Summer campsites in Canada are getting booked in seconds and people are mad

Summer campsite reservations in Canada have been booking up quickly after becoming available, and people are not happy. 

After launching a brand new platform last week, Parks Canada has steadily been opening up various national parks, historic sites and marine conservation areas for camping reservations. Unfortunately, it looks like securing a site for camping is easier said than done.

Several Twitter users have taken to the platform to voice their frustrations, detailing similar experiences of being on the website prior to the launch time, only to be put in a queue with thousands of others once reservations opened and finding no sites available in a matter of seconds.

One user by the handle of adgelessness compares the booking format to that of Ticketmaster, which has found itself under endless scrutiny over recent years with deceptive pricing tactics and claims of bots scooping up the majority of tickets only to resell at exorbitant prices. 

It figures that @ParksCanada would copy the booking format of Ticketmaster and claim it’s a success.

— Aries (@adgelessness) March 21, 2023

Another user Kevin Proulx shares screenshots of finding over 8000 users ahead of him in the queue after waiting nearly 20 minutes for reservations to open.

I logged in at 7:30 and was 14,000 in line. Took me 20 min in queue. Every yurt in Cyprus lake booked from June to sept 😡

— Kelly 🇨🇦 (@CdnKAS) March 21, 2023

Kelly also responded that she logged in half an hour prior to the launch time, just to find she was 14,000 in line. Needless to say, she wasn't able to book the yurt she had hoped for.

However, despite the intimidating number of users in the queue, several lucky campers have been able to secure sites. Alison Hodgins had 16,761 people ahead of her, but after patiently waiting 23 minutes, miraculously scored one.

UPDATE: I got a campsite!!! Only took 23 minutes to get in. Phew!

— Alison Karlene Hodgins (@AlisonKarlene) March 16, 2023

Reservations opened today for the six national parks within Ontario. For the rest of Canada, you can check the launch dates on their website.

The Parks Canada reservation service writes that all users waiting to book are randomly assigned a place in line to ensure "a smooth and equitable experience for everyone."