Website glitches force delay of online reservations for Alberta camping hotspots

Camping reservations for many popular Alberta locations have been postponed until February due to website glitches.

Parks Canada is delaying the launch of its camping reservations a few weeks.

There is a technical issue affecting its website, as well as some other government websites.

National park camping reservations that were supposed to start this week are now postponed until February.

That includes Banff, Lake Louise, Icefields Parkway and Waterton Lakes.

Backcountry camping booking for Lake O’Hara has also been delayed.

“There is an IT outage affecting some government of Canada services, including Parks Canada,” the department wrote on its reservation webpage Wednesday.

“To ensure fair access for all, today’s reservations have been postponed to another day.”

Parks Canada’s online reservation system allows people to join a queue to reserve campsites and park access months in advance of the busy summer season. Many parks are in high demand, and reservations often fill up within hours.

With files from CTV’s Jordan Fleguel