The rules for using Crown land in British Columbia don't change when it snows. The same Permission lets you camp for up to 14 days, the same Wildlife Act closures apply, and the same resource roads lead in. What changes is how much those rules matter. A logging road you drove in September becomes a plowed haul road or a snowmobile trail, a closure you never noticed in summer becomes the reason you can't ride a valley, and a slope that was a hike becomes avalanche terrain. This guide covers the winter side of the rules. The camping basics are in the Crown land camping guide.
Camping in winter
- The 14-day rule still applies. You can camp on a site for up to 14 consecutive days; the count only resets if you, your vehicle and your gear are gone from the site for 72 hours.
- Same exclusions. Parks, ecological reserves, Wildlife Management Areas with their own rules, leases, private land and municipalities are not covered by the Permission in winter either. A plowed pullout or a log landing is often the only flat ground for kilometres; don't camp where trucks need to turn or load.
- Campfires. A campfire is a fire no larger than 0.5 m by 0.5 m. Campfire bans are declared by fire centre when conditions call for it and are normally lifted by late fall, but larger open burning has its own rules all year. Check the BC Wildfire Service before you light anything, keep the fire on bare ground or a base that won't sink into the snow, and put it out completely.
- Stoves and heaters. A wood stove in a canvas tent is the comfortable way to winter camp. Never run a fuel-burning heater, stove or lantern in a closed tent or vehicle without ventilation: carbon monoxide has no smell.
Recreation sites in the off-season
Recreation Sites and Trails BC sites stay on the map in winter, but most get little or no maintenance: toilets may be locked, garbage isn't picked up and access roads are not plowed unless someone else plows them. Most recreation sites are free; where an overnight fee applies, it usually covers a spring-to-fall season. A few hundred sites and trails are managed for winter use, often by snowmobile or ski clubs, and some of those charge a winter trail fee. Our winter trails and sites pages list them by recreation district.
Driving: winter tires and resource roads
Winter tires, or chains for some vehicles, are required on most BC highways from October 1 to March 31, and to April 30 on some routes. That covers all highways in the north and the Interior and sections of highways on the South Coast and Vancouver Island; signs mark where the requirement starts and ends. A winter tire carries the M+S or the three-peaked mountain and snowflake mark and has at least 3.5 mm of tread, and four-wheel drive does not exempt you. DriveBC has road conditions and webcams for the highways.
Past the pavement, most Crown land access is by resource roads built for forestry and industry. In winter many are not plowed at all, and the ones that are often carry loaded logging trucks, because frozen ground makes winter a busy hauling season in many areas.
- Radios. Most resource roads are radio-assisted, not radio-controlled. Where a sign posts a resource road channel and call protocol, anyone using a mobile radio must use them: typically the road name, your kilometre, direction (up or down) and vehicle type, at the posted intervals. Operating a land-mobile radio requires a federal licence. Don't rely on the radio; not every driver has one.
- Parking. Never block a plowed road, a landing or a turnaround. Park where a plow and a loaded truck can get past, and expect to be plowed in or out.
- The map is not the road. A road on last summer's map can be deactivated, snowed in or turned into a groomed trail.
Snowmobiles: registration and closures
Snowmobiles used on Crown land must be registered under the Off-Road Vehicle Act. Registration is a one-time $48 at any ICBC Autoplan broker, and covers the certificate and a number plate or sticker, which must be displayed on the front, back or left side of the machine. Carry proof of registration when you ride on Crown land. Snowmobiles registered under the old Motor Vehicle (All Terrain) Act have to be re-registered. Riders from other provinces register at home if their jurisdiction offers it. The Off-Road Vehicle Regulation also requires an approved helmet.
The rule riders miss most is the closures. Under the Wildlife Act, the province closes areas to snowmobiles, and others to all motor vehicles, year-round or for set periods. Most of the snowmobile closures protect mountain caribou range, to support the recovery of herds that are sensitive to disturbance in winter. A closure applies whether or not you see a sign, and a trail open to sleds can run right beside one. The closures are a layer on the BC Crown land map, with their dates; the province publishes the official maps as PDF, KMZ and GPX files to load on a GPS.
Parks have their own rules, and many do not allow snowmobiles at all. The parks in winter pages note what each park's winter information says about sleds.
Avalanche terrain
Much of BC's winter backcountry is avalanche terrain, and so are many of the slopes sleds and ski tourers aim for. Avalanche Canada publishes daily avalanche forecasts for most of BC's mountain ranges through the winter. Before going into or under steep open slopes:
- read the forecast for the day and the area, and turn around when it says to;
- carry a transceiver, probe and shovel, every person, and practise with them;
- take an Avalanche Skills Training (AST) course before your first season in the mountains (there are courses aimed at sledders);
- cross slopes one at a time, and never stop in a runout zone or below a cornice.
Wildlife and traplines
Winter is when deer, elk, moose, sheep, goats and caribou are shortest of energy, and the province protects their key winter habitat as ungulate winter ranges under the Forest and Range Practices Act. They are habitat areas, not closures to the public, but they are exactly where a dog or a sled can push an animal past what it can afford: keep dogs under control, keep your distance, and don't chase animals off a plowed road into deep snow. Ungulate winter ranges are a layer on the map at close zoom.
Registered trappers work Crown land through the winter, and traps can be set near trails and roads. The trapline layer on the map shows where trapline areas are; keep pets close there.
Before you go
- Tell someone where you're going and when you'll be back. Most Crown land has no cell service; a satellite messenger is the reliable way to call for help.
- Check the Avalanche Canada forecast, DriveBC and any closures for your route.
- Start early. Days are short, and setting up camp in the dark at −20 °C is how small problems become big ones.
- For lakes, read the ice fishing guide and test the ice yourself.
Sources
Last reviewed: October 2026. Rules and closures change; always confirm with the official source before you go.