BC Parks tightens day-use pass system after reports of reselling and bot activity

BC Parks is changing its day-use reservation system after reports that free passes were being resold and concerns that automated bots were securing reservations at some of the province’s busiest parks. Starting Sept. 22, anyone booking a day-use pass must create a BC Parks account and verify their identity before making a reservation. The province says the change is intended to improve security and distribute passes more fairly during peak periods at Joffre Lakes, Garibaldi, Mount Seymour and Golden Ears provincial parks.

Users will be encouraged to create an account through a BC Services Card account. Those without one may still register with an email address and password, but an email address must be verified before a reservation can be made. The change follows concerns raised this summer about free passes being resold for Pipi7íyekw/Joffre Lakes Park. CBC reported in August that a Vancouver hiker repeatedly failed to obtain Joffre Lakes passes before finding Facebook accounts offering multiple reservations for upcoming dates. Screenshots reviewed by CBC showed one account asking her for $40, although the group administrator said customers were paying for the time and knowledge involved in securing reservations, rather than for the passes themselves. The ministry later told CBC it was investigating booking patterns suggesting bots were being used to obtain more passes than permitted and had received reports of pass reselling.

The broader day-use system will otherwise operate largely as before. Passes will continue to be available online at 7 a.m. two days before a planned visit. BC Parks says the system manages visitor numbers at Golden Ears, Joffre Lakes, Garibaldi and Mount Seymour during busy periods, reducing congestion in parking lots, on roads, trails and viewpoints while limiting environmental impacts.

For the remainder of the season, passes are required at Garibaldi Provincial Park’s Cheakamus, Rubble Creek and Diamond Head trailheads from Friday through Monday and on holidays until Oct. 12. They can be obtained through the BC Parks website. Day-use passes at Joffre Lakes will resume Oct. 1 and remain mandatory daily through Oct. 25. The park is currently closed for the year’s final planned Lil'wat Nation reconnection period.