Quick Facts:

• BC Provincial Parks website: https://bcparks.ca/alice-lake-park/
• Access to water: walkable distance
• Deluxe amenities
• Activities: playground, pump track, water sports, hiking
• Beach type: sandy but usually covered with goose droppings
• Outdoor Fam rating: 9 out of 10

The campground at Alice Lake Provincial Park is routinely listed as one of the most family friendly in the region. It features flush toilets, automatic hot water faucets at the sinks, showers, a playground, a paved bicycle pump track, many picnic tables and of course, a very swimmable Alice Lake.

We booked an overnight stay at one of the walk-in campsites after a few days of rain. The campground was fully reserved but many of the sites sat empty, perhaps due to the rain.

Each walk-in campsite is assigned a numbered parking stall. Only 1 car and 1 tent is allowed per site. The fee was $23 per night compared with $35 for a regular single site that allows 2 cars and 2 tents.

The campsite is surrounded by beautiful, moss covered douglas fir trees, but due to the lack of bushes at ground level, privacy was somewhat lacking. Depending on which walk-in site you book, the walking distance to the car can be considerable. We saw a girl lugging a queen sized air mattress that she pumped up at the car all through the campground.

The park is 10-15 mins drive away from Squamish so we just picked up something quick from a Drive-Thru on our way here. Grandpa and Grandma also joined us for a day trip and had some tea and snacks.

The playground was right next to the picnic tables and pump track as well.

As soon as Junior gobbled down enough food, he jumped on his bike and hit the pump track. This is a very well designed, fully paved and beginner friendly track that kept Junior busy and happy for quite some time. This is also very close to the campsite, so he could come back a few more times during our stay.

After Junior got his fill, we took out our paddleboards. We brought his Thurso Junior this time because we knew the lake would be warm and calm enough for him to try paddling on his own.

Junior was able to propel himself forward, but because he drew semi circles with his paddle, he couldn’t keep his board straight. He kept turning with each stroke, so it was a little frustrating.

But, he suddenly just decided to pop up! This is the first time Junior actually stood up and paddled!

I immediately took off my top and jumped into the water to provide some guidance. Last thing I want to have happen is for him to fall in and swear off ever SUPing again.

He did really well but it was past his nap time and he was already tired from biking on the pump track. So I used a rope to tie our boards together and towed him around a bit.

Eventually he called it quits. Tina had the bright idea of trying to paddle the Thurso Junior, and it worked! The board was half way submerged and pretty unsteady, but she managed to make it work with a smile. It took considerable skill to push this paddleboard well past its designed carrying capacity.

Back at camp, we did the usual camping things: cooking, eating, building a campfire, kids playing in my water bucket.

The next day after we took down our campsite, we parked our car at the day use area and enjoyed a nice hike on the Four Lakes Trail before heading home.