Manitoba has announced provincial park reservations will open next Monday, April 4th, and expand every few days until April 13th. The province has decided to add an additional two launch dates, to help spread the user load on its system.
The launch dates and times are as follows:
- April 4 at 7 a.m. for all cabins, yurts, and group-use areas
- April 6 at 7 a.m. for campsite reservations at Birds Hill, Falcon Beach, Falcon Lakeshore, and West Hawk Lake
- April 8 at 7 a.m. for campsite reservations at all western and northern region parks (Asessippi, Bakers Narrows, Clearwater Lake, Duck Mountain, Manipogo, Paint Lake, Rainbow Beach, Rivers, Spruce Woods, Turtle Mountain, William Lake, and Wekusko Falls)
- April 11 at 7 a.m. for campsite reservations at Grand Beach, Nopiming, and all remaining Whiteshell campgrounds (Caddy Lake, Big Whiteshell, Brereton Lake, Nutimik Lake, Opapiskaw, Otter Falls, Betula Lake, and White Lake)
- April 13 at 7 a.m. for all remaining locations (Birch Point, Camp Morton, Hecla, Hnausa Beach, Lundar Beach, Moose Lake, St. Malo, Stephenfield, Watchorn, and Winnipeg Beach)
On top of the additional booking dates, the province has made some changes to its system. They plan to have its new system fully implemented by next year, but they've made a few changes now to address some of the issues that users have experienced in the past.
- Additional computing resources have been added to increase system performance;
- Improvements to increase the stability of the queue and reduce the likelihood of users losing their place in line; and
- Immediate confirmations at the time of booking are provided by web page messaging with a confirmation email sent within 24 hours to help speed up the performance of the service.
The province has also made policy changes to make it easier for more people to enjoy cabins and yurts. The maximum stay in a cabin or yurt is now seven days, which is down from fourteen days last year. They've also limited the number of sessions you can book on opening day to two instead of the normal three.
See the full provincial news release here.
