roadtripper8069702

Port Alberni knows how to be RV friendly: free dump station right in town, just a short drive off the main highway. No separate fresh water fill but good water pressure for rinsing and a long hose so you can spray mud off your wheel wells while you are there.

Good grading at the dump for drainage and lots of space to drive in and out.

Large gravel parking lot directly across the street has no signage prohibiting overnight parking. We did not stay overnight but it appears you could. Adjacent to some grassy areas and not right on the main drag though there is traffic in the area.

Sites located off this road are a 1/4 to 1/2 mile apart and vary in RV accessibility: some are definitely for tents only, others you can back an RV into them. Most are fairly shaded, I believe site 5 or 6 had some decent sun and was RV accessible. Old Cherry Mountain Road is a hard packed gravel road plenty wide enough for one vehicle and with multiple pull offs for passing. Beware that the road slopes off fairly significantly into ditches on either side much of the time: if an oncoming vehicle approaches at the wrong time, someone may have to back up.

No cell service at all on the mountain, even with my booster. However, just 12 miles south is the AMC Highland Centre at Crawford Notch. They have a visitor centre with free WIFI for the public and a comfy seating area. They also have restrooms, garbage collection, cafeteria style restaurant and small gift shop. You can buy a week long day use visitors pass for the White Mountains here for I think $10.

Sites were not entirely clean - previous campers had left several piles of toilet paper and excrement on the site and some garbage. Yuck!

Even so, I loved my stay here: so much to see and do in the White Mountains - plenty of mountain hiking trails and various attractions like the huge Mount Washington. In Fraconia Notch, I enjoyed and recommend the Flume Gorge trail plus gondola up Cannon mountain - they had a combo ticked for this one. The Basin also in Fraconia is a beautiful series of cascades and it is free too! In the Crawford Notch, Mount Wiley rewards with a stellar view for an easy 3 mile round trip hike.

A pretty campground surrounded by tall pines and young live oaks with a palmetto understory. Some leaf litter and ticks. No electricity. Facilities include a portapotty with a poo mountain, a water pump with non-potable water and garbage bins.

Entrance to the campground is down a wide flat gravel road that has extensive washerboard - slow going for an RV but entirely passable. Only 4 official sites, if there are no sites available, Bennett Campground is farther south down the same road and has 6 sites. Great location a short 20 minute drive to Daytona Beach or Ormond Beach.

Currently you must call to book your site on the day of arrival and pay by cash or check at the iron ranger pay station in the pay envelope. Office opens at 7am and you can call even before you arrive. This may be changing as they said on the phone that they are working on setting up an online reservation system.

Site 1 has the best exposure for sun/solar, the others are more shady, though 4 is next best. Upon arrival, site 1 was empty but when we called, we found out it had already been booked. Site 2 was supposed to be available but there was a motorhome parked there the office didn't know about. A truck camper pulled in and parked overnight in the open area that was not an official site. I assume rangers do come in to check on things - I passed one on the road in but never saw one at the campground during our stay. We were able to extend our stay twice by calling in the morning and simply asking and then putting another $10 in the post.

Lovely dirt/grass road leads east from the campground great for cycling or hiking. I saw white-tailed deer and a gopher tortoise. Mostly quiet except for some generator noise from neighboring campers. Huge spacious area for equestrian activities plus multiple horse pens including a good size round pen.

Just south of the Petro Canada station is a huge overflow gravel parking lot. It is used by trucks and RVs for overnight parking but because it is so huge, there is plenty of space. East and south of the parking lot are farmer's fields while the highway is to the west.

No prohibiting signage - we stayed one night and had no problems. You can easily walk across the street to visit the free Star Trek Visitor Centre.

I am guessing this lot is used for the annual Star Trek convention which is in late July.

A pleasant surprise off the Trans-Canada highway located about 1 hour south of Sudbury, this large provincial park features multiple lakes and the beautiful pink granite bedrock typical of the area. Campground roads are quite potholed so you will need to take it slow. Campground is treed but sites not completely private. Some sites back on to the lake and there are back country canoe-in campsites as well. Multiple gorgeous hiking trails to choose from and a pretty, sandy beach. There is also excellent cliff jumping opportunities into the deep lake with a variety of heights to choose from making this a fun, family-friendly activity.

Everything you expect from an Ontario provincial park is here: comfort stations with showers, sani-dump station, garbage and recycling, electric at some sites and water spigots around the campground. They also have an amphitheatre, canoe rental, sandy volleyball court.

Across the road from the campground entrance is Grundy Lake Supply Post, a large general store with supplies including delicious local smoked fish. You can buy gasoline and fill propane tanks here plus they have an ice cream shop. Good cell signal throughout the park.

An easy 1 km drive from the highway down a good gravel road takes you to this riverfront provincial park. Sites along the river are side by side but only a few sites near the front actually have a view of the river and access is blocked by some standing water.

There are a couple more seculded sites - we stayed in one of them - site 13 on the other side of the row of sites. The other is down the road in the back half of the campground - secluded and by the river but of course it was taken.

No hook ups at any campsite but there was a water pump at the entrance. Garbage bins and the front and rear of the campground plus pit toilets. Footing was gravel and it held up well in heavy rains.

Mosquitoes were bad as expected. We were able to go for a walk to the river at the end of the campground as well as just past the entrance at what is probably the day use area. River is pretty. A fellow camper warned that there was a grizzly in the area so we didn't venture far.

No cell service at all. Payment was by iron ranger - cash only. $20 Canadian with USD at par.

The 9.5 km drive down this forest road InShuckCh from highway 99 took me the better part of 30 minutes. The road is gravel, a bit hilly and windy, and 4wd is recommended but maybe not required depending on your vehicle. You will enjoy spectacular views of Lilleot Lake along the way.

Twin One Creek is the first campground down this road that has RV sites, (Strawberry is hike in tent camping only with a parking lot) but Lizzie Lake and Driftwood farther down also have RV accessible sites. There are about 17 sites along a dirt road that winds through the forest and comes back out to the forest road. We were fine with our truck towing a small travel trailer. I wouldn’t bring a class A or 5th wheel through here.

We arrived on a Sunday in June and the campground was busy! A couple large groups had taken over the sites near the water and were playing music but they did settle down after 10pm or so. There were a few available sites at the end of the campground to choose from in the woods – we entered from the exit and were able to reverse into the unnumbered site across from site 16 (presumably site 17?).

We paid $13 at the iron ranger and I went swimming in the clean, crisp lake water to cool off after a hot day of driving. The spot where I swam looked appropriate for launching a boat but it wasn’t developed at all. Mosquitoes were present and cell signal was marginal. Logging trucks did go rushing by on the forest road in the morning. The “creek” was a rushing torrent with a bridge nearby for the forest road to cross over it. It was close enough to our site that it provided pleasant white noise in the background.

They have 2 dump stations and will allow travelers to dump for $5 and fill fresh water for $2.50. I did not stay overnight but used their dump, fill and gas station. Dumps are located at north and south ends of the campground and are easily accessible, close to the highway.

Gas station, small store and laundry also available here.

A narrow peninsula juts into Osoyoos Lake right in the town of Osoyoos with 41 campsites, most of which are waterfront. There is no electricity and no water hookups, but water spigots, pit toilets, garbage and recycling are located in the campground. No dump station either but no problem as there is a free city dump in town and a pay dump at the nearby Husky gas station too.

Sites are level with a gravel base and a pretty stained-wood picnic table. Most sites have direct access to the lake. Gorgeous views in every direction between the lake, the town and the surrounding hills. Sites 39 – 41 are on a narrower section of the peninsula, with no other sites directly across the street, so you have more privacy and even better views there.

There is a beautiful day use area with a large parking area where you could turn around plus multiple picnic tables, pit toilets, water, garbage and recycling. Day use is free so even if you can’t or don’t want to camp here, it is a beautiful place to come for a few hours or spend the day.

It can be windy here being exposed on the lake: try to come on a less windy day if possible. Great place for bird watching: I saw California Quail, Mallard Ducks, Loons, Mergansers and Golden Eagle soaring overhead.

Excellent cell signal for me on AT&T accessing the Rogers network.

With just 10 campsites nestled in a mountain forest setting, this public campground provides a close connection with nature. Tall spruce trees surround the campsites: the earlier sites 1 – 5 are more open with less privacy but better sun exposure and closer to Cedar Lake. Sites 6-10 are more secluded and deeper making them better for larger rigs.

The campground is open from May 1 to Oct 15 and costs $12 per night to camp. Outside these dates, the campground remains open and accessible and you can camp there for free. The website says it is closed outside these dates, but the signage at the campground does not, and there is no gate barring access. A local confirmed it is fine to camp there off-season. To get there, you drive 8 km up the mountain on a paved road Kicking Horse Pass. Turn left on Dog Tooth Road, a gravel road with some ruts and potholes but entirely passable and only about 2 km to the campground.

Cedar Lake itself is small but pretty with a day use area at the lake with parking, pit toilets and picnic tables. A trail runs along one side and there is a rope with a platform you can swing high over the water and jump in. There is an extensive network of super pretty trails in the area. Signage on the trails provides some guidance; you can also see the trails on Google Maps to help you find your way.

Cell signal was excellent at the campground. The campground has 2 pit toilet buildings but no dump station. There are 2 dump stations in the town of Golden. The one at the visitor centre is more accessible, right off Highway 1 but charges $7 by pay station and was already closed for the season when we were there in late October. The other dump station is located in town at the Golden Municipal Campground and is free! However this campground is open May 1 to Oct 31 – dump station is likely closed outside the operating season.

The town of Golden is gorgeous in a valley surrounded by the Rocky Mountains and with a river running throught it. A lovely network of urban trails follow the Kicking Horse River, including a gorgeous timber frame pedestrian bridge. The town has a library with free wifi, a brewery, restaurants, a cinema and a vibrant main strip. A business called Free Energy on Highway 1 near the A&W filled our 20lb propane tank for just $16 and had a small store with RV supplies.