Guides · Words and basics · Checked
What the words mean: reservable, first come, walk-in, backcountry
The reservation site and the park pages use a dozen words that mean something exact. Here they are, in BC Parks’ own definitions where it gives one, and in plain words where it does not. Each entry links to the page it comes from.
- Frontcountry
- A campground you drive to. Nearly everything on the reservation site is frontcountry.“an area within 1 km of a park road or a highway”Source: BC Parks, frontcountry camping
- Backcountry
- Camping you walk, paddle or ski to. Some parks take reservations for it, most take a permit registration.“more than 1 km away from any highway or park road”Source: BC Parks, backcountry permit registration
- Reservable
- A site you can book online, up to three months ahead. At some popular campgrounds a reservation is required in season, so there is nothing to get by turning up.“at some very popular campgrounds, reservations are required”Source: BC Parks, frontcountry camping
- First come, first served
- A site nobody can book. Whoever arrives and sets up has it. At many parks a reservable site that was not booked is also given out this way, so a full booking calendar does not always mean a full campground.“Campsites that cannot be reserved are offered on a first come, first served basis. In many cases, reservable sites that have not been booked can also be used”Source: BC Parks, frontcountry camping
- Walk-in site
- In the park data, a tent site a short walk from where you park, with no vehicle at the pad. Cheaper at some parks, and often the last to fill.Source: BC Parks, Stawamus Chief park page (52 drive-in and 57 walk-in sites)
- Double site
- Two sites booked as one, for two groups camping together.“two adjacent campsites that share a driveway”Source: BC Parks, frontcountry camping
- Group site
- A site for 15 or more adults (12 or more for a youth group). It has its own booking window: 12 months ahead instead of three.Source: BC Parks, group camping
- Backcountry reservation
- A booked spot at a named backcountry site. Garibaldi, Joffre Lakes, Golden Ears and Manning use these, and they sell out.Source: BC Parks, backcountry reservations
- Backcountry permit registration
- A registration, not a booking. Register online from 7 am Pacific 14 days ahead until 8 pm on the day you arrive.“The number of backcountry permits available for any given park is not limited. Permits cannot sell out”Source: BC Parks, backcountry permit registration
- Day-use and day pass
- A visit without staying the night. In summer a few parks need a free day pass for the parking lot or the trail; it is not a campsite.Source: BC Parks, camping and day-use guide
- Rec site
- A Recreation Sites and Trails BC campsite on Crown land, run by the Ministry of Forests, not BC Parks. An outhouse and a fire ring, no water, free or a cash fee, and never on the BC Parks booking site.Source: Recreation Sites and Trails BC, about recreation sites
Two words we do not use
Overflow. Some parks let extra vehicles park in a lot when the campground is full. BC Parks publishes no definition and no list, so we do not say a park has overflow; ask at the gate.
Chance. Nobody knows the odds that a site opens up for your dates. We publish what we have seen sites do, never a probability.
Where the definitions come from
The quoted lines are copied from the BC Parks pages linked under each word: frontcountry camping, backcountry permit registration, backcountry reservations, group camping and the camping and day-use guide; the rec site line from Recreation Sites and Trails BC. The plain-words lines are ours. If a definition changes, the date at the top changes with it.