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 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…
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…
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.…
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…
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 look at the beautiful island. After our stay in Nanaimo, we hopped on the ferry and headed to a 2-night…
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 one of the last ones to be filled up. It’s likely due to the rustic amenities: it only has pit…
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…
Solo (Plus) Camping
When the weather forecast called for unseasonably warm temperatures across the region, Tina and I made an impromptu decision to book a camping trip for the weekend. Unfortunately, Middle Bro got a fever the day before our departure so Tina…
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. With Grandpa’s help, I did manage to sneak in two trips to Rolley Lake in the spring with the two…
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…
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,…
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 with the COVID-19 Outdoor Rush of 2020 and 2021. Twenty of these new additions are walk-in sites at the Gold…
Deluxe Campgrounds
“Deluxe” frontcountry camping would include hot showers, flush toilet, garbage disposal service, and in many of them, playgrounds for kids.
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.…
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. The campsites are set pretty far back from the day use area where the beach is, so there aren’t any…
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…
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…
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 I was in the middle of booking some camping trips. I didn’t want to wait for the crap shoot that…
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 Sky corridor and Sunshine Coast, west on Vancouver Island (ok, technically Victoria is more south than west from Vancouver, but…
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…
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.…
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…
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 nice laid-back Island vibe. Taking the ferry also somehow makes the trip feel more like a vacation on a psychological…
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 the region. It features flush toilets, automatic hot water faucets at the sinks, showers, a playground, a paved bicycle pump…
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 are ample recreational opportunities including a waterpark and an adventure park, boat and jetski rentals, and a privately owned Sunnyside…