-
Camping at Silver Lake Provincial Park – Hope BC
A search on Google Maps shows that “Silver Lake” is probably the most over-used names for lakes. Even “Silver Lake Provincial Park” is not unique, as there’s one with the same name in Ontario! We visited the Silver Lake Provincial Park situated just 12km southwest of Hope BC in mid September. The park is quite…
-
Paddle Camping at Plumper Cove, Keats Island
From our various trips to the Sunshine Coast, I became aware of the small provincial marine park: Plumper Cove on Keats Island, just across the water from Gibsons Harbour. It features 20 campsites, pit toilets, and a pump for fresh water (but with a long-term boil water advisory) during the summer months. Camping is $16…
-
Camping at Miracle Beach Provincial Park
To round out our 3-stop tour of Central Vancouver Island, we made a final stop at Miracle Beach Provincial Park. It’s set on a beautiful stretch of pebbly and sandy beach between Campbell River and Courtney/Comox, and it’s very popular. For a large campground with 202 campsites, the shower facilities are strikingly sparse. Until recently,…
-
Camping at Smelt Bay Provincial Park on Cortez Island
The Cortez Island – Smelt Bay leg of our 3-stop tour of Central Vancouver Island had a rocky start. Literally, we were rocked back and forth on the ferry, and it was doing enormous splashes like we haven’t seen before. Cars on the front of the line were getting washed with sea water. We soldiered…
-
Camping at Elk Falls Provincial Park
Elk Falls Provincial Park is located minutes away from Campbell River. We stayed for 2 nights here during our 3-stop tour of Central Vancouver Island, after camping for a week at the Living Forest Campground in Nanaimo. This park offers 122 vehicle-accessible campsites. Approximately 25 of these sites border the Quinsam River and the rest…
-
Ruckle Provincial Park Group Camping: Oceanfront Fun for Large Groups
Sharing our love for the outdoors has been a passion of our family for a while. We have introduced camping to many of our friends, but we’ve always booked individual campsites for the group. It’s somewhat stressful because it relies on successfully booking multiple campsites near each other if it’s more than 2 families, otherwise…
-
Winter camping baby step! in Porteau Cove
Winter camping is always a daunting but exciting prospect. It’s a frontier that we haven’t explored yet, and conquering it would mean unlocking the possibility for year-round camping. The risk of hypothermia in the winter is real though, when we’re separated from the elements with nothing but a few sheets of plastic. However, there is…
-
Camping at Porteau Cove Provincial Park
Quick Facts: The most stunning waterfront campsites are usually reserved for paddle campers who have to put in the work, but there’s one location where you can park your car next to your tent: Porteau Cove Provincial Park. It’s an easy 1 hour drive from Vancouver, and it allows you to camp right on the…
-
Camping at Golden Ears Provincial Park
Quick Facts: Overview Golden Ears Provincial Park is one of the closest parks to Vancouver, so despite the massive campgrounds with a combined 443 front country campsites, it can still get full on a summer weekend. In fact, it’s so popular that in the peak season, BC Parks imposes a free day pass system for…
-
Camping at Chilliwack Lake Provincial Park
Quick Facts: Chilliwack Lake Provincial Park is located 140km east of Vancouver and surprisingly far from Chilliwack. From Vedder Crossing, you need to drive another 40km east on Chilliwack Lake Road, which gets increasingly remote and wild but thankfully it’s paved the entire way till the provincial park. Along Chilliwack Lake Road, there are lots…