Riverside Campground in Whistler, BC was our home for 3 nights in early July. If you are familiar with BC you will know Whistler is a destination spot for both summer and winter vacationers. We have wanted to camp in Whistler for a few years now so last year we scouted out the 2 private campgrounds in the area and decided Riverside would be our selection for this summer’s trip. After 3 nights at Riverside I can say would highly recommend this campground for many reason. I hope you find this review helpful when selecting a site.

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The main reason we chose Riverside was because of its location. It is just outside Whistler Village and is wonderfully connected via paved and lit cycling/walking trails. The other private campground in the area, Whistler RV Park, boast incredible views but it is a long way from the village and I feel only accessible by automobile. We like our summer beverages so decided a bike commute would work best.

Like a few other campgrounds we have booked, this campground didn’t allow us to select a specific site and only allowed you to put in requests. We asked which sites would give us the most privacy and were told the full service sites in the original part would be best. We booked 3 sites as we were traveling with two other couples. When we arrived we were each given a site on Douglas street and found we were right next to each other (Douglas 6,7 & 8). That worked great for us and once at our site we were pleased to find some trees separated us from the surrounding campsites. Now that I have seen the campground, if I was traveling with another group, I would recommend getting sites that back onto each other rather than side by side. An example would be Douglas 6 and Elderberry 1) There is more privacy trees on the sides of the sites rather than the end of the sites and therefore we felt like we were looking into the people behind us’ campfire.

I would also strongly recommend trying to gets into the lower, original section of the campground. We walked up to look at the 2 new sections and were shocked at how small these sites were. We found many people had to move their camp chairs out to the road area in order to sit as a small group. There was also very limited length space in these sites, so much so that the campground provides a parking lot for guest to park their tow vehicles in. This is a huge inconvenience because, being in the heart of bear country, most people use the back of their trucks to store coolers, BBQs and all the other forbidden bear attractions that must be put away each night. I commented on how the lower section provided quit a bit of room per site considering it is a private campground. Well these upper sites do not get the same review. They are much shorter than any campground I have been to and have very little privacy between or behind each site.

My thoughts on the campground

Site Recommendations and Map

1. If I was to put in a request there are the sites it would ask for D1,2,3,4,5. E1,2,3,4, A1,2,3,4,5,6 H8,9,10,11
2. Sites H8,9 & 10 are nice because they are off on their own a bit
3. Try to avoid W 8,9,10 & 11. They have nice views but no privacy to the road or golf course
4. The pull through sites are typical pull through with no privacy but very convenient
5. Try and avoid the upper section but if that is all you can get this campground is worth the stay for location alone.

Campground Highlights

1. Location, location, location
2. Lower campsites, for a private campground the lower sites were well treed and a decent size. Keep in mind we are comparing this to other private campgrounds, not provincial sites which tend to be even more private.
3. Large, clean, secure shower houses
4. Putting green course, playground and sand volleyball court on site
5. Various accommodation options, camping, cabins, & yurts
6. WiFi, although also a con as it was very spotty
7. Quiet for a private campground so close to the town
8. On site restaurant and convenience store

Campground Lowlight

1. Not a lot of privacy, better than most private campgrounds but still very close.
2. Spotty WiFi
3. Mini golf was not discounted for guests
4. New upper section sites are very small, short and have limited privacy.

Things to do

1. Putting golf
2. Volleyball
3. Playground
4. Open area for field games
5. Biking trail to village runs right through the campground
6. All of Whistlers many features are within walking distance: hiking, biking, golfing, lakes, swimming and many more.

Links

• Whistler Tourism
• Whistler Lake
• Trans Canada Trail, Sea to Sky Portion
• Joffre Lake Hike
• Nairn Falls Hike