Camping season starts today in Alberta.

There may be snow on the ground, but Alberta Parks Campground Reservations are now open for the spring and summer. You can reserve campsites in Alberta up to 90 days in advance, so it will be a rolling open throughout the season for each spot.

Here’s a handy daily numbered calendar tool to find out exactly when the reservation system will open for your desired weekend. For example, 90 days from today, February 18, is May 19, the Victoria Day long weekend.

The only exception is Comfort Camping reservations which will open February 24 for the entire season.

In 2014, there are 17 Comfort Camping units available for reservation at select locations in Alberta. Try canvas wall tents at Dinosaur, Miquelon or Writing-on-Stone Provincial Parks.  Or check out yurts at Pigeon Lake Provincial Park – a modern version of traditional dwellings used by nomads of central Asia. At Lesser Slave Lake Provincial Park, The Nest is a large, timber-frame building. Treat yourself to one of these special experiences and enjoy Alberta’s great outdoors!

You should know there is likely still to be snow on the ground the Victoria Day long weekend in Alberta. Last year we reserved at Little Bow, but ended up doing a long day trip to the park and Picture Butte before returning home because the weather was wet and cold.  So research your Alberta Parks campground well, and pick one further away from the mountains so there’s less chance of snow. 🙂

If the weather goes sideways, you canreceive a full refund of your camping fees, but changes to the arrival date must be made more than 72 hours before 2 pm of the scheduled arrival date. You cannot receive a refund of your reservation fee.

You cannot access the Alberta Parks reservation service via mobile devices, BUT you can view availability of  campgrounds offering reservations from your mobile on the  Online Campground Reservation Vacancy Calendar on AlbertaParks.ca. You can then book by calling toll-free at 1-877-537-2757, so it’s a decent compromise.

This campground reservation system is just for the Provincial Parks in Alberta. If you want to make reservations for campgrounds in the National Parks (Waterton, Banff, Jasper, Kootenay, etc),  that system will open in April.

MORE HERE: HOW TO RESERVE A CAMPSITE AT ALBERTA’S PROVINCIAL PARK CAMPGROUNDS