The older I get, the more conveniences I seem to acquire and a portable ice maker is just another example. We are social campers, meaning, we mostly camp with other families and are often in private campgrounds with hook ups. It also means we go through a lot of beverages!
Regardless of our camp set up we like to keep our beverages in a cooler packed with ice. Nothing says camping like digging around in freezing water and being rewarded with a cold beer. Keeping that cooler full of ice during a hot summer trip is really the only stress we have camping so we decided to buy a portable ice maker. I do agree, if this is our biggest stress, then life is great!
Okanagan Falls Provincial Park is a small park made up of only 25 unserviced sites which are 100% reservable. The park is now officially called sx̌ʷəx̌ʷnitkʷ Provincial Park, and is located in the small town of Okanagan Falls. The park lies below the outlet of Skaha Lake on the Okanagan River.
We stayed in this park for 3 nights with my sister and her husband. We were mainly interested in visiting winery’s and golfing so the location was fantastic for us. When you google “Things To Do in OK Falls”, wineries monopolize 11 of the 14 suggestions. We visited 5 of them I can attest to their high rating. They were so good we even joined the Great Estates Okanagan Wine Club which might be the best club I have ever joined, check it out!
Having said that I can say if we had kids with us it would have been the best park because it was not on the lake and it is a fair distance, with a highway crossing, to get to the lake. Other top things to do are biking the Kettle Valley Trail and visiting Okanagan Falls which both would have been great for families. I always like when I can list things to do that I couldn’t get to because it gives me a reason to go back.
Site 4, very open with no privacy
The park was full during our stay and we found it to be very quiet which was fortunate because it is very open with little privacy between sites. We camped in site 4 in the middle section of the park and it was open to the other sites around us.
The sites are generally large and are all fairly level so maneuvering your RV is easy. There are large shade trees scattered around the park but no real low level trees to offer privacy between sites. There are 8 sites that line the creek area and they are the best choice for privacy and view although I suspect mosquito’s could be an issue. The sites along Green Lake Road would be my last choice due to noise but in reality it is not that busy of a road.
Here is my advise for this campground
Site recommendations:
Site 16 would be my top pick. It is both long and private which is unusual in this park.
Site 18 & 20 are both wide and long and have nice green space behind them.
Sites 22, 23 & 25 back onto the river and have green space surrounding making them a nice choice.
Sites 11 &13 are smaller but do have some privacy
All the sites in the center lack privacy
Site 5 back onto the host site so not ideal for location
Site 9, 17 & 24 I would rate as poor. They are very open and have zero privacy
Site 11
Campground Highlights
Great climate with almost guaranteed hot dry weather in the summer
Small in size making it a quiet get away.
Flush toilets
Close to town for shopping and outings.
Lots of golf and winery’s nearby
Fresh fruit stands scattered everywhere.
Campground Lowlights
No showers or bathrooms with running water.
No hook ups
Due to the heat there is a lot of generator noise as people want to use their Air Conditioners
Limited privacy between sites
Lake is not within walking distance
Things to do
Okanagan Falls Winery’s: 14 of British Columbia’s premier wineries are in OK Falls with many more not a far drive away.
We have only been lucky enough to book into this campground once. It is likely the most popular provincial campground there is and if you want a site you will have to get up before 8:00, 3 months before the date you want to camp and start trying to book it, even then you are lucky if you get in. We were able to get the site because I logged on about the same time as someone was cancelling their reservation and I scooped it up. Otherwise, good luck!
We were there at the end of August and stayed in site 10. It was not a lake front site but we took what we could get. Osoyoos is always very hot, but the good thing is there is often a wind coming off the lake. It’s a hot wind but at least it’ a wind. The downfall with the wind, you can’t really tarp for shade and sometimes it is even risky to leave your awnings up . That being said, if you don’t like the hot sun, you likely are not booked in Osoyoos. One of the most unique things about the campground were the quails. They were everywhere and they very tame. The kids loved to watch them scurry around the site.
Haynes point has water on 3 sides but if you aren’t lucky enough to get one of the lake front site then you have to walk to the campground beach or drive into the great city beach. It is not a long drive into the city beach (Gyro Park) and there is also a great tourist strip with mini golf, ice cream stores and lots of other tourist attractions. There is not shortage of things to do in Osoyoos and being a desert climate there is always great weather to enjoy.
Here is my advise for this campground.
Recommended Sites: It has been 10 years since we camped at Haynes point so may notes are limited and likely very old. I will write what notes I have and update them the next time we are in the area. I noted double sites 22/23 as well as 27/28 as good. Best on their location they have the best chance as some shade and you can position your camping vehicle to increase the shade. They also had reasonable access to the lake. (that may have changed over the years.) For single sites I would try to get 20 or 25. They had good privacy, access to the lake and you could position your vehicles to increase your shade.
Campground Highlights:
Dry hot weather is very dependable
Large warm lake that is great for swimming or boating
It is not often that we get 14 degree C days in February but this year it has seemed like the norm. For that reason my husband, son and I decided to head out to Fort Langley for a sunny walk, a patio lunch and to check out Fort Camping on Brae Island Regional Park,which is right in Fort Langley. We know several people who have camped here but we have never been to the campground ourselves. Keep in mind we only did walked through but I wrote down some notes, spoke to a very friendly employee and took some photos of the grounds. I thought I would provide a short review until we can get a weekend visit in. Continue reading →
Farragut State Park is located on the southern tip of beautiful Lake Pend Oreille in the Coeur d’ Alene Mountains of northern Idaho. It has dry hot summers, making it a great location for campers. The lake is America’s 5th deepest but has a swimming area at Beaver Bay Beach . This horseshoe shaped sand beach is one of the few places on the lake where the water gets warm enough in the summer for a swim. If you travel with pets make note that they are not allowed on any part of the swimming beach.
Otter Lake Provincial Park is located about 30 minutes northwest of Princeton and is well marked. It is a paved road but is has lots of twist and turns and when the signs say, “watch for rocks on road” or “no stopping due to falling rocks” they are not kidding. Watch for wildlife too; we have seen deer and bears along the way. Although it is not the greatest road once there it is worth the trip. The lake is pristine clear and the campground is truly a get away.
This summer our family and 6 other families are booked for a week at Bonanza Resort near 100 Mile House in BC. It is right on a great fishing and swimming lake and we were lucky enough to get lake front sites. I can’t wait for camping season to start. I will write a review but here is the link if you want to check it out. Let me. Know if you have stayed there and if you have any tips.
Located about 45 kilometers down a rural, sometimes bumpy road, east of Chilliwack lies Chilliwack Lake Provincial Park. Due to its remoteness, and its beautiful mountain valley location, its a true “Beautiful BC” provincial park camping experience. Most sites cannot be reserved ahead of time, which means they don’t fill-up 3 months in advance like nearby Cultus Lake Provincial Park. This makes Chilliwack Lake often the only option for spontaneous camping trips for summer weekends. Continue reading →
It was the end of July 2014 and we had been camping near 100 Mile House for a week. As we neared Boston Bar the thermometer was inching up to 41 degrees. We needed a place to stop, have a cold drink and break up the trip. Our internet search gave us Canyon Alpine RV Park. We were 3 families traveling together so we were hoping for sites near each other. We called and the owner was more than willing to accommodate us. I must say Canyon Alpine was a pleasant surprise. I am not sure what we were expecting, Boston Bar is not exactly known for destination camping, but we were not disappointed. The back of the campground is up hill so those sites have retaining walls between them. These tiers give you added privacy but because the sites run across the slop each site is very level. Most sites are pull through, which is great for all sizes of camping vehicles. If walking is an issue then pick a site on the lower part of the campground because it can be a bit of a trek to the back sites. All sites have full hook ups, a picnic table and a fire pit. We were put into sites, 15,16 and 17. It worked great for us and we were just thrilled to open our drinks and turn on the air conditioners. The campground also has a hotel and restaurant. I am not sure if it was the 41 degrees, the 5 hour drive or the 7 days of RV cooking but the restaurant alone made the moms decide this was where we were staying. We were told the restaurant caters to the fire fighters that arrive in the summer so the food is fresh, the portions big and the home made pies a must order. We found all 3 to be true. As for things to do in the area, we were just passing through, but Hells Gate Tram is 15 minutes away and there are several river rafting options in the area. Although we were happy with Alpine Canyon I would only stay in this area for a stop over or maybe a couple of nights if I was river rafting. If that’s what you are looking for this campground fits the bill!
My advise for this campground.
Recommended Sites: If you are okay with hill walking then I would recommend sites 6,7,8,15,16,17,20,21 or 22. If you are camping with other groups I would suggest you take sites in a row, so 8,17 and 22. This will give you a bit more of a community feel and added privacy. If hills are an issue then spots near the bottom would be better for you. There did not appear to be any bad sites but I would avoid the one above the washroom, 18, and I did not have a chance to check out sites 24 to 31 but they did seem to back onto the hotel.
Campground Highlights:
Restaurant on site, after a week of camping food this was a very nice treat. The restaurant was air conditioned and someone else did the dishes. A very good night.
Being on a hill each site had the feel of added privacy and provided great views of the Canyon. The campground also had many huge trees so you really felt like you are camping in the outdoors.
Pull through, level, gravel sites with full hook ups. We were only staying the night so we did not even unhook.
Large, clean washrooms. The washrooms also made the con list because they were dated and the showers were small but they were clean so that trumps the cons in my books.
If you are staying for more than a night there’s lots to do if you are able to drive. Hells Gate is only 15 minutes away and there several white water rafting options within 20 minutes.
Campground Lowlights:
No lake or accessible water option near by. It was 41 degrees, we would have loved a way to cool down.
Washroom had very small showers and were very dated.
The sites were nice and long but not really wide so if you have slides or want to put a tent on your site it would be challenging
Helicopter Noise – we were in the peak of forest fire season so there was a lot of helicopter noise all day long. Not much you can say about that.
Things to do in the area
River Rafting – several choices within 30 minute drive
The older I get, the more conveniences I seem to acquire and a portable ice maker is just another example. We are social campers, meaning, we mostly camp with other families and are often in private campgrounds with hook ups. It also means we go through a lot of beverages!
Camp That Site 