Starting this Friday, May 15, day-use passes will be required for vehicles at the Golden Ears Provincial Park.
They are a management tool used in some of the province’s busiest parks – there are already day-use passes required for Joffre Lakes Park, and they will be needed for Garibaldi Park on June 12.
Day-use passes will be available online at 7 a.m., and can be reserved two days before a planned visit, online at bcparks.ca/reservations/day-use-passes.
Passes for Golden Ears Park are required Friday to Monday until 3:30 p.m., after which people can enter the park without a pass. They will be needed until Sept. 7.
Passes are required for all parking lots past the Spirea trailhead:
• Alouette Lake boat launch parking lot
• Alouette Lake South Beach day-use area parking lot
• Gold Creek parking lot
• West Canyon parking lot
If you have a valid reservation or backcountry permit for overnight camping, you do not need a day-use pass. Simply carry your reservation or backcountry permit details with you throughout your stay.
If you are visiting someone in their frontcountry campsite for the day, you do not need a day-use pass. However, you must have proof of their valid frontcountry camping reservation to enter the park.
Each vehicle requires a day-use pass. Each vehicle can have a maximum of 12 people – adults and children.
The number of passes available each day is based on parking lot capacity and is managed to accommodate day-use visitors and backcountry campers. There is designated space for 100 boat launch vehicles and 800 regular vehicles at Alouette Lake boat launch and South Beach day-use area. There is designated space for 110 vehicles at Gold Creek trailhead and 55 vehicles at West Canyon trailhead.
People visiting Joffre Lakes Park will require a trail pass for each person in the party. In Garibaldi Park, the passes are required Friday to Monday for the Rubble Creek and Diamond Head access points, and daily for the Cheakamus access point.
Cancelling a pass is encouraged if people do not intend to use them, as it allows others to reserve those passes and access these outdoor spaces.
Introduced in 2020, BC Parks touts day-use passes as an effective tool to manage the number of people in busy parks and can help reduce the effects on the natural environment.
Since 2010, BC Parks on the south coast have had a 52% increase in visits. Although these parks are large, most recreation occurs on developed trails and trailheads that can get congested. Parking space is also limited.