Frontcountry campgrounds are designated camping areas that are easily accessible by two-wheel-drive city cars. They are usually maintained by park operators (which comes with fees), but some can be user-maintained and free of charge. The campgrounds can vary widely in terms of amenities, from very basic rustic ones with pit toilets and no running water, to luxurious private ones with laundry, electricity, and wifi.
Rustic Campgrounds
These frontcountry campgrounds have pit toilets and no shower facilities. Most but not all have a drinking water source and garbage collection.
Camping at French Beach Provicial Park & Exploring Sooke
French Beach Provincial Park has one of the two front-country, drive-in campgrounds along the stretch of southwestern Vancouver Island between […]
Kentucky Alleyne Provincial Park – Group Camping
Quick Facts: Kentucky Alleyne are the names of two beautiful turquoise lakes east of Merritt. Alleyne Lake lies north of […]
Camping at Silver Lake Whatcom County Park
The Victoria Day long weekend is the unofficial start of camping season for many in BC. As a result, it’s […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
Camping on Gabriola Island – Descanso Bay Regional Park
Quick Facts: After our brief visit to Gabriola Island last year, we were determined to come back for a better […]
Camping at Sasquatch Provincial Park – Hicks Lake Campground
Quick Facts: As a provincial park near Metro Vancouver, it’s always surprising to me that Sasquatch Park tends to be […]
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, […]
Solo (Plus) Camping
When the weather forecast called for unseasonably warm temperatures across the region, Tina and I made an impromptu decision to […]
Camping at Cal Cheak Recreation Site
Quick facts: With the addition of Baby Bro, we thought camping in 2022 was mostly off the menu for us. […]
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 […]
Nairn Falls Camping
Quick Facts: Nairn Falls Provincial Park is situated on the Sea to Sky Highway just south of Pemberton. It’s a […]
Gold Creek Walk-In Campsites at Golden Ears Provincial Park
Quite presciently, BC Parks added 65 campsites at the ultra popular Golden Ears Provincial Park in 2019. This undoubtedly helped […]
Deluxe Campgrounds
“Deluxe” frontcountry camping would include hot showers, flush toilet, garbage disposal service, and in many of them, playgrounds for kids.
Camping at Bay View State Park
Quick Facts: Bay View State Park is a fairly small park set on the shores of Padilla Bay. It has […]
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. […]
Camping at Larrabee State Park
Quick Facts: Larrabee State Park is set on the seashore near Bellingham, which is only a short drive from Vancouver. […]
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, […]
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 […]
Camping at Dash Point State Park
Quick Facts: On a random January day, our friend Jenny serendipitiously dropped by for a quick visit with Tina while […]
Camping at Birch Bay State Park
Camping in Washington State Parks From our home base in Vancouver, we’ve camped to the north along the Sea to […]
Rolley Lake Camping
Quick Facts: Rolley Lake Provincial Park features a sizable frontcountry campground close (but not immediately adjacent) to the small and […]
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 […]
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 […]
Camping and Paddling at Porpoise Bay Provincial Park
Quick Facts: Sunshine Coast is a quick 40 min ferry ride away from Metro Vancouver, but it has a very […]
Camping at Alice Lake Provincial Park
Quick Facts: The campground at Alice Lake Provincial Park is routinely listed as one of the most family friendly in […]
Camping at Cultus Lake Provincial Park
Being so close to Vancouver, Cultus Lake Provincial Park is one of the most popular camping destinations in BC. There […]