Camping & Hotels around Vancouver: Booking Rules, Best Spots

Published 2026-07-13 · FanVancouver Travel Desk

The single most important thing to know about camping near Vancouver: the good campgrounds sell out months ahead, and several famous parks now require even day visitors to hold a free pass. Here is exactly how the booking systems work, and where to aim.

How the reservation systems work

The most beautiful campgrounds within 2 hours

• Porteau Cove Provincial Park (45 min, Sea-to-Sky Hwy) — waterfront sites on Howe Sound, sunset over the fjord, scuba reef. The most in-demand car campground in BC: book the moment your window opens.
• Alice Lake (Squamish, 1 h) — warm swimming lake, showers, family biking trails.
• Golden Ears (Maple Ridge, 1 h) — huge campground on Alouette Lake, canoe rentals on site.
• Garibaldi Lake backcountry (Squamish/Whistler) — hike-in tent pads above a turquoise glacier lake (9 km up); reserve backcountry camping on Discover Camping; day pass needed even for day hikes Jun–Sep.
• Joffre Lakes (2.5 h, past Pemberton) — three glacier lakes; day pass mandatory, camping at the upper lake bookable.
• Cultus Lake (1.5 h) — warmest swimming lake in the region, waterslides nearby — the family pick.
• Green Point, Pacific Rim NP (Tofino) — camp above Long Beach surf; books out on Parks Canada launch day. Private alternative: Surf Grove at Cox Bay.

Campfires: allowed only when no ban is in force and only in metal fire rings; see our live fire bans page — as of mid-July 2026 small campfires are permitted on the coast but larger fires are banned.

Hotels: booking rules and what you actually pay

• Taxes are added on top of the advertised rate: 8 % PST + up to 3 % municipal hotel tax (MRDT) + 5 % GST ≈ 16–17 % extra in Vancouver.
• June–September and any event weekend: book 2–3 months ahead; downtown doubles run C$300–500/night in peak summer. May and October drop 30–40 %.
• Most hotels take a credit-card deposit for the first night; “free cancellation” usually ends 24–72 h before arrival — check each rate's terms, prepaid rates are cheaper but non-refundable.
• Airbnb/short-term rentals in Vancouver are legal only in a host's principal residence with a licence number shown on the listing — unlicensed listings get cancelled.
• Cheaper solid areas outside downtown: Metrotown (Burnaby) and Richmond near Canada Line stations — 20–25 min to downtown by SkyTrain.
• Budget beds: HI Vancouver hostels (dorms ~C$50–70) and UBC summer dorm rooms (May–Aug, ~C$99+).

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