Summer’s warm embrace is still months away, but it’s not too soon to start thinking about the adventures you want to go on when it gets here. Especially if they will include nights of camping under the stars.
Reservations for Parks Canada’s nearly 11,000 campsites open for the 2024 season this week, starting with parks in B.C. on Jan. 19 and ending with Newfoundland and Labrador parks on Feb. 13.
All your old favourites are available to book, as well as some new offerings: Yoho National Park’s Takakkaw Falls campground in B.C., Kathleen Lake Campground in Kluane National Park Reserve in the Yukon, and campsites at Pine Lake in Wood Buffalo National Park in the Northwest Territories.
To get you inspired, we asked Globe readers to share their favourite parks and campgrounds. Once you’ve picked your destination, make note of when reservations open and visit the Parks Canada “how to make reservations page” to get started.
As Globe reader Carolyn Redl put it, “Choosing the best of Canada’s fantastic national parks is not an easy task: We are blessed from ocean to ocean to ocean with stellar, incomparable protected wild spaces treasured as much in the present as they have been by the First People who have lived in them for thousands of years.”
Globe readers’ favourite parks:
A surfer exits the water at Long Beach, in the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, near Ucluelet, on May 28, 2021.Melissa Renwick/The Globe and Mail
Green Point Campground, Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, B.C.
It’s hands down the best, right on a golden sand beach that stretches for miles with beautiful walking in the woods. Or if you want you can now ride your bike to Tofino or Ucluelet on the new, protected pathway. It has upgraded showers, too. – Madelaine Hjermstad
Kejimkujik caught Andrea Gillis and David Murray's hearts.Handout
Kejimkujik National Park, Nova Scotia
We’ve visited several Parks Canada parks, each special in their own way. What caught our hearts, however, is Keji. It’s a national historic site with great programming, including [Mi’kmaw craftsman] Todd Labrador’s canoe building, petroglyph tours and great interpretive programming, dark sky preserve, hiking, biking, canoeing, wilderness camping and main park camping.
Indigenous storytelling and petroglyph tours and other interpretive programs celebrate the importance of the lands and the contributions of its First Peoples. We feel lucky to have this park. – Andrea Gillis and David Murray
The loons, the warm water, the absolute quiet … nothing has changed in 30 years. Sitting beside the lakes on the signature huge rocks that dot the park, it feels like things may have always been this way. Who knows how many generations of people travelled these same paths. – David Boese
Wasagaming Campground, Riding Mountain National Park, Manitoba
Want to see wildlife? From bear to moose to lynx, there is plenty around. There is also a bison enclosure a short drive away. Want to hike in the deep woods? Plenty of trails from easy to strenuous abound. Love boating or the beach? Beautiful Clear Lake is a short walk from the campground. Want a Parks Canada town experience? Wasagaming town has little shops, a museum, ice cream, great cafes and even a movie theatre. The campground itself also caters to every type of accommodation – from tents, to RVs, to oTENTiks. There is something for everyone and every mood here. – Richard Lennon
David Bell loves the history of Colonel By Island.Handout
Colonel By Island, Rideau Canal National Historic Site, Ontario
The campground administered by Parks Canada on Colonel By Island in the middle of Big Rideau Lake is for sure the best. The site is fairly exposed but very picturesque and unique. In the 1940s, the island was owned by the owner of the Yellow Cab company in Chicago and New York. During its peak, the owner would invite stars like Paul Anka to perform for his guests. The once-impressive cottage, now fenced off, is being left to rot, but the tennis and basketball court is still somewhat usable. We had the island basically to ourselves along with a Great Loop boater (a Vietnam vet who we’ve actually kept in touch with; even visited him at his home in Vegas last winter!). Definitely off the beaten path but worth the effort to paddle there. – David Bell
Two Jack Lakeside Campground, Banff National Park, Alberta
Without a doubt Two Jack Lakeside, not the main campsite, is the best. It has a nice mix of traditional car camping sites with decent privacy, as well as 10 oTENTiks. The highlight of the campground is, of course, the nearby lake and beach. This is probably one of the first campgrounds to go every summer when reservations open up. – Michael Kwadrans
Waterfowl Lakes Campground, Banff National Park, Alberta
We had the good fortune to be volunteer park hosts at this campground for nine seasons. The scenery is spectacular, the lakes beautiful and accessible for kayaking, fishing and paddle boarding. There are scenic hiking trails right from the campground and many other trails are a short drive away. The park attracts locals who return each year as well as many international visitors. Soaring mountains, glaciers, a river, lakes and forest make for a truly Canadian camping experience. – Sheila Clarkston
The coast just north of Ingonish.Mark Richardson/The Globe and Mail
Broad Cove Campground, Cape Breton National Park, Nova Scotia
Broad Cove Campground near Ingonish where Warren Brook runs into the sea across a sandy beach is my favourite because you can float down the brook from the Trans Canada into the sea, swim back, and rinse and repeat. I visited in 1978, 1988, 2008 and it never gets old. – Anthony Hilton
Haida elder Captain Gold, with members of a youth group paddle a canoe against spectacular backdrop of forested mountains in the Gwaii Haanas National Park July 5, 2012.John Lehmann/Globe and Mail
Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve, Haida Gwaii, British Columbia
The plant and animal life give it the nickname “Galapagos of the North.” The people and history of the islands are remarkable. There are stunning examples of totem poles intricately carved and preserved. I will never forget the raven that unzipped my day bag and ate every yummy Jujube leaving me only the black licorice ones, or hiking and camping at Rose Spit and meeting many friendly locals, sharing fresh fish over a beach campfire. Haida Gwaii is a gem. – Joanne McAuley
Answers have been edited and condensed for clarity.
Caora McKenna