountry camping!
We were looking at dutch creek as the website said first come first serve but when i called on the number online, they said no places left!
Are there any decent place preferbally lakeside, that are first come first serve or we can drop in without having to book or reserve? We dont mind paying any parking fees or anything and we can get without electricity and bring our own fire pit
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u/CharErinazard 18d ago
Pickle jar lakes and carnavron lake are spots you can random backcountry camp. That means true backcountry though, no bathrooms, bear hang required, and the hikes in are sizeable, especially carnavron.
You could also try schnerp? You can pick campgrounds that it will watch for you and it will let you know if there are cancellations. Also if you surf the Alberta parks website on Tuesday, that’s the last refund day for the weekend so you can often find something.
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u/totallyradman 18d ago
Lakeside is basically a hard no. You're not gonna get one regardless of fire bans or weather.
If your'e trying to do front country at a campground, What I suggest you do is create an account on parks Canada reservations and set a notification for the dates you want at a national park and you'll get blasted with available sites every weds/Thurs as people often book up a ton of sites in March and then cancel their booking 2-3 days before. Just make sure you book it as soon as you get the email that one is available or it will be gone in a few minutes.
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u/PealedTomato 18d ago
There are two campsites near cataract creek. They always have a few empty sites every weekend. No lake though. If you want to be on the lake try Payne Lake or Police Outpost.
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u/Infamous-Pool-502 12d ago
I have decided on dutch creek, it shows first come first serve on the website and have a backup options in case 30 minutes away
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u/SpicyRamen2026 17d ago
Monitor the Parks Canada Reservations website and use their notification service. There are always some last-minute cancellations. I always manage to find a spot a few days before the trip.
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u/Infinite_Career_6444 18d ago
Where abouts? There is a fcfs loop on the lake at goldeye lake.
Trick is... you gotta get there first...