Buntzen Lake Parking Pass

Anyone who is planning to visit the Buntzen Lake area between May 16 – September 4, 2023, and travel there by car will be required to get a free online parking reservation from BC Hydro before arriving at the recreation area.

The big change for this year is that visitors registering for a parking pass will need to create a User Account with BC Hydro. Visitors who have a parking pass and repeatedly “no-show” will have their account suspended and will not be able to park at Buntzen Lake.

Visitors can register for a parking pass one-day in advance and have the options of registering for a morning pass, afternoon pass, of full day pass. Hikers planning to do much longer hikes, like the Sendero Diez Vistas trail or any of the trails on the east side of the lake that go up Eagle Mountain will need to ensure they have a full day pass to allow enough time to hike the trails.

A parking pass will be required as there will be no first-come, first-serve parking at Buntzen Lake until after September 5, 2023.

19 responses to “Buntzen Lake Parking Pass”

  1. NIna says:

    What was so wrong about the fist come, first serve system that has been the system since the beginning of time. Life happens and reservations are not always a gurantee for people to make. First come, first serve allows everyone to have a chance to park the bloddy car for a day out! Come on….Life is hard enough

  2. Naz says:

    Do I need a parking pass for scooter or bikes?

  3. Nancy says:

    I wish that people who reserve full days or half days actually show up! I managed to finally get a weekday afternoon spot and the parking lot was empty!!! Barely anyone was there. So if people make reservations and don’t show, they should be charged or their credit card a fee for no show. If you show up, you get reimbursed! This would ensure people don’t hat book and change their minds and ruin it for others who are hoping for 1 day at the dog beach!!!

    • Drea says:

      It’s ridiculous that I have to book a half day pass to go to the dog park for an hour, and take away an entire time slot to do so. This adds to the wasted parking spots, but I have no other choice, and will continue to do so, as this is my year round dog park.

  4. Di says:

    Are small dogs allowed at the lake ?

  5. Debbie says:

    I absolutely love this parking system! It is so easy to use and I can get there stress free. I just plan a day before. No problem. I don’t understand what the fuss is all about.

  6. Sandra Minguer says:

    How is it possible that at 6:59am today (Aug 12), all half-day passes for tomorrow (Aug 13) were sold out????

  7. Tara says:

    This has been so terrible. Not just for this lake, all lakes, you’ve made it an olympic sport to just go to a lake and relax. Think harder and come up with better solutions.

  8. Christina Ramisch says:

    I’ve been trying to get a parking pass since the opening if summer and it’s ridiculous because it’s always sold out!! I’ve stayed up all night quite a few times waiting to book and as soon as I start to type my info it gets sold out. It’s not fair to people who can’t walk down to not be able to get a pass. There must be another way! My family and I used to scone there when it was on a first cone first served basis and it was be because as soon as one person leaves it opens up a new spot for the next person right away. And with this parking pass thing it’s not monitored so if people decide to leave early then that spot stays vacant for no reason. This should be changed.

  9. Moe says:

    I need parking pass for today 02-07-2023

  10. Tom says:

    One question….do locals’ property taxes get used to maintain this park? If not , it’s our backyard too and everyone should have to get a day pass….

  11. L.M. says:

    I’ve been to this park countless times throughout my life. My favourite trail is the Energy Trail but I have often taken the Diez Vistas trail. As a nearby resident, I appreciate not having to pay for the parking as I treat this lake as an extension of my backyard haha! And I wouldn’t pay to park in my own backyard. That would be ridiculous. For other people, however, parking there would justify a payment of some sort to deter them. It’s my backyard. Not yours. Back off. I know of residents who reside nearby UBC and the Dunbar-Southlands area who registered, I believe their license plate was like LD5 something; they talked about how they initially didn’t get a confirmation number. Maybe this is something that can be improved upon as confirming the parking with a number would make sense. It would allow people to know what their number is and have it be confirmed. The thing is, In my opinion, if you’re going to pay for parking, make a day out of it! Get some ice-cream, go to the corner store, meet some locals. Actually that reminds me, when me and Andrea were up near Osoyoos a couple summers back maybe 2018? 2019? We met some lovely people at a lake. They talked about this mysterious lake lizard, the “Hoko pogo?” it had bumps and stuck its head out. I’m not sure if it’s real or not (or if it moved lakes) but it was a positive in the trip as I remember Andrea and the kids were debating whether or not it’s real. (For the record, I’m not too sure). Point of the matter is, it’s important to have good folk lore surrounding a place. That reminds me! There’s a lizard in Buntzen lake! It’s brown and has green eyes! ????. Just kidding.

  12. J. M. says:

    I think the pass system is wonderful and long overdue. It eliminates overcrowding at the beach and parking nightmares. Even though I am a port moody resident before this year I hadn’t had the pleasure of visiting buntzen during the summer for years, as you could never get in unless you went early on the morning. With the pass system the issues are solved and you can plan your visit ahead of time and know you won’t be turned away. A PLUS for the pass system!!

  13. Sam Dodds says:

    This system is not effective. People book this at the midnight the day before the day they are going. It will show sold out if you don’t book within the first 5 minutes of the booking period. Not very good for elderly and people with disabilities who can’t stay up until midnight . Then the worst part of this scheme is the people who book for the whole day leave in the early afternoon which leaves the parking lots only half full.

  14. shannon says:

    If users cancelled their parking pass when they leave, will it open up parking pass for others to book? If it does then maybe post signage at the lake. If it doesn’t open up a parking pass, you should consider allowing it to. Not everyone needs the full morning or afternoon or full day. I hike for 2-3hrs and I am done. There are many locals who would benefit from a last minute parking pass opening up to head out to the lake for an evening or mid day swim.

  15. shannon says:

    Often your parking lot is half empty during the week. If users cancelled their parking pass when they leave, will it open up parking pass for others to book? If it does then maybe post signage at the lake. If it doesn’t open up a parking pass, you should consider allowing it to. Not everyone needs the full morning or afternoon or full day. I hike for 2-3hrs and I am done. There are many locals who would benefit from a last minute parking pass opening up to head out to the lake for an evening or mid day swim.

  16. Niko Erceg says:

    I’ve Reserved parking Pass today just after midnight from 8AM to 2PM,for July,31,22.and I put e- mail ,registration plate LD593L, but I didn’t receive Confirmation Number.Somethings happened yesterday approximately at same time for reservation afternoon, and I didn’t go.

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