busywithfour

I am starting a new topic as this Australian family living in BC for a year and would like people to recommend campgrounds/trailer parks they have stayed in that they love.
Our itinerary for a possible 5-6 weeks is not set yet as we will design it around good camp grounds in the areas we want to see.

We are not experienced campers but are thinking about buying a tent trailer (we have seen one for sale locally..) so that we can keep the costs down when travellingwith 4 kids.

I have read some reviews from the KOA and tripadvisor sites but are keen for opinions on this forum on campgrounds that have:
Clean, well maintained facilities
Decent sized sites (not 21x40 as i saw on one RV park site.. and the reviews were NOT good)
Quiet (ish)
Helpful staff
Reasonably close to attractions
Other bonuses like a pool, wifi, laundry, BBQ, picnic tables, etc

The places we are thinking about driving to or close to (not in any particular order) are

Banff, Calgary, Clearwater Wells (? waterfalls) Winnipeg, somewhere in Saskatchewan, might head up to Thompson to catch the train to Churchill, Ontario (not sure where here as we will be heading for Niagara Falls) Maybe Quebec, then back through the US. Not sure of route here at all.. Maine, Minnesota, North Dakota, No clue now.

Any rave recommendations would be greatly appreciated..! Thanks..

ltt

that's quite a bit of travelling in 5-6 weeks. i don't think i could fit it all in and still enjoy a trip. i think you may want to cut some out. especially with camping. it takes extra time everytime you have to set up or take down your campsite...chopping wood, setting up tarps if it's raining, etc.
a lot of the bc provincial campgrounds are nice - some don't have power. one of my favorites was kokanee glacier provincial park outside of nelson. beautiful area. another nice was was called bear creek campground outside of westbank, bc. in jasper, for more rustic, i like snaring river campground. no power there so it's usually quieter, big sites and by a river. for powered sites, a lot of people like whister campground. be aware that in some places in bc and definitly through banff and jasper areas, you will have trains going through. ear plugs are a good idea. in manitoba, i like the area around gimli on lake winnipeg or the pinawa area.

busywithfour

Thanks Itt for those suggestions. I will look them up to see if we want to travel to those places. Thanks for the tip about ear plugs..

outdoor1

There is a decent KOA outside Quebec City that would make a good base for touring the city. I haven't been there in years but it was quite nice for a K O A. There is a nice municipal campground in the 1000 Islands called Ivy Lea ( not the KOA ) that would be good if you would like to take a cruise on the St Lawrence ( highly recommended)
As for other Ontario campgrounds there are many. Provincial parks
are booking now for July, although there are alwaysnon reservable sights which you can usually get if you aren't trying on a weekend. Once you know your itinerary I may have some suggestions.

BAK

Note the relative lack of responses; this is not a camping day by day kind of a country.

West of Toronto: check Bronte Park
http://www.brontecreek.org/bronte-cr...rk-camping.htm

Note that the campground is 6 kms away from the day use facilities (pool, play farm, etc) and you need a car to get from one to another.

This is just ten minutes west of me, and quite convenient for getting to downtown Toronto either by car or my commuuter train; leave your car at the station. But train ticket prices add up fast. $30 round trip for two adults; not sure of kids prices.

I continue to advocate hotels, motels, in order to see more on the trip of a lifetime.

BAK

amer_can

Your BCMA tour books should list camp grounds which are few and far between in the west..They book up fast if either provincial or national park.Some in the Mountains, Banff and Jasper for sure. There are a couple in Calgary..On the west side of the city and in the south at Pine Creek.Others??? North of Brandon MN is Riding Mt. NP with camping. A tent trailer, in tnis day and age of "help yourself to the things of others" might not be a way to go although we did for many years. You certainly have your work cut out for you this spring but if you do it you will have the trip of a lifetiime!!

busywithfour

Thanks Bak and Amer_can. Thank goodness you two still watch the forums. Bak, personally I would rather motels/hotels as I have a bad back and like my comforts. But to fly anywhere (eg looking at flight from Kelowna to Toronto to quebec return) for the 6 of us its'about $5000, rounded down. Then add on average (and this is very low and unrealistic) $180 for the 6 of us crammed in a motel room, wanting the kids to sleep times say, 10 nights - $1800. So that's a total of $6800 for a 10 day trip and no food is included at all - would probably have to eat out every night @ $60 ($600)for take away and not inclided entrance fees, costs to go on the boat to Niagara Falls etc. And not really seeing anything else in Canada.

So what I am thinking of doing is to "have my cake and eat it too" Considering doing the road trip for 4 and half/5 weeks- (We are in Vernon..) so Banff, Jasper, quick stop at Calgary, Medicine Hat, (another stop?) Winnipeg, Thompson, train to Churchill for the whales and maybe polar bears. Then either back through the States or different route through Canada to home.

Then after recuperating, flying to Toronto, pay the bucks for a hotel or VRBO, see Niagara etc then fly to Quebec, VRBO, stay for 5 days then fly back to Kelowna.Money can't stretch to see Montreal, or PEI or NYC

So any suggestions for Toronto would be great.

Thanks Amer_can, I will look into those campgrounds as things may be filling up. Hoping to buy the tent trailer that we've seen this weekend. At least then we can get some money back when we sell it at the end of the year.

krp329

All of the campgrounds in Banff, Jasper, Yoho and Kootenay National Parks are operated by Parks Canada, and you can find a list of each of them if you go to the park's website: www.pc.gc.ca/banff (or substitute any other park name, i.e. www.pc.gc.ca/jasper ). In BC, we prefer BC Parks campgrounds over private ones... the private ones tend to pack people in (since profit is the main motive). However, national and provincial park campgrounds also tend to be more basic, without services like pools, laundry, wifi etc.

And wow! - that's a lot of ground to cover, even with five or six weeks. Personally, I find short camping stays to be a pain in the rear end... there is a fair amount of work involved in getting set up and then packed up again, so I usually prefer to stay in one place for three or four nights.

busywithfour

Thanks krp329, I will look up the websites you gave as I need to start planning our route. We bought the tent trailer today so it's all systems go for summer. We will be trying to stay for a few days at a time as you suggest.
Thanks!