It’s 6:59 a.m. PT on a chilly spring morning exactly three months before the day you’ve decided you want to go camping. You’ve chosen a campsite and your mouse is hovering over the reserve button on the B.C. Parks website, heart racing as the seconds tick down to 7 a.m., when the sites become bookable.

It’s a unique brand of anxiety well known to anyone who’s ever tried to book a campsite in this province.

But before you even get to that point, you have to decide whether to risk trying a new campground, or sticking with a tried and tested favourite. 

Most years, B.C. Parks conducts visitor satisfaction surveys that poll park users on their experiences. 

CBC News requested those reports and crunched the numbers on what people like and don’t like about every B.C. Parks campground to help campers, and potential campers, know before they go. The data is from 2023 and 2024, as B.C. Parks did not conduct the survey in 2025.

The data reveals the places parkgoers were happiest with things like noise levels, cleanliness and the small, roadside campground rated highest in the province — but only by just 20 visitors who filled out the survey.

What people liked … and didn’t

On average, satisfaction scores were higher outside the South Coast region, which includes Metro Vancouver. Large parks within a couple of hours of Metro Vancouver, such as Cultus Lake and Golden Ears, tended to score lower than large parks in other parts of the province.

Visitors to B.C. Parks campgrounds generally found them safe, clean and accessible. The average satisfaction scores for ease of access, cleanliness and sense of security in parks were all over 90 per cent.

Overall satisfaction around noise levels also improved from an average of 83 per cent in 2023 to 91 per cent in 2024.

At the bottom of the satisfaction list was the B.C. Parks call centre, with an average satisfaction score of 34 per cent in 2024, down from 44 per cent in 2023. 

Other things park users tended to rate lower were the availability of first come, first served campsites (69 per cent satisfied) and the reservation website (81 per cent satisfied, up from 79 per cent in 2023). 

Demand for camping reservations has more than tripled over the past decade, making securing a spot increasingly competitive, the Ministry of Environment and Parks said in an emailed statement.

Of B.C. Parks’ more than 11,000 frontcountry campsites, about 3,000 are first come, first served (FCFS) year round and around 7,500 are a mix of reservable and FCFS depending on the time of year, the statement said.

Reservations, it said, reduce safety concerns around large numbers of people lining up outside park gates or driving through sites.

Here are the highest rated parks, by region.

South Coast

Emory Creek Park, Hope
2024 Net Promoter Score: 95
Number of survey responses: 20

If you’re rushing to book a campsite at this riverside spot north of Hope, just off the Trans Canada, don’t bother. This small campground with just 35 sites is entirely first come, first served.  

Visitors rated this park highly for cleanliness, including washrooms, accessibility and noise levels.

The campground with the highest score in the province is also the one with the fewest survey respondents, so the margin of error on the Net Promoter Score is plus or minus 22 per cent.

Garibaldi Park, Sea-to-Sky
2024 Net Promoter Score: 71
Number of survey responses: 389

Beloved by backcountry campers and hikers for its stunning mountain panoramas and brilliant turquoise lakes, it’s no surprise Garibaldi Park is close to the top of this list. 

Garibaldi scored highly on amenities, value for money, accessibility and cleanliness. Park visitors were less enthusiastic about the reservation website for day-use passes, which will be required for all visitors to this park as of June 12.

Joffre Lakes Park, east of Pemberton
2024 Net Promoter Score: 69
Number of survey responses: 49

Another mountain park featuring stunning lakes and vistas, Joffre Lakes is so popular that in 2021, B.C. Parks began issuing day-use passes to cut down on the number of visitors. The ease of reserving these passes was one of the pain points for visitors to Joffre Lakes. Day-use passes are required in the park from May 11 on.

Joffre Lakes scored highly on maintenance, cleanliness and ease of access.

Kootenay-Okanagan

Kettle River Recreation Area, Okanagan
2024 Net Promoter Score: 83
Number of survey responses: 224

One of the Okanagan’s largest campgrounds, Kettle River is popular with cyclists and beachgoers keen to float down the river on a hot summer day. 

Kettle River scored highly on maintenance, cleanliness, accessibility — both for the general public and people with disabilities — and noise levels. 

Summit Lake Park, Kootenays
2024 Net Promoter Score: 83
Number of survey responses: 112

Summit Lake is a medium-sized, lakeside campground surrounded by mountains just east of Nakusp. It scored highly on accessibility, noise levels and cleanliness, both in the park in general and in washrooms specifically.

Martha Creek Park, Kootenays
2024 Net Promoter Score: 81
Number of survey responses: 313

This park, located on a reservoir lake about 20 minutes north of Revelstoke, has a sandy beach with a wharf and a boat launch. It scored highly on noise levels, maintenance and accessibility. 

Thompson-Cariboo

Bowron Lake Park, Cariboo
2024 Net Promoter Score: 85
Number of survey responses: 65

Best known as a canoe circuit, Bowron Lake Park also has a 25-site campground. Visitors rated the park high on amenities, noise levels and value for money.

Horsefly Lake Park, Cariboo
2024 Net Promoter Score: 78
Number of survey responses: 32

Despite being named after a biting insect, visitors gave Horsefly Lake Park, northeast of Williams Lake, high marks for washroom cleanliness, cleanliness in general and noise levels. There is a high margin of error around these results due to a small sample size.

Herald Park, Shuswap
2024 Net Promoter Score: 74
Number of survey responses: 393

Billed by B.C. Parks as a base camp for exploring the Shuswap and featuring forest, lakeshore and waterfalls, visitors rated this park highly on many points, including washroom and general cleanliness, amenities and ease of access for people with disabilities.

North/Central/Skeena

Ta Ch’ila/Boya Lake Park, north of Dease Lake
2024 Net Promoter Score: 86
Number of survey responses: 44

Ta Ch’ila/Boya Lake is a lakeside campground surrounded by mountains about halfway between Dease Lake and the Yukon border. The lake is noted for its bright turquoise waters. It scored highly on cleanliness, both in general and for washrooms specifically, noise levels and value for money.

Kleanza Creek Park, Terrace
2024 Net Promoter Score: 78
Number of survey responses: 42

This park, just off Highway 16 east of Terrace, is known for its rock canyons and emerald-green waters. It scored highly on cleanliness, accessibility, noise levels and crowding.

Tyhee Lake Park, Bulkley Valley
2024 Net Promoter Score: 77
Number of survey responses: 67

This park, 10 kilometres east of Smithers, features a sandy beach where visitors can swim and paddle board. It scored highly across many areas, including cleanliness of both washrooms and the park in general, amenities and accessibility of the trails and the park.

Omineca Peace

Gwillim Lake Park, southeast of Chetwynd
2024 Net Promoter Score: 79
Number of survey responses: 24

Gwillim Lake is nestled in the Rocky Mountain foothills and is a popular spot for boating, swimming and fishing. Due to the low number of survey responses, the margin of error around the 2024 score is high. 

Liard River Hot Springs Park, Alaska Highway
2024 Net Promoter Score: 74
Number of survey responses: 105

Any northern B.C. park that features hot springs is going to do well on a satisfaction survey. Liard River Hot Springs Park, located off the Alaska Highway about 90 minutes from the Yukon border, also did well on cleanliness, maintenance, accessibility and value for money.

Muncho Lake Park, Alaska Highway
2024 Net Promoter Score: 74
Number of survey responses: 40

Just under an hour south of Liard River Hot Springs, Muncho Lake is another Alaska Highway park rated highly by visitors, albeit with a high margin of error. The mountain park offers two lakeside campgrounds, and scored highly on park cleanliness, maintenance and accessibility.

West Coast – Vancouver Island

Cape Scott Park, North Vancouver Island
2024 Net Promoter Score: 78
Number of survey responses: 85

Located at the top of the Island and also topping the satisfaction scores for the region, Cape Scott is a backcountry park featuring pristine rainforest and isolated sandy beaches. Cape Scott scored highest on cleanliness, amenities and — crucially for a backcountry park — clarity of park/trail signage.

Morton Lake Park, North Vancouver Island
2024 Net Promoter Score: 77
Number of survey responses: 41

All campsites — 12 reservable, 12 first come, first served — are lakeside at this park, which is popular with anglers. This park, located northwest of Campbell River, scored highly on crowding, cleanliness and value for money.

Montague Harbour Marine Park, Galiano Island
2024 Net Promoter Score: 76
Number of survey responses: 158

Located on Galiano Island, Montague Harbour is both a marine park and a campground with vehicle accessible and walk-in, oceanside sites. Among Montague Harbour’s many areas of strength were cleanliness, amenities, noise levels and value for money.

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How satisfaction is measured

B.C. Parks uses a metric called a Net Promoter Score to measure visitor loyalty. It’s based on responses to a question asking visitors to rate their likelihood of recommending the park on a scale of 0 to 10. 

People who answer 9 or 10 are seen as promoters, or loyal enthusiasts, likely to recommend the park. Those who answer 7 or 8 are passives who may or may not recommend the park, while those who give 6 or less are detractors, likely unsatisfied visitors who may discourage others from visiting.

Net Promoter Scores range between -100 (every visitor is a detractor) and 100 (every visitor is a promoter).

The average Net Promoter Score for B.C. Parks as a whole is 51.

An important caveat to these scores is sample size. The number of survey responses ranges from 20 to 1,121 per park. The lower the number of responses, the bigger the margin of error around the satisfaction score. The margin of error for some parks is plus or minus 20 per cent 19 times out of 20.

Larger parks with more respondents tended to score lower.

The data compiled by CBC News is from 2023 and 2024. B.C. Parks did not conduct visitor satisfaction surveys in 2025.

The Ministry of Environment and Parks said it balances the survey results along with finances, sustainability and First Nations reconciliation to determine where there may be issues and where resourcing should go.

The satisfaction surveys only measure things that are within the control of B.C. Parks or their contracted operators. So for things like the bug situation, best to stick to internet reviews.