Eight services and the parks' own Notify Me buttons will watch a sold-out campsite for you. Here's how they differ, using only what each one publishes, as of October 2026.
Last checked: October 24, 2026. Prices and coverage change often; check each service's site before you pay.
The ground rules
We run one of these services, so weigh what follows with that in mind. To keep it fair:
- Every fact about another service comes from its own website as of October 24, 2026, unless we say otherwise.
- Where a service doesn't publish something (a currency, a refund rule, a scan interval), we say "not stated" rather than guess.
- We don't make speed claims about anyone, including ourselves. We haven't measured them side by side.
What they all do
Every service here watches an official booking site for the campground, backcountry site, hut or permit you choose, and tells you when something opens for your dates. None of them books for you. Schnerp says "We never book on your behalf." Campgetter and AlertCamp send you to the booking page to confirm yourself. So do we.
Price
| Service | Free tier | Paid |
|---|
| Canada Camp Alerts (us) | 1 watch for one night, email, sent 15 minutes after pass holders | Season pass C$25 once, valid 12 months, no auto-renew. Up to 10 watches, date ranges, instant alerts |
| Schnerp (schnerp.com) | 1 request, 10 notifications, email | Basic C$15/month (3 watches, email and SMS); Priority C$29/month (7 watches, email, SMS, WhatsApp, push) |
| Campnab (campnab.com) | none that we found | Memberships $10/$20/$30 a month or $90/$180/$270 a year; pay-per-use $10/$15/$20 per park and date. Memberships auto-renew |
| AlertCamp (alert.camp) | 1 alert, push only | C$2.99/month (5 alerts) or C$9.99/month (15 alerts, adds SMS). Billed through the App Store or Google Play, auto-renewing; prices described as introductory |
| Camp Alert (campalert.ca) | Everything is free: "no fees, ever" | none |
| CampVector (campvector.com) | Map, wildfire layers, 3 in-app watchlists | Pro C$10/year; Pro+ Backcountry C$20/year. Billed annually, auto-renews |
| OpenCampsite (opencampsite.com) | Free during its beta: 3 trips, up to 6 campgrounds each | Planned after beta: $10 or $20 a month, or a $12 Trip Pass. Currency not stated |
| Campgetter (campgetter.com) | 1 target, email | $9/month (3 targets) or $19/month (10 targets), 7-day trial. Currency not stated. In beta |
The structural split: most of the field is monthly or annual subscriptions. Campnab also sells single scans. Camp Alert is free. We sell a one-off pass that simply ends after 12 months.
Alert channels
| Service | Email | SMS | Push | Other |
|---|
| Canada Camp Alerts | yes | no | browser push (season pass) | Telegram (season pass) |
| Schnerp | yes | Basic and Priority | Priority | WhatsApp (Priority) |
| Campnab | not stated | yes (SMS-first) | not stated | — |
| AlertCamp | paid tiers | Pro | yes, native app | — |
| Camp Alert | yes | no | no | — |
| CampVector | Pro | Pro+ | web push | — |
| OpenCampsite | yes | yes | browser push | — |
| Campgetter | yes | no | via the third-party ntfy app (paid) | — |
If you want text messages, we're the wrong choice: we don't send SMS. We picked Telegram and browser push because they're instant and free to send, which is what lets us sell a C$25 pass instead of a subscription.
Coverage in Canada
- Canada Camp Alerts: a focused list of high-demand facilities on Parks Canada, BC Parks and Ontario Parks (Berg Lake, the West Coast Trail, Lake O'Hara campground and bus, the Moraine Lake shuttle, Banff, Kootenay and Yoho backcountry, Garibaldi, Mount Assiniboine and others), plus some huts. The full list is on /parks. We don't monitor Sépaq, Alberta Parks, the Joffre Lakes day pass, or private campgrounds behind bot protection.
- Schnerp: Parks Canada, BC Parks, Ontario Parks, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Yukon, Gatineau Park and Alpine Club of Canada huts, plus shuttles such as the Lake O'Hara bus and Moraine Lake shuttle. Says it stopped covering Alberta Parks in 2025 at the platform vendor's request. Also the US, Australia and NZ.
- Campnab: says 3,200+ parks and 7,000+ campgrounds across Canada and the US, plus 650+ Recreation.gov permits.
- AlertCamp: Parks Canada and every province except Quebec, 13 Ontario conservation authorities, and seven backcountry hut operators. Also 19 US state systems and Recreation.gov.
- Camp Alert: BC Parks, Parks Canada, Ontario, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador and Yukon systems, NCC (Gatineau), plus Washington and Wisconsin. Says 546 parks.
- CampVector: BC only: about 200 BC Parks, 1,200+ forestry recreation sites, the West Coast Trail and Berg Lake, plus some huts and cabins.
- OpenCampsite: 33 systems across the US and Canada, including Parks Canada, BC Parks, Ontario Parks, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Yukon, NWT and Newfoundland.
- Campgetter: BC Parks and Parks Canada, frontcountry and backcountry.
As far as we could find, nobody currently offers alerts for Sépaq. AlertCamp says it covers every province "except Quebec".
If you need a campground we don't list, almost any of the others will have it. Coverage is where we're narrowest.
The free official tools
The parks' own buttons are worth knowing about before you pay anyone:
- BC Parks "Notify me": free, email only, up to 5 alerts, frontcountry only (no backcountry).
- Parks Canada, Ontario Parks and Manitoba also have Notify Me email buttons, and Alberta Parks has Spot Watch, according to other services' comparison pages. We haven't checked their limits on the agencies' own sites, so look before you rely on them.
If your trip is a frontcountry BC campground and you're flexible, the official tool may be all you need.
What triggers an alert
Several services describe matching we can't verify, so we'll only describe ours precisely.
A watch is one facility and the nights you pick. We alert you when a night goes from booked out, closed or not yet released to having at least one bookable site, pad, permit or bed at that facility. Each night is judged on its own. For shuttles and buses, each day is judged on its own. We don't match party size or equipment, we don't check that one site stays free for your whole trip, we don't send release-day reminders, and we never book or hold anything. Open the booking link in the alert and check the details there.
Which one
- You want SMS and the widest coverage, and a subscription is fine: Schnerp or Campnab.
- You want the cheapest paid tier and don't mind an app: AlertCamp.
- You only camp in BC: CampVector's annual price is hard to beat.
- You want free and email is enough: Camp Alert, OpenCampsite's beta, or the parks' own Notify Me.
- You're after Berg Lake, the West Coast Trail, Lake O'Hara, the Moraine shuttle or a Rockies backcountry site, and you want Telegram or browser push without a subscription: that's what we built Canada Camp Alerts for. Set a watch on the facility page, for example Berg Lake Trail or the West Coast Trail.
FAQ
Is there a free campsite cancellation alert in Canada?
Yes. Camp Alert is free, OpenCampsite is free during its beta, several services have free tiers (ours included), and BC Parks has its own free Notify Me (other agencies reportedly do too).
Do any of these book the site for me?
None of the ones here say they do. You book on the official site.
Which covers Alberta Parks?
Schnerp says it stopped in 2025. We don't monitor it either. Check each service's own coverage page.
Does Canada Camp Alerts auto-renew?
No. The season pass is a one-off C$25 payment, valid 12 months from purchase.
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