How to Book the Bowron Lake Canoe Circuit

Two bookings, in a fixed order: your circuit reservation with BC Parks first, then your canoe with us. Get that order the wrong way round and you may end up with a boat and no launch date.

Who books what

BC Parks runs the circuit. They control the launch dates, the campsites and the fees, and every overnight party needs a reservation from them. We run the rental fleet at the Registration Centre — the canoes, the carts and the gear. The two are entirely separate transactions.

So: confirm your dates with BC Parks, then call us. A canoe is easy to arrange once we know when you are coming; a launch date in July is not.

When reservations open

Reservations for the following season open in early winter, and the booking window is shorter than most people expect — particularly for groups of seven or more, who have their own, earlier window and far fewer departures to choose from.

July and August are the busiest months and the hardest dates to get. If your trip has to be in peak summer, treat the opening date as a fixed appointment. BC Parks publishes the exact dates each year, and they are worth checking rather than assuming, because they have moved.

What it costs

BC Parks charges a camping fee per person — less for the West Side than the full circuit — plus a vessel fee for each canoe, and there are transaction fees for changes and cancellations. BC Parks sets and revises those charges; see their current fee table.

Your canoe rental from us is separate — select your dates on FareHarbor to see current rates, or read the rentals page for what a rental includes. A night at the drive-in campground is separate again, and also BC Parks’.

Party size decides how you book

Six or fewer and you book as an individual party: you choose your own campsites as you go, first-come, and you set your own pace within the nights you have reserved. You may not use the group sites.

Seven to fourteen and you must book as a group, which is a different reservation with a fixed itinerary and designated campsites. Parties larger than fourteen are not permitted on the circuit at all. The details are in group trips.

There is also a limit on how many people are in one canoe — three, with a narrow allowance for a fourth if two are small children. Plan your boats around that before you book them.

Booking it, step by step

1. Go to camping.bcparks.ca. You must be 16 or older to hold the reservation.
2. Choose the canoe circuit option rather than ordinary campground booking — they are separate systems and this is where people get stuck.
3. Make sure Bowron Lakes is the selected park.
4. Enter your dates, the number of people and the number of canoes.
5. Below this you will see a map. Switch to the list view — it is far easier to read availability from the list than from the map.
6. Pay in full at the time of booking.

You can also book by phone if the website is not cooperating, though there is a surcharge for it. BC Parks publishes the number and the current terms on their canoe-circuit page.

If you have no reservation

Not every day fills, and BC Parks holds back a small number of first-come, first-served spaces for drop-ins. If a day has room, walk-ins are welcome to start the circuit — and we can usually put you in a canoe on the spot, subject to what is in the fleet.

This is a real option, but it is not a plan. Come with flexible dates, be willing to wait a day or two, and have somewhere to stay in the meantime. In late July it is a long shot; in June or September it is often perfectly reasonable.

Before you arrive

Your reservation is only half of it. Read what to expect before you come — the mandatory orientation, the gear weigh-in and the list of things you cannot bring all catch people out in the parking lot. BC Parks’ own pre-trip booklet is worth a read too.

Then sort your canoe. See canoe rentals for what a rental includes, or bring your own — in which case check your cart’s axle width against the rules first.