Free camping and cell signal in Kootenays & Rockies

Where Crown land camping is allowed in Kootenays & Rockies, where you'll still have signal to work or call for help, and what's on the road in: logging, surface and parking. One map, saved to your phone for use with no signal.

Open Kootenays & Rockies in the map

603recreation sites, 3,002 campsites

318remote spots with signal

2,264licensed cell sites

6,237cut blocks with active logging

Can you camp on Crown land in Kootenays & Rockies?

Yes, on most of it. Provincial Crown land in BC allows free camping for up to 14 days in one spot, as long as you leave no permanent structures and follow posted closures and fire bans. In Kootenays & Rockies the map shows which land is Crown, which is private (including private forest land), and which is park, First Nation or municipal land, so you can tell a legal pull-off from someone's property before you drive in. Parks and protected areas here include VANCE CREEK ECOLOGICAL RESERVE, ADAMS LAKE MARINE PARK - SPILLMAN BEACH SITE, ADAMS LAKE MARINE PARK - POPLAR POINT SITE, AKAMINA-KISHINENA PARK, ARROW LAKES PARK - BURTON SITE and more; camp only in their designated sites.

Where will I have cell signal?

Coverage in the backcountry follows the valleys and the highways. Using every licensed cell site and a terrain model of where each one can reach, the map estimates that a clear line of sight to a site covers about 9% of Kootenays & Rockies for Telus and Bell, 5% for Rogers and Fido and 1% for Freedom. Telus / Bell reaches the most of this region. The region has 1,302 Telus/Bell, 746 Rogers/Fido and 216 Freedom cell sites. Speed tests from other campers show where it's good enough to work from.

Remote spots with signal in Kootenays & Rockies

Ranked by distance from town and signal. Tap one to open it on the map.

Barrier Lake · paved road · 24.1 km from Canmore · line of sight to Telus / Bell, Rogers / Fido
Allison Day Use/Cross Country Ski Staging · gravel road · 22.6 km from Sparwood · line of sight to Telus / Bell, Rogers / Fido
Eccles Pond Day Use · gravel road · 27.8 km from Hinton · line of sight to Telus / Bell, Rogers / Fido
Jackknife Springs Day Use · gravel road · 31.3 km from Drayton Valley · line of sight to Telus / Bell, Rogers / Fido
Little Sundance Creek Snowmobiling · road · 20.8 km from Edson · line of sight to Telus / Bell, Rogers / Fido
Crown land near Mount York · gravel road · 15.4 km from Fauquier · line of sight to Telus / Bell
Crown land near Saunier Creek · gravel road · 12.8 km from Beaverdell · line of sight to Telus / Bell
Crown land near Pinnacle Lake · gravel road · 26.7 km from Douglas Lake · line of sight to Rogers / Fido
Crown land near Galloping Creek · gravel road · 19.5 km from Fauquier · line of sight to Telus / Bell
Crown land near Clear Lake · gravel road · 27.4 km from Beaverdell · line of sight to Freedom

Logging and road access

6,237 cut blocks in Kootenays & Rockies have harvesting under way according to Province records. The map marks them so you can avoid log-truck roads and fresh clearcuts, and shows which roads are paved, gravel, rough or unpaved tracks, plus parking lots and trailheads.