Canada’s national parks to reopen June 1—with certain restrictions

All national parks have been closed since the pandemic began, along with historic sites and and marine conservation areas.

"It's an opportunity for folks, particularly those who live reasonably close to national parks, to be able to get out in nature in a manner that can allow physical distancing," said Minister of Environment Jonathan Wilkinson to the The Canadian Press.

A total of 29 of the 48 national parks will be open for day use with washroom accessibility announced Wilkinson.

People in the town of Banff are getting their businesses ready for the park to reopen to help get their businesses going again via tourism.

"This has been devastating for our town that relies solely on tourism as our economy," said Mayor Karen Sorensen. "We wanted to make sure we had protocols in place to make it safe not only for our community, but also for our visitors."

On Monday, the town's council made the decision to close two blocks of Banff Avenue, its main street which is usually crowded with vehicle traffic to allow more room for pedestrians.

"If ... people need to line up to get into one of our businesses on Banff Avenue, there will be space," said Sorensen. "There will be space for some outdoor patio seating and some outdoor retailing opportunities and there will still be space for outdoor pedestrian flow."

Banff National Park typically welcomes about four million visitors a year, making it the busiest national park in the country. Riding Mountain in Manitoba and Grasslands in Saskatchewan are also on the list of parks set to reopen June 1.

Many of the parks located in Northern Canada will stay closed for the time being to reduce people from travelling from urban areas to regions that are more vulnerable to the spread of COVID-19.

"There's also some of the parks that are co-managed with First Nations, like Haida Gwaii, where the First Nation has asked that the park not be reopened," said Wilkinson.

Camping inside the parks won't be permitted until June 21, at the very earliest.

"Camping is going to be something that a lot of Canadians are going to look at, given that travelling outside the country is going to be particularly challenging," said Wilkinson.

Camping in national parks is generally at a very high demand. Alberta Parks received almost 40,000 campsite bookings with the first day of offering re-bookings and the website for British Columbia Parks crashed soon after it opened up for summer bookings.

Most of the provincial governments have allowed camping to resume for June 1, however they are only letting their own residents to reserve campsites as to prevent non-essential travel.

Parks Canada will implement protocols once they decide to allow camping, but the agency doesn't intend to place restrictions on provincial parks.

"We are a national agency that belongs to all people who live in this country," said Wilkinson. "We will be telling people that they need to be paying attention to the travel guidance of their respective province or territory."

Wilkinson talked about the possibility of restrictions on a park-by-park basis.

"In some cases, we'll be opening more things because we think it's set up in a way that can accommodate physical distancing," said Wilkinson. "In others, where there are some ... trails that are extremely busy, we may not open those because we can't allow for safe usage."

Wilkinson took a moment to acknowledge that Canadians have been struggling a lot in the past months and that parks were a great way to enjoy the summer.

"Many have stuck very, very close to home," he said. "One of the key things for us is trying to give Canadians opportunities to get out, as summer comes, to enjoy nature," he added. "It's part of what Canada is for most Canadians."

The following national parks will be open as of June 1:

• Cape Breton Highlands National Park (NS)
• Kejimkujik National Park and National Historic Site (NS)
• Prince Edward Island National Park (PE)
• Fundy National Park (NB)
• Kouchibouguac National Park (NB)
• Gros Morne National Park (NL)
• Terra Nova National Park (NL)
• La Mauricie National Park (QC)
• Forillon National Park (QC)
• Bruce Peninsula National Park (ON)
• Rouge National Urban Park (ON)
• Georgian Bay Islands National Park (ON)
• Thousand Islands National Park (ON)
• Pukaskwa National Park (ON)
• Riding Mountain National Park (MB)
• Prince Albert National Park (SK)
• Grasslands National Park (SK)
• Banff National Park (AB)