Camping in the Vancouver Area
 

Hi Fellow FTers!

Me and my parental units are going to vacay in Nanaimo for four nights. We are thinking of tagging a two night camping trip in the Lower Mainland of BC (reasonably close to Vancouver within reasonably distance from transport corridors). I have, thus looked at three options (two In BC and one in adjacent part of Washington State):

1. Fort Langely (Brae Island Regional Park)

2. Cultus Lake Provincial Park

3. Douglas Fir (NW of Mount Baker in Washington State along WA#542)


Two Questions:

(1) What are your opinions of each (if you have been/camped there), and

(2) What other options are there in the Lower Mainland that are able to be reserved? We are traveling in Early August.

Thanks! :)

~FAI PDX Flyer :)

Why go the mainland to camp ? Go to Tofino or any of the other sites on the Island.

Do not, under any circumstances, go to Cultus Lake.

Douglas-fir can be very damp as it is shaded among tall mature trees.

Silver Fir up the road is nicer and a bit more open but also much higher in altitude (~3,000' ASL vs. ~1,000' ASL) but can get cold in summer and closes for the year in early September.

What? Full of Fraser Valley rednecks and Stanley Cup rioters?


Another option is Porteau Cove PP which just a little north of Horseshoe Bay. It does straddle the shore and the BC Rail tracks so don't stay there if you can't sleep through a rumbling train.

In a word, yes. Cultus Lake is the "party" campground. Lots of trouble with drunken louts. Noisy, busy.

Porteau Cove is very nice. The trains are infrequent, and there's quite a bit of forest between the campsites and the railroad tracks.

campsite videos
 

Here's a site with videos of all provincial park campsites within 100km of Vancouver http://bestbccampsites.ca/ ^

Many teenage memories of Cultus Lake.

If by camping you want to commune with nature, enjoy natural surroundings with a campfire then DO NOT GO TO CULTUS LAKE.

If you want to drink, party, smoke pot with literally thousands of like minded young people then Cultus lake is the place to go.

If you are bringing your older parents along, avoid this place.

Agreed. Cultura Lake is the fail. There's an RV camp in West Vancouver, might be owned by the Squamish First Nation. But the local is amazing: under the Lion's Gate bridge.

Porteau Cove would be my second choice.

If you are coming from Nanaimo via ferry, I would personally look at Alice Lake north of Squamish. Lake to swim in, lots of hikes in the area and you don't have to drive through the city and the suburbs. If you stay on the Island, Rathtrevor is also a nice campsite right on the ocean.

Alice Lakes can be pretty full once school's out. Just a warning. It it popular with families.