Websites for campers

It’s summer – and that means camping. But as any experienced camper knows, a little planning can go a long way. The Internet brings a whole new set of tools to help you plan your camping trip. Here are some resources we think are particularly useful.

Camping Canada
The Camping Canada website is a commercial website that contains good information for campers – particularly an extensive directory of campgrounds across the country.  The directory allows visitors to the website to search for campgrounds by location, and also by amenities – such as campgrounds that accept pets, have showers, or allow big rigs.  Some listings link directly to campgrounds’ websites, and all of them provide a telephone number.
http://www.camping-canada.com/

Camp Canada
Campgrounds-Campings Canada, the umbrella organization for the provinces’ private campground associations, has made an accessible and friendly site that offers basic information about campgrounds across the country as well as a 5-star rating system.  This is a good site to use if you are looking to findampgrounds in a particular area, but it’s not great for getting a feel for each campground – you’ll have to pick up the phone and do some more research if you would like that kind of information. 
http://www.campcanada.com/

National Parks
Commercial campgrounds can offer a lot of amenities and some beautiful grounds. But Canada’s national and provincial parks are often at the heart of camping experiences and memories. Parks Canada offers a wealth of information on its parks at its website. Accessibility information and hours of operation are useful, while information about flora, fauna, and some of the conservation programmes at each park can help you anticipate the joys of your trip.
http://www.pc.gc.ca/

This year Parks Canada has been gradually implementing a national campground reservation service, accessible over the Internet. You can search national parks by province or by campsite attributes (unserviced, electricity and water, etc.) and make a reservation online. You can also review your reservations.  The website also includes a 1-800 number.
http://www.pccamping.ca/parkscanada/en/

Provincial Park links
Many provinces also have great information about their provincial campgrounds online, and some allow for online booking of campsites. Here’s a quick list:

B.C.: http://wlapwww.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/index.htm
Alberta: http://www.cd.gov.ab.ca/enjoying_alberta/parks/planning/gateway/
Saskatchewan: http://www.se.gov.sk.ca/saskparks/
Manitoba: http://www.gov.mb.ca/conservation/parks/
Ontario: http://www.ontarioparks.com/
Quebec: http://www.bonjourquebec.com/anglais/attraits/parcs/zoom.html
New Brunswick: http://www.tourismnewbrunswick.ca/en-CA/HNThingsToDo/HNNationalAndProvincialParks/HNPProvincial.htm
Nova Scotia: http://parks.gov.ns.ca/
P.E.I.: http://www.gov.pe.ca/visitorsguide/explore/parks/index.php3
Newfoundland and Labrador: http://www.env.gov.nl.ca/parks/