(CHARLOTTE HELSTON / iNFOnews.ca)
February 12, 2016 - 6:30 PM
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Camping fees are changing at B.C. parks with increases to some of the more popular ones in the Interior.
The province says the fee changes, at around half of the provincial parks, will take effect March 15.
Most of the parks impacted by the fee change will see a $1 or $2 per night increase, while cost will be lowered or dropped altogether at some, according to a media release from the B.C. Government.
Some camping and backcountry sites in the Kootenays, including Arrow Lakes Provincial Park have done away with camping fees.
Several parks in the Interior will have an increase in fees, particularly group camping base fees.
Group camping base fees at Mable Lake and Paul Lake Provincial Parks will go up $10 to $80 a night. The base fee for group camping at Shuswap Lake Provincial Park will jump from $100 to $120.
Front country camping at Wells Gray Provincial Park near Clearwater will cost you $5 extra - from $18 to $23.
There will be a $2 increase for Okanagan Falls, which will cost $25 a night this year. The same increase is applied to front county camping at Swan Lake, which increased from $18 to $20.
The fee increases are expected to generate an extra $410,000 for the provincial government, which will be put towards operating and maintaining parks.
“The appeal of British Columbia’s treasured parks is reflected in the growing number of visitors who come from around the province, and the world, to enjoy them,” Minister of Environment Mary Polak says in the release. “We are ensuring B.C. Parks continue to offer a high level of service, as well as enhanced facilities, for the public to enjoy now and for many generations to come."
The province has 1,029 provincial parks and protected areas which cover 14.4 per cent of B.C.’s land base.
To check fees on a particular park, click here. To compare it to costs in 2015, click here.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Glynn Brothen at gbrothen@infonews.ca or call 250-319-7494. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
News from © iNFOnews, 2016