Pipi7íyekw/Joffre Lakes requires day-use passes May 11

British Columbia is bringing back controlled summer access at one of its busiest alpine parks — and the rule starts almost immediately. Beginning Monday, May 11, 2026, anyone visiting Pipi7íyekw/Joffre Lakes Park for the day needs a pass booked online in advance. The province is also keeping the same pass system for Golden Ears and Garibaldi, which tells you this is no longer a one-off experiment. It’s basically how B.C. now manages peak-season crush at its most overcrowded hiking parks. ### What exactly changes on May 11? At Joffre, day-use passes are required every day from May 11 through October 25, 2026. These are for recreational day visitors, not just weekend hikers. If you show up without one during that window, you should expect to be turned away. The booking system opens at 7 a.m. Pacific, and you can reserve only two days before your planned visit. (news.gov.bc.ca) ### How do the passes work? You book through the BC Parks reservation system, and the province is pretty explicit about the routine: go online, grab a pass when the window opens, and save a screenshot or print it before you arrive. That last part matters because cell service is unreliable at many trailheads. BC Parks also says there is no first-come, first-served parking fallback for these pass-only areas, so “just drive up early” is not a real backup plan. (news.gov.bc.ca) ### Is Joffre closing completely at any point? Yes — twice. Pipi7íyekw/Joffre Lakes Park is scheduled to close to recreational visitors from June 20 to June 27, 2026, and again from September 8 to September 30, 2026. These are not weather closures or trail repairs. They’re set aside to give members of the Lil’wat Nation and N’Quatqua time and space to reconnect with the land and carry out cultural practices. That arrangement has become part of how the park is managed. (reserve.bcparks.ca) ### What about camping? If you already have a valid overnight camping reservation, you do not need a separate day-use pass for that stay. Joffre’s Upper Joffre Lake backcountry camping reservations open May 12 at 7 a.m. Pacific for arrivals starting June 15, with bookings running on a three-month rolling window. So the park now has two systems operating side by side — one for day visitors and one for overnight users. (news.gov.bc.ca) ### Are Golden Ears and Garibaldi doing this too? Yes. Golden Ears starts requiring day-use passes on May 15, 2026. Garibaldi starts on June 12, 2026. The province framed all three together, which matters because it shows the policy is regional, not just a Joffre-specific fix. These are three of the busiest parks within reach of Metro Vancouver and the Sea-to-Sky corridor. (bcparks.ca) ### Why is B.C. sticking with passes? Because the alternative is chaos — packed parking lots, roadside overflow, damaged trails, stressed facilities, and a worse experience for everyone who actually made the trip. Joffre has been under visitor-management pressure for years, and BC Parks has been using passes there since earlier seasons while working with Lil’wat Nation and N’Quatqua on a broader visitor-use strategy. (destinationbc.ca) Turns out the province now sees reservations as standard infrastructure, not a temporary restriction. ### What should visitors do now? If Joffre is on your list, the practical move is simple: count back two days, be online before 7 a.m. Pacific, and don’t ignore the closure dates. Also check advisories right before leaving, because the park page is where BC Parks posts the live rules. For anyone planning a spontaneous summer hike, that’s the real change here — access now starts at your browser, not the trailhead. (news.gov.bc.ca) ### Bottom line Joffre is still open for summer hiking — but only on B.C.’s terms. The province is keeping the park accessible while tightly rationing when people can show up, and the same model now clearly applies across its busiest marquee parks. (news.gov.bc.ca) (bcparks.ca)