Campsite booking system to roll out over 2 days following last year's snafu

The Nova Scotia government is staggering its campsite booking start dates this year, in an effort to avoid last year's problems when the provincial parks reservation system crashed.

Eastern and centrally located parks will start taking bookings on April 2, while parks in the western part of the province will begin on April 3.

When the online and phone reservation systems opened last year for Nova Scotia's 20 camping parks, many people were unable to reserve their sites. Some spent hours on the phone, trying to get through. When they finally did, many of the spots were full.

"Government reviewed the reservation system and determined spreading the call load over two days would be the best option to improve registration for the start of the 2019 season," Lisa Jarrett, with the Department of Lands and Forestry, said in an email.

The number of people reserving provincial campsites on the opening day of bookings has been steadily increasing over the last number of years. The 2018 season saw 82,422 camper nights booked, an increase of five per cent over the previous year, according to the department.

Most day-use and camping parks will open Victoria Day weekend, others will open in June. Visitors should check the provincial parks website for more details.

Campsite bookings that begin Tuesday, April 2:

• Battery, St. Peter's, Richmond County

• Mira River, Albert Bridge, Cape Breton Regional Municipality

• Whycocomagh, Whycocomagh, Inverness County

• Salsman, Country Harbour, Guysborough County

• Boylston, Boylston, Guysborough County

• Caribou-Munroes Island, Caribou, Pictou County

• Five Islands, Five Islands, Colchester County

• Amherst Shore, Amherst Shore, Cumberland County

• Cape Chignecto, Advocate Harbour, Cumberland County

• Porters Lake, Porters Lake, Halifax Regional Municipality

• Dollar Lake, Wyses Corner, Halifax Regional Municipality

Campsite bookings that begin Wednesday, April 3:

• Laurie, Grand Lake, Halifax Regional Municipality

• Smileys, Brooklyn, Hants County

• Rissers Beach, Petite Riviere, Lunenburg County

• Graves Island, East Chester, Lunenburg County

• Blomidon, Canning, Kings County

• Valleyview, Bridgetown, Annapolis County

• Thomas Raddall, Port Joli, Queens County

• The Islands, Shelburne, Shelburne County

• Ellenwood Lake, Deerfield, Yarmouth County

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