Paradise Valley – Camp In This Piece Of Paradise!

August 7, 2015January 24, 2021 / Camp That Site / 11 Comments

Paradise Valley Campground – Squamish, BC

Paradise Valley Campground in Squamish BC was our last stop on our July 2015 Sea-to-Sky Tour, without kids or dogs. Our first night was at Nairn Falls in Pemberton, from there we headed to Whistler for 3 nights at Riverside Resort and Campground with our last 2 nights at Paradise Valley Campground. When we were planning to camp in Squamish we immediately looked into Alice Lake Provincial Park but not surprisingly, that was booked solid. After a few internet searches we found Paradise Valley. We had never heard of this campground but we needed 3 sites and they had 3 left so it was a perfect match. Having to take the last 3 available sites put our expectations at a low level; from their map it appeared our sites were right off the main road near the office so we were anticipating a noisy night.

Skip directly to recommended sites!

Our take on the campground

Let me say we were PLEASANTLY surprised by this campground. Right from the drive in on a very picturesque country road, the entire campground experience was pleasing. The road is very rural (so much so that our GPS thought the address was a mile or two shy of the actual location) meaning traffic noise was not an issue. There is a train track running down the other side of the campground and it did generated noise about 5 times per day, but sleeping in a trailer allowed us to mute the sound a bit

The sites at this campground are large, some so big we all could have set-up on one site in particular. They are all well treed and offer ample space between sites. Only low lying bush separates the sites meaning you can see your neighbors but because the sites are so large it wasn’t a concern. There web site does have RV size limitation due to all it’s trees but for our party this was not an issue. They have 14 sites that offer hook ups but the sewer was not positioned near the electrical & water. Two of us have side drain connections and could not utilize the sewer hole. Only our motorhome friends have sewer at the back allowing them to drain. We noticed this placement design on all the sites we saw.
The sites offer a level RV spot (unless noted on their web site) but the ground cover is dirt making for a dusty stay. A load of gravel would do this campground well but I guess with the size of these sites it would cost a small fortune. They did say they normally water more, but there were restrictions at the time.

Sites I would recommend (Site Map)

We were in sites 4, 6 &11 and I would stay in any of these again.
From walking around I would say 9 &13 would be my top choice, but really they are all good choices.
Our trip was cut short due to a family emergency so I didn’t get a chance to check out the non-serviced sites. We will try to get back so that I can update those in the future.

Campground Highlights

The bathrooms: these were the nicest camp bathrooms I have ever seen. The tiling and detail are really a surprise at a campground, and they were always kept clean.
Site size: all the sites were very large and some were huge.
Hook up options: you have the choice of hook ups or not.
Trails: the campground contains several short hiking trails
Coffee shop: a small store/cafe is offered on site.
Green space: they have 2 large geen spaces for activities
Group campsite: not often offered in a private campground.
Bike Rental: available on site

Campground lowlights

Sewer location: not near mid trailer hook ups making use of sewer difficult
Campsite ground cover: the dirt ground cover made for a dusty stay
Train tracks: there is no way to avoid the sound of a passing train
No music or radio at all: this could be a positive or negative but we did miss listening to music, although not enough to avoid the campground

Things To Do

Hiking the many trails on site.
Visit the Salmon Hatchery
Biking
Alice Lake
Fishing

Links

An Unusual Idea For Tarping! Who Knew?

August 5, 2015January 19, 2021 / Camp That Site / 4 Comments

Tarping solutions are one of my most popular topics. With that in mind, I am always looking for new ideas to share on my blog. That and being from the West Coast where we find ourselves camping in the rain on a regular basis, often without tarps being set up? (See exhibit A for our recent trip in the rain without tarps.)

On that same trip we came across a guy who had the ultimate tarping set up. He had tarped almost his entire site and did it using a product I had never seen in a campground, dry wall supports. He had several placed throughout his site. Now in my opinion this was too many because they looked like a bit of a tripping or pet leash hazard but 2 or 3 would be great. I was also impressed by height you can get from these, no more ducking when you enter the tarp area.

What is unique about this product is the flat top and bottom making them great for camping because they are not sharp or pointy and would not ruin your tarp. The posts come in 2 different telescopic heights 5-9 foot and 6-12 foot, which adds to their flexibility and ease of storage. Place one on your picnic table and then support the edges with Skyhooks and you just might have the perfect tarping system. No trees, these would still work but then you would require 5. A tall one in the center and one on each corner to anchor. The downside of these is the price and weight. They range from $30 to $40 each and are construction site quality making them heavy. You won’t want to buy more that you need. The model I could find are made by Task Tools but I suspect there are similar products in other parts of the world.

I am going to try to get my hands on a set of these and I will then do a review of how they work but from the photo and discussion with the original camper who showed them to showed us, I suspect they will be great.

May Long Weekend – The kick off to camping season!

May 15, 2015January 24, 2016 / Camp That Site / 1 Comment

It is clear from my Facebook and Twitter feed that the campgrounds will be busy this weekend. The Victoria Day long weekend marks the unofficial start to the Canadian summer. For campers, the problem of getting a campsite begins, but if you were lucky enough to snag one, then enjoy your time.

We were unable to get a site but are hoping to spend some time with friends who did luck out. We are heading to Delta Grove at Cultus Lake for a night and hoping the weather Gods are in our corner. I have reviewed Cutlus Lake in a previous blog so on this trip I will gather more photos and site selection tips. Continue reading →

Solar Power Must Haves for Camping

May 7, 2015May 7, 2015 / Camp That Site / 8 Comments

Modern conviences are becoming much easier to take camping thanks to all the new solar powered gadgets. Having electronic devices while camping can seem a bit ludicrous to some but for the rest of us it is a welcome addition. There is a huge range of products now on the market from the very expensive concept items to the basic flashlights.

Take a look at these cool items.

The Concept Tent has been designed by Telecom Orange and uses advanced technology. It will charge all your gadgets with solar power and control them all with the wireless control hub. It is not in production yet but it is not far off and it will change they way we camp. Maybe tent camping will become more mainstream again.

Glastonbury Solar Concept Tent

Solar Cool Technology: This solar powered cooler is now available for pre order but it is very new to the market.

Solar Cool Technology

Snow Lizard SLXTREME Smartphone Case – solar powered phone charger, waterproof and impact proof. Great for camping. $149.98

http://www.snowlizardproducts.com/collections/cases/products/slxtreme-6-case?variant=914706583

Solar Power Integrated Back Pack. $99.99

http://www.goenerplex.com/products/all-products/packr/packr-commuter

Ice Cream – My top pick of places to stop!

April 10, 2015January 24, 2016 / Camp That Site / 11 Comments

Two favorite summertime activities are camping and eating ice cream so its no wonder that many of us campers love to ‘hike’ to a nearby parlor. I won’t say these are the 5 ‘best’…all ice cream is great ice cream…but these stand out as a “To Do” list activities when you’re in these areas. Continue reading →

Golden, BC

April 8, 2015January 25, 2016 / Camp That Site / 10 Comments

Check out Camp That Site‘s banner photo above. It’s such a fantastic mountain view from a private woodsy campsite that, to me, it epitomizes the perfect British Columbian camping getaway. Problem is, we can’t remember what campground this is so I haven’t been able to do a review! If anyone recognizes this place, please let me know.

Here is what we do remember about this campground

it was just east of Golden on the south side of the TransCanada Hwy. Or maybe it was just outside Revelstoke? Or maybe it was Canyon Springs??
it was an older, private campground
on the south/west side of the campground, was this gorgeous mountain view with a nearby town down in the valley
in August, down the slope lives a herd of big horn sheep
it was 2008 when we visited, so the place may have closed down since then. We can’t locate such a place or find similar images on Google.

Continue reading →

D – Down with Dogs!

April 4, 2015April 4, 2015 / Camp That Site / 13 Comments

D = dogs, so for the A to Z Challenge I have decided to make my D post about camping with dogs.

Go to any RV Park or campground and you will find a variety of campers from young couples, to families and often empty nesters enjoying their freedom but in all cases you will likely find a dog in most units. Yes we campers love our four legged friends and all the work that goes along with them. For that reason I am always surprised at how pet unfriendly many campgrounds are. It seems hotels are more accommodating to dogs than campgrounds. Hotels often offer dog bones and beds at check in, maps to dog parks and dog daycare services. It’s time that campgrounds took note and started adding pet services to their list of facilities.

🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶

What should you look for in a campground when you are traveling with dogs.

1. An off leash option: I agree all dogs should be required to be on a leash at all time but campgrounds would do well to offer an off leash area for dogs to run. If there is no room for an off leash area then provide a map to where the nearest off leash area is.

2. A dog friendly beach: Dogs love the water as much as people, we always check to see if a campground has a dog beach. It is a much more relaxing day if we don’t have to worry about our pets sitting in a hot trailer.

3. Reasonable dog fees: An extra buck or two each night is the average rate for your four legged friend. If a campground wants more, it is likely they don’t want your dog at all, so make another choice.

4. I have never seen this but a doggie daycare service would be great. We would pay a premium if we could find a campground that offered this service. It would be great for those days that you were heading off white water rafting or to an amusement park for an extended period. The dog and your neighbours would both appreciate.

What should you take if you are camping with a dog.

Recently I did a blog, Great Camping Items For Fido, and it gave some cool gadgets for your pet but here are a few more tips and options.

1. Vaccination records, always have this on hand. You never know when your dog may need to be taken to a local vet but also if you decide to put your dog in a day care for some reason, they will require this information.

2. Extra leashes, one for the RV, one for the truck and then one for good measure. We arrived in Leavenworth one year only to discover the leashes were packed in the back of our tent trailer. It seemed easier to buy a new set even if we were paying tourist prices.

3. A radio or a fan – if you have to leave your dog in the trailer for the day put on the radio or a small fan. The white noise will help drown out the outside noise reducing unnecessary stress for Fido.

4. Stainless steel dog bowls – stainless steel cleans better and does not absorb food odors. You should always bring your pet bowls in each night or when you leave the site. Even the smell of an empty dog bowl in your tent can lure unwanted visitors.

Dogs are part of the family and with the right research and planning your camping trip can be enjoyable for all of you.

Chuckle Monday!

March 30, 2015March 30, 2015 / Camp That Site / 2 Comments

Spring campers be ready, it’s feeding season. Mosquitos will be out feasting on you soon.

My Unexpected Benefits of Blogging

March 21, 2015March 21, 2015 / Camp That Site / 6 Comments

Our first tent trailer bought in 2002

Campthatsite has been up and running for almost 3 months now. About 2 months longer than most of my friends and family thought it would last. I talked about doing a blog for over a year before I actually started it up. Each trip, while making our campground notes, I would ramble on about how it would be great to write a camping blog. Finally, in December 2014, I took the leap. I think what kick started me was a friend from work had a popular parenting blog, “Discovering Parenthood” and after watching her for a few months I felt inspired. She was also there to provide support and answer questions while I got started. Thanks Tamara! Now after 3 months of blogging I have leared a lot, both about blogging and the unexpected benefits.

What I Expected

When I started out I thought it would be great to share my notes and experiences with other campers. I was hoping other campers would email me or comment about site number they like or campgrounds they have been to. That has happened a bit but not as much as I had thought. In BC it is very difficult to get a good campground during the peak summer season and my thought was to help others get the perfect site on their first trip. I also hoped that if my blog became popular I might have an easier time booking a site of my own. The campground would benefit from a review and I would benefit by being able to book a site. At this time I am still working on building my blog so I have not tried to use it as a booking advantage but maybe some day.

What I Have Learned

It’s a small world after all! I would say the coolest thing about doing this blog is seeing how many countries you can reach without ever leaving your front door. To date this blog has reached readers in over 40 counties and all the continents. Starting a blog has also forced me to learn, link and navigate many of the social media tools out there. I have set up a Twitter account, Facebook page, email address, Instagram account, WordPress blog and then linked them all together. This part has been a steep but fun learning curve. I started with 1 lonely Twitter follower, thanks to my daughter, and have watched it grow to over 600. My kids have had many good laughs as they have watched me log on and off several times each day, checking as my followers and views grew. It has been interesting to learn what people like to read, who opts to follow me and what they respond to. I have been surprised how the “personal blogs” have been some of the most popular posts I have done, followed by cool gadgets and tips.

The Unexpected Benefits

Both my husband and I have loved reliving our 12+ years of camping trips. This blog has given all our memories a permanent scrapbook to share with our family and friends. We have laughed at the photos and memories that were filed away in albums collecting dust or stored in computer files rarely being looked at. The kids have liked hearing camping stories from years they could not remembered and laughing at the crazy thing we have done together as we learned how to become “campers”. It has also renewed my interest in camping, that along with the new 20 foot trailer we bought.
I have also been surprised by the sheer number of fellow bloggers out there. It has been great getting to know other campers. I have loved reading and learning about their experiences as well as communicating with people from so many different places and walks of life. Blogging is a world I never knew existed and have enjoyed learning about. I will keep posting as long as I am camping and I hope to hear from fellow campers as I continue this journey.