1. Check in advance when reservations open
Backcountry reservations become available late January each year. In 2020, it was January 22 at 0800. Check out https://reservation.pc.gc.ca/Home.aspx for details on when they open each year. To be successful in getting a spot, you will want to mark your calendar, and log in 15 minutes early to wait for opening. Which takes me to my next point...
2. Create an account ahead of time
There are two options for signing in, one is using a GCKey, and the other is through a partner, such as your bank. Create an account with your information ahead of time to make for a quick checkout. Also, make sure you are logged in when you are waiting for the spots to open up in the morning. If you are not logged in, you will be able to add one night to your cart, but if you try to add another it will redirect you to the sign in page, wasting precious minutes.
3. Plan your nights and stick to it
I had to include this point because even though this sounds like something you would obviously do, if you are booking multiple nights under the pressure of sites becoming unavailable by the second, you need to plan your route by dates. Stick to your plan, even if one of the nights is not available right away, you can continue to refresh and might eventually be able to get it. It's also easy to mix up your days when you don't have a solid plan. You are allowed to stay 2 nights at each site, with a total of 6 nights on the lake.
There are three sites along the lake.
Hidden Cove - 4 tent pads
Fisherman's Bay - 8 tent pads
Coronet Creek - 8 tent pads
My itinerary is as follows:
Night one: Coronet Creek
Night Two : Fisherman's Bay
Night Three: Fisherman's Bay
4. Add one night at a time
This one is important. You are able to hold nights in your cart for 15 minutes, and each time you add a new night the timer will reset back to 15 minutes. If you try to select multiple nights at one time without clicking the blue reserve button, you are likely to lose your other nights, because you have not technically reserved them yet. Even if you want more than one night at the same site, add them separately.
5. Start with Fisherman's Bay
The first site add to your cart should be Fisherman's Bay where Spirit Island is located. This site is the most popular, and will book up first. Coronet Creek is the second most popular. It is the farthest to canoe, and a lot of people just want to make it to Spirit Island. Add this site to your cart next if you plan on canoeing the full lake. Hidden Cove is the last site you should book. Although there are only 4 tent pads at this location, it is very close to the trailhead. I would stay here as a last resort if the others are booked.
6. Refresh!
Don't totally panic when the sites go from green to red, and don't give up! You have to have patience. People have nights in their cart that they might ditch once they set their plan. I spent a whole hour online, but I got the exact dates and itinerary I wanted. I had so many backup plans that when things were coming available, I would nab it and then delete when I didn't need the night anymore. I stopped seeing green becoming available here and there by around 0930, which is actually better than some other backcountry spots I've tried booking!
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