person making reservation on tablet

5 important reservation features

We’re thrilled to introduce some updates to our reservation system, including new features that will make it easier than ever to find a campsite!

Here are a few of the features we think you’ll love:

1. Find similar experiences

Some of the best camping memories can happen when exploring a new park.

Our new similar experiences feature helps you easily find alternate locations to the park you’re searching.

The alternate parks will have similar amenities and be located in the same general area of the province. The feature even indicates whether there are sites available for your dates!

This feature is available for all types of camping, including roofed accommodations and backcountry.

2. Sign up for availability notifications

We know it’s disappointing when you miss out on a campsite at your favourite park.

Our parks get thousands of cancellations every year, many at the last minute. While the park may be booked solid when you first check, sometimes sites will open up later.

Our availability notifications system allows you to sign up for email notifications if the site on your selected dates at your favourite park becomes available within the five month booking window.

This feature makes it easier for you to find a car campsite by providing up-to-date information on campsite availability.

Remember that availability notifications do not guarantee you the campsite, and every visitor will have an equal opportunity to book.

Did you know: availability notifications considers the filters you’ve applied to a search!

availability notif

This means you’ll receive fewer emails for sites you might not be interested in.

For example: if you’ve filtered for only electric sites, you’ll only receive an email when an electric site that meets your search criteria becomes available.

3. Book a specific backcountry site

Planning a backcountry trip can be a lot of work.

paddler on lake during sunset

We’re excited to offer backcountry campers the tools to make planning your trip easier than ever.

Many of our backcountry parks offer site-specific reservations. You can book specific campsites when reserving these backcountry experiences:

This will help you more accurately plan your route, better predict your daily travel distance, and reserve your favourite backcountry site.

Visit our backcountry webpage to find out how to reserve at your favourite park.

4. Reserve your daily vehicle permit in advance

Did you know you can reserve your daily vehicle permit in advance at many of your favourite destinations?

two women hiking

We know you don’t want to spend your time sitting in a line-up at park gates, only to be turned away because the park is already full!

Reserving your permit in advance guarantees you access to the park of your choice on the day you’re visiting.

There are two ways to obtain your permit up to five days in advance of your trip, beginning at 7:00 a.m.:

  1. Online at reservations.ontarioparks.com
  2. By phone by calling 1-888-ONT-PARK (1-888-668-7275) – Open daily from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time

5. Book a generator-free campsite

Craving some peace and quiet?

Glowing tent on a campsite.

Some of our radio-free campsites are now also generator-free!

To find a generator-free campsite, select the “Generator Free” filter when searching for a campsite.

New to using our reservation service?

For some tips on how to reserve a campsite, check out the video below.

Which feature are you most excited about?