Ruckle Provincial Park Campground

Beaver Point Rd., British Columbia V8K 1W3 Canada

Independent
Pet Friendly
Not Wheelchair
Accessible

“One of the most beautiful parks in the southern Gulf Islands”

Ruckle Provincial Park is one of the most beautiful parks in the southern Gulf Islands. Pitch your tent in the grassy meadow overlooking Swanson Channel then lie back and relax, watching pleasure boats and ferries sail by in a stately and colourful parade. With its 7 kilometres of shoreline, rocky headlands and tiny coves and bays, Ruckle Park provides hours or even days of enjoyable exploration. A mixture of forest, field and shore habitats makes it one of the most productive wildlife viewing areas on Salt Spring Island. Watch for sea lions and killer whales out in the sea, and mink and river otter cavorting along the shoreline. Tidal pools are filled with a brightly-coloured world of crab, mussel, limpet, oyster, sculpin, starfish and more. Scuba divers frequent the waters off Ruckle Park, drifting among the castle-like caves or floating above the bountiful ocean floor, where they will find a profusion of Plumose anemones, sponges, nudibranches, octopi, seastars and giant barnacles. On shore, birdwatchers can often catch sight of cormorants, grebes, guillemots, eagles, grouse or quail. In addition to its natural beauty, Ruckle Park is an area rich in cultural history. Irish emigrant Henry Ruckle first homesteaded here in 1872, marrying Ella Anna Christensen in 1877. Their descendants have farmed the Salt Spring property for more than a century. The Ruckle family donated their land to BC Parks in 1972 for the creation of Ruckle Provincial Park. The family still operates the Active Farm area of Ruckle Park and maintains several residences through a Life Tenancy Agreement established with BC Parks at the time of the donation.

Reviews of Ruckle Provincial Park Campground

2 people have reviewed this location

Ratings Summary

4.5 Access

4.5 Location

4.5 Cleanliness

3.5 Site Quality

4.0 Noise

Cell Coverage

AT&T 4G

Confirmed by 2 users | Last reported on October 07, 2019

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Reviewed by
afdahl

56 Reviews
0 Helpful

August 07, 2018

This is DRY CAMPING, NO HOOKUPS, and extremely limited to ZERO direct sunlight; technically there is no trash/recycling either. Park Ranger said they removed the garbage/recycling facilities from the RV area because RV’ers “are expected to pack it out.” We found garbage/recycling down by the tent area and packed our trash bags down there. Oh, and related to lack of sunlight and charging batteries... generators are allowed for only 2 hours each day, from 8am ‘til 10am. This is strictly enforced and, thankfully, we did not hear anyone around us breaking this rule.

We arrived on Sunday night, Aug. 5th without any reservations and we scored the last first-come-first-serve camp spot for RV’s. We had two neighbors on either side in very close proximity and they were noisy, VERY noisy - one was smoking cigarettes (I thought BC’s Provincial Parks were all non-smoking??). The courteous and friendly Camp Ranger (Zach) greeted us shortly after our arrival around 8pm to collect payment - he had a credit card reader and accepted AMEX. Cost: $20/night. Checkout is 11am. There was a potable water spigot just a few paces from our campsite. No dump station anywhere in the park; and from my research, the only other 2 RV parks on Salt Spring Isl. will NOT allow dumping (even for a fee) unless you’re a registered/paying overnight guest.

Overall, this is a gorgeous park and a great place to relax. We loved walking the trails down by the tent camping area and around to the north w/ amazing views of the Strait of Georgia. I highly recommend taking the short walk to Beaver Point - just be sure to use caution when walking down on the rocks at water’s edge, especially when the BC Ferries go by: their wake washes up the sloping rocks. It’s a hefty drive into Ganges for food/services but it’s a cute little town worth checking out. Not walkable to Ganges from Ruckle and barely bikeable due to the narrow, twisty, and hilly terrain. This is further made dangerous by lots of blind corners and locals that drive too fast on their familiar roads.

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afdahl would stay here again

Nightly Rate: $20.00

Days Stayed: 2

Site Number: 7

5 Access

5 Location

5 Cleanliness

4 Site Quality

4 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

AT&T 4G

Reviewed by
Campendium

October 07, 2019

Stayed 2 nights in one of the rv camping spots. 20$ a night. Got there Friday night In October, there were 4 spots available. Easy to navigate. Short walk to the water. Great view of the water and ferry’s passing by.
Trucks+camper or small rv only. The sites are too small for a travel trailer or fifth wheel.

Lots of tent camping spread out all over down by the water.

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This reviewer would stay here again

Nightly Rate: $20.00

Days Stayed: 2

Site Number: -

4 Access

4 Location

4 Cleanliness

3 Site Quality

4 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating