Squamish Camping Beta

Curious if anyone is willing to spill the beans on camping beta for Squamish mid-July. I’m coming in with a group of six- what are the odds of getting a walking site at The Chief? Are there other close campsites we could go for?

following, but also check out the Mamquam River Campground. Definitely not as many amenities as the Chief (no running water, for instance), but a backup in a pinch. I think the Chief campground fills up pretty much every weekend.

Hey Cam, camping at the Chief is first come basis. Weekends are busier than mid week. There's two tents per spot permitted. You want to be a considerate, but what I have done in the past was look for a spot with only one tent, and ask if it was ok to share the spot. If no one is around I have also put my tent on the spot and then left a note on the other tent introducing yourself and explaining i was happy to move if there's a problem. I have some this twice before. Both times I rarely even saw my camp mates, who came home late and left early. When they were gone someone else put a tent in their space and asked me if I minded then joining. All that to say is you don't find two or three empty camp spots you still have some options. Good luck up there!

Mamquam river campground also fills up pretty far in advance - you can see availability online at their website. As of now they are booked for all Friday and Sat nights in July (except for Friday the 26th). They might have more availability for a group site though. Weekdays almost always have availability.

Cheakamus canyon is 20 minutes away. It is a climbing destination in its own right if you like sport, up to 9 pitches high. Always some overflow parking for late arrivals. The chief is amazing if you get lucky, but I'm not, and I don't plan...so Chek it is

I’ve been at the chief campground for the last week or so.  Even mid-week the campsites fill up less than 10mins after the previous person starts packing up.  If you come in the morning on a weekday I would say you have a 50-50 chance of snagging a spot.  The best advice is what Michael said about asking to share a spot.

Cam Gross wrote:

Curious if anyone is willing to spill the beans on camping beta for Squamish mid-July. I’m coming in with a group of six- what are the odds of getting a walking site at The Chief? Are there other close campsites we could go for?

Slim to none. I don’t go to the chief anymore for this reason and instead reserve camping months in advance 

Ben Ackerman wrote:

I’ve been at the chief campground for the last week or so.  Even mid-week the campsites fill up less than 10mins after the previous person starts packing up.  If you come in the morning on a weekday I would say you have a 50-50 chance of snagging a spot.  The best advice is what Michael said about asking to share a spot.

Whats the sort of etiquette for getting a spot when someone leaves? Go in the morning and hang around asking if folks are packing up, then be ready with the campsite registration to swoop in and snag it? I imagine that there's other people also waiting for sites to open up, and that it can be a bit competitive if there isn't really a line so to speak of FCFS for who gets spots.