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Rolley Lake Camping
Quick Facts: Rolley Lake Provincial Park features a sizable frontcountry campground close (but not immediately adjacent) to the small and paddler-friendly Rolley Lake, with luxurious amenities including hot shower, flush toilet, and a playground. We put this campground high on our to-visit list, and at the first sight of warmish weather this spring (14 degrees…
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Camping at Ruckle Provincial Park on Salt Spring Island
Quick Facts: I have done two awesome paddle camping trips this summer, once in Indian Arm, and another time in Sechelt Inlet. Both were fantastic trips, but I wished I could share the awesome experience of rustic marine camping with my family. It’s truly a whole different experience camping with the ocean as our front…
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Camping at Goldstream Provincial Park
Goldstream Provincial Park features a campground just 25 minutes outside Victoria via Highway 1. It has what we call the “deluxe” facilities by provincial park standards: hot shower, flush toilet, deep sinks for dish washing, and even decent cellular reception. But our first impression of the campground was less than perfect. At around 2pm, there…
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Duffey Lake Paddle
Quick Facts Parking and Launching: Duffey Lake Viewpoint Launching type: pebbly beach Difficulty – windy and small waves made it more of an intermediate paddle Boat traffic – no motor boats View – majestic, snow capped Mt Rohr accompanies the outbound paddle Facilities: none. Overall score – 5/10 Duffey Lake sits on Highway 99, halfway between…
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Nairn Falls Hike
Quick Facts: AllTrails link: Nairn Falls Trail, 2.6km out-and-back trail with 108m elevation gain Difficulty: easy, but unprotected steep slopes down to the river requires close supervision for a toddler Traffic: heavy Facilities: pit toilets at trail head View: powerful waterfall cutting deep into a gorge Overall score: 8/10 Nairn Falls Provincial Park has a…
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Nairn Falls Camping
Quick Facts: Nairn Falls Provincial Park is situated on the Sea to Sky Highway just south of Pemberton. It’s a fairly rustic campground, with only pit toilets, no showers, and hand pumps for water. Probably due to the simple amenities, the nightly fee here was $22/night compared to the usual $35 in BC Parks. However,…
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Joffre Lakes Hike
Quick Facts: AllTrails link: Joffre Lakes, 7.7km out-and-back trail with 497m elevation gain Difficulty: moderate Traffic: very heavy even during the week Facilities: pit toilets at trail head, Middle, and Upper Joffre Lakes View: 3 gorgeous glacial lakes that can rival those in the Rocky Mountains Overall score: 9/10 If there is one hike near…
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Lightning Lake Loop Hike
Quick Facts: AllTrails link: Lightning Lake Loop, 6km with 200m elevation gain Difficulty: easy, with some sections that require closer supervision for a toddler Traffic: moderate Facilities: pit toilets at trail head View: nice views of Lightning Lake Overall score: 6/10 We did a modified version of the Lightning Lake Loop, starting from Lighting Lake Campground,…
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Lightning Lake Camping at Manning Park
Quick Facts: Our friend Amy and Aaron were not deterred by our previous camping trip through an epic rain, and joined us willingly for a second round at E.C. Manning Provincial Park. Immediately upon entering Manning Park, we were hit with not just a storm, but a thunder storm! The irony of seeing lightnings when…
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Paddling Lightning Lake at Manning Park
Quick Facts Parking and Launching: Lightning Lake Day Use Area (the better option) Spruce Bay Parking (if the above is full) Launching type: small dock at Lightning Lake Day Use Area and sandy beach at Spruce Bay Difficulty – very easy No cell phone service. Boat traffic – no motor boats View – layers of…