# Smelt Bay Provincial Park

As of Sat 5 Sep 21:11 PT: 0 of 24 sites open next weekend (Fri 11–Sun 13).

BC Parks · Vancouver Island · 24 reservable sites

## Next weekends (arrive Friday, nights Fri + Sat)

- Sep 11–Sep 13: full
- Sep 18–Sep 20: 8 sites open for both nights
- Sep 25–Sep 27: 16 sites open for both nights
- Oct 2–Oct 4: full

## Equipment fit for the weekend above

- Van/Camper: 0 open of 24 that fit
- 1 Tent: 0 open of 24 that fit
- 2 Tents: 0 open of 24 that fit
- 3 Tents: 0 open of 24 that fit
- Trailer up to 18ft: 0 open of 16 that fit

## How hard it is to get

58% of nights over the next 8 weeks are already booked — weekends fill first, midweek is easier.

## Drive time (straight-line estimate; a ferry is always said when it is in the number)

- from Nanaimo: about 1 h 55 min
- from Victoria: about 3 h 15 min
- from Whistler: about 4 h 45 min incl. ferry

## About the park

Smelt Bay boasts 24 creatively placed campsites in a wonderful forest setting. Many of the sites are multi-level tiered sites, with privately located tent pads. A beautiful cook shelter is located in the middle of the campground for all park users to share.
        This park is ideal for tenters and also works well for small RV’s. Larger RV’s will fit in a few of the sites or can camp in the day-use overflow area. Located on the southern peninsula of Cortes Island, the park is named for the capelin fish that spawn ashore by the tens of thousands.
        Females lay up to 65,000 eggs on the…

## Book or watch

- Book on the official site (2026-09-11 → 2026-09-13): https://camping.bcparks.ca/create-booking/results?resourceLocationId=-2147483533&mapId=-2147483404&transactionLocationId=-2147483495&startDate=2026-09-11&endDate=2026-09-13&nights=2&bookingCategoryId=0&equipmentId=-32768&subEquipmentId=-32768&partySize=2&isReserving=true&searchTabType=auto&searchTabGroupId=0&view=list
- Official park page: https://bcparks.ca/smelt-bay-park/
- Watch for cancellations: https://parksopen.ca/watch/new?park=bc_parks%3A-2147483533&start=2026-09-11&end=2026-09-13
- Ask the agent about this park: https://parksopen.ca/bc/parks/smelt-bay-provincial-park

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Page: https://parksopen.ca/bc/parks/smelt-bay-provincial-park · Every number above is read from the official reservation system and stamped with the time it was observed. Parks Open never books on anyone's behalf. Tools for agents: MCP https://parksopen.ca/api/mcp · REST https://parksopen.ca/openapi.json · index https://parksopen.ca/llms.txt