BC Parks Day Pass Guide: Joffre Lakes, Garibaldi and Golden Ears

Which trailheads need a pass (2026)

BC Parks lists three parks that need a day pass in summer. The 2026 dates were:

• Joffre Lakes: every day, May 11 to October 25, 2026, one trail pass per person; children 12 and under need none when with a parent or guardian who has a pass
• Garibaldi, Diamond Head and Rubble Creek: Friday to Monday and holidays, June 12 to October 12, 2026, one pass per vehicle
• Garibaldi, Cheakamus Lake: every day June 13 to September 7, then Friday to Monday and holidays to October 12, 2026
• Golden Ears: Friday to Monday and holidays, May 15 to September 7, 2026, for every parking lot past the Spirea trailhead

When passes release and how many you can book

Every pass comes out online two days before your visit, starting at 7 am Pacific. If none are left, check back: a pass can come back when someone cancels. Passes are not sold by phone or through the camping reservation website.

At Joffre Lakes you can book up to four trail passes per transaction, per day, and the park is managed for 500 visitors a day. At Garibaldi each vehicle needs a pass and holds up to 12 people; BC Parks sizes the passes to parking, with space for 50 vehicles at Cheakamus, 55 at Diamond Head and 200 at Rubble Creek. At Cheakamus you can book one pass per time slot, per day.

Time slots

Joffre Lakes passes, and Garibaldi passes for Diamond Head and Rubble Creek, are good any time of day. Cheakamus sells an AM pass for arrival and departure before 1 pm, and a PM pass for after 1 pm.

At Golden Ears the boat launch pass is good any time. Every other lot sells an AM pass for 7 am to 1 pm and a PM pass for arrival after 1 pm, and no pass is needed after 3:30 pm. Golden Ears has room for about 100 vehicles at the boat launch, 800 between the boat launch and South Beach, 140 at Gold Creek and 55 at West Canyon.

The account, and what to show at the trailhead

The Province announced that from September 22, 2026, you create a BC Parks account and verify your email before you can book. It suggests signing up with a BC Services Card account; without one, an email and password work.

Your pass is emailed to you. Cell service is limited in all three parks, so download, screenshot or print it before you go, and show it on your phone or on paper when park staff ask. A pass cannot move to another date, time, place or person. If you will not use it, cancel it so someone else can.

• Golden Ears: no pass if you arrive on TransLink, or visit a frontcountry campsite with proof of its reservation
• Any of the three: a valid overnight camping reservation replaces the pass (at Golden Ears, a backcountry permit too); carry it with you
• Joffre Lakes closed to the public June 20 to 27 and September 8 to 30 in 2026, so members of the Lil'wat Nation and N'Quatqua could reconnect with the land

What PermitSnag does here

Each permit page says whether you can set a PermitSnag alert for it, and links to the agency that sells it.

Questions