On this page
Alberta Parks has no opening day. Its campsites sell on a rolling window: every morning at 9:00 a.m. Mountain time, the arrival date 90 days out goes on sale, and comfort camping and group areas open 180 days out. The window counts the night you arrive, so on that first morning you can book the whole stay, up to 10 nights, even though the later nights are more than 90 days away. Bookings are made at shop.albertaparks.ca or by phone on 1-877-537-2757.
How the 90-day window works
Each morning at 9:00 a.m. the window moves forward one day. Alberta Parks gives its own example: on February 1 at 9 a.m. you can book an arrival on May 2 for up to 10 nights, leaving May 12. Because the window looks only at the arrival day, a site can already be taken on the morning its date opens. In the other example on the same page, a camper booked July 1 for 10 nights on April 2, three days before July 4 went on sale.
| What you book | Opens | Longest stay |
|---|---|---|
| Individual campsite | 90 days before arrival, 9:00 a.m. MT | 10 nights a booking, 16 in a row at one site |
| Backcountry campsite | 90 days before arrival | 10 nights |
| Comfort camping (yurts, cabins) | 180 days before arrival | 10 nights a booking |
| Group camping area | 180 days before arrival | 5 nights; a weekend booking must include Friday and Saturday |
From Alberta Parks' online reservation and general rules pages, checked 25 October 2026. After 16 nights at a site you leave it for at least 24 hours (72 at Cypress Hills).
- One transaction holds up to four campsites, four comfort camping units or three backcountry trips, and one group area per park.
- A booking made inside the window cannot change its arrival or departure date for 31 days, and no booking can be moved until its whole stay, departure day included, is inside the window. You can still cancel, or change the vehicle, the trailer length or the number of people.
- The reservation page shows how far ahead the system is selling that day ("Currently booking to"), which is the quickest check that the rule has not changed.
The 2027 long weekends
Count back from the night you arrive. These are the mornings for each 2027 long weekend, arriving on the Friday (Canada Day is a Thursday in 2027, so that row arrives Thursday). Arriving a day earlier opens a day earlier.
| Long weekend | Arrive | Campsites (90 days) | Comfort camping and groups (180 days) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Victoria Day, May 24 | Friday, May 21 | Saturday, February 20, 2027 | Sunday, November 22, 2026 |
| Canada Day, July 1 | Thursday, July 1 | Friday, April 2, 2027 | Saturday, January 2, 2027 |
| Heritage Day, August 2 | Friday, July 30 | Saturday, May 1, 2027 | Sunday, January 31, 2027 |
| Labour Day, September 6 | Friday, September 3 | Saturday, June 5, 2027 | Sunday, March 7, 2027 |
Every one opens at 9:00 a.m. in Alberta. Worked out with the camping reservation calculator from the rule Alberta Parks publishes, checked 25 October 2026. A campground that has not opened for the season by your arrival date has nothing to sell, and Alberta Parks had not posted 2027 season dates yet.
Alberta stops changing its clocks on November 1, 2026: Alberta Time stays at UTC-6 all year. A 9:00 a.m. opening is 8:00 a.m. in Vancouver year round, and in Toronto 10:00 a.m. in winter and 11:00 a.m. in summer. The camping reservation calculator gives the opening for any arrival date in your own time zone, with a calendar reminder set 15 minutes ahead.
On booking morning
- 1 The day before, sign in to your Shop account and check the card on file. Every fee is prepaid by credit card.
- 2 Write down the campground, three or four site numbers that fit your tent or trailer, and a second campground.
- 3 Be signed in before 9:00 a.m. The site can hold you in a waiting room before it lets you in, and nothing can go in a cart until 9:00.
- 4 Book the whole stay in one reservation, up to 10 nights, on the first morning your arrival date is on sale.
- 5 Check the confirmation email for the arrival date and site number before you close the tab.
Fees, changes and cancelling
| Charge | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Reservation fee | $12 a booking | Kept when you cancel, unless the campground closes |
| Campsite, no power | Mostly $20 to $31 a night | A few busy campgrounds charge up to $40 |
| Campsite with power | Mostly $36 to $43 a night | Power and water $42 to $55 |
| Change | $10 | Free for names, unit length, number of people and the vehicle |
| Cancel more than 72 hours ahead | Camping fees refunded | Counted back from 2:00 p.m. on your arrival day |
| Cancel later | One night lost under 72 hours, two under 48, three under 24 | The rest goes back to your card |
| No-show | Up to four nights lost | If you have not checked in by 2:00 p.m. the day after arrival and did not report a late arrival |
Checked 25 October 2026 on Alberta Parks' reservation rules, fee guidelines and campground pages. The nightly ranges are what the campground pages listed that day.
Sold out? What still works
- Spot Watch. In your Shop account, set an availability alert for the campground and dates. It emails or texts you when a booked site comes free, from a cancellation or a change.
- The 72-hour line. Campers only get their camping fees back by cancelling more than 72 hours before arrival, so the days just before that line are a good time to look again.
- First come, first served. Some campgrounds take no reservations, and some keep part of their sites back. You pick a site on arrival and self-register, by cash or cheque. Alberta Parks keeps the list.
- Other nights. Alberta Parks' own suggestion when weekends are gone: Monday to Thursday nights, May and June, or September and October.
- Public land. Outside the parks, random camping is allowed on much of Alberta's public land. In the Eastern Slopes, from Grande Prairie to Waterton, adults need a Public Lands Camping Pass: $20 a person for three nights or $30 for the year, plus a processing fee. It is not needed in provincial parks or paid campgrounds.
Alberta Parks or Parks Canada?
The two systems sit side by side and work differently. Kananaskis, the Bow Valley campgrounds near Canmore, Dinosaur, Writing-on-Stone, Cypress Hills and the lakes around Edmonton are Alberta Parks. Banff, Jasper, Waterton and Elk Island are national parks, and Parks Canada sells each park's whole season on a single launch morning.
| Alberta Parks | Parks Canada | |
|---|---|---|
| Parks | Kananaskis, Dinosaur, Writing-on-Stone, Cypress Hills, Miquelon Lake | Banff, Jasper, Waterton, Elk Island |
| When dates open | Every morning, 90 days before arrival | Once a year, one launch morning per park |
| Time | 9:00 a.m. in Alberta | 8:00 a.m. in Alberta for the 2026 launches |
| Where | shop.albertaparks.ca | reservation.pc.gc.ca |
| Pass for the car | Kananaskis Conservation Pass in Kananaskis and the Bow Valley | Parks Canada admission or a Discovery Pass |
Checked 25 October 2026. Parks Canada had not posted its 2027 launch dates.
The Parks Canada 2027 reservations guide tracks each national park launch as it posts. Fire bans, public land and the rest of the province's rules are in the Alberta travel guide.
Kananaskis campgrounds need a second pass
Campgrounds in Kananaskis Country and the Bow Valley book through Alberta Parks like any other, but every vehicle parked there also needs a Kananaskis Conservation Pass: $15 a day or $90 a year, with no extra charge for passengers or a trailer. The campground pages say so and there is no camper exemption. Since April 2026 the pass is sold in the same Shop account. McLean Creek, the Ghost area, Fisher Creek and the town of Canmore are outside the pass area, and the pass is free on the first Wednesday of each month.
Keep the booking mornings on the plan
On a dated trip in Treader, add each night as a camp stop with the park in its name (Miquelon Lake Provincial Park, say), and Trip check lists the morning that campsite opens for booking, with the official page as its source. It uses the 90-day campsite rule, so count 180 days for a yurt or a group area. It books nothing and cannot see which sites are free, and it is on every plan, Free included.
The official pages
- Shop.AlbertaParks.ca Campsites, comfort camping, Spot Watch and the Kananaskis pass. https://shop.albertaparks.ca/
- Online reservations The booking windows and how far ahead the system is selling today. https://www.albertaparks.ca/albertaparks-ca/visit-our-parks/camping-in-alberta-parks/online-reservations/
- General reservation rules Limits, changes, cancellations and late arrivals. https://www.albertaparks.ca/albertaparks-ca/visit-our-parks/camping-in-alberta-parks/online-reservations/general-reservation-rules/
- Reservation tips Spot Watch, and what to try when a campground is full. https://www.albertaparks.ca/albertaparks-ca/visit-our-parks/camping-in-alberta-parks/online-reservations/reservation-tips/
- First-come, first-served campgrounds The campgrounds that take no bookings. https://www.albertaparks.ca/albertaparks-ca/visit-our-parks/camping-in-alberta-parks/first-come-first-served/
- Kananaskis Conservation Pass Prices, the pass area and who is exempt. https://www.alberta.ca/kananaskis-conservation-pass
- Public lands camping pass Random camping in the Eastern Slopes. https://www.alberta.ca/public-lands-camping-pass
- Parks Canada reservations Launch dates for Banff, Jasper, Waterton and Elk Island. https://parks.canada.ca/voyage-travel/reserve
Common questions
- When do Alberta Parks reservations open for 2027?
- There is no single opening day. Each arrival date opens 90 days ahead at 9:00 a.m. in Alberta, so a Friday arrival on the 2027 May long weekend (May 21) opens on Saturday, February 20, 2027. Comfort camping and group areas open 180 days ahead, which puts the same weekend on Sunday, November 22, 2026.
- How far in advance can you book Alberta Parks camping?
- 90 days before your arrival date for campsites and backcountry sites, and 180 days for comfort camping and group areas. The window moves forward one day every morning at 9:00 a.m., and one booking can hold up to 10 nights.
- Can you book nights past the 90-day window?
- Yes, when the stay starts inside it. The window applies to the arrival day only, so on the first morning you can book up to 10 nights from that arrival, even though the later nights are more than 90 days away. It is also why a site can be taken on the morning its date opens.
- Do you need a Kananaskis pass if you have a campsite?
- Yes. A campsite booking in Kananaskis Country or the Bow Valley does not include the Kananaskis Conservation Pass, and every vehicle parked there needs one: $15 a day or $90 a year. McLean Creek and the Ghost area are outside the pass area.
- What is the Alberta Parks reservation fee?
- $12 for each reservation, and it is kept when you cancel. Cancelling more than 72 hours before 2:00 p.m. on your arrival day returns the camping fees; later than that you lose one to three nights, depending on how late you cancel.
Tip
Booking around a hike rather than the campground? How to plan a hiking trip works back from the trail. Camping near Edmonton compares the provincial lakes closest to the city, and the camping checklist covers the packing.