keelywray

I'm planning a trip to Vancouver this summer for me and some friends, probably in July, and we would like to spend a few nights there camping! I'm wondering if anybody has some recommendations for nice campsites in the Vancouver area - we're driving up from Oregon, so preferably nothing too far north of the city so we don't have to add a lot of driving hours, although I'm not familiar with the area at all. Camping near a lake or some sort of water would be especially nice; amazing scenery is really what we're looking for! Thanks for any advice!

Sam_Salmon

Understand that Metropolitan Vancouver is a city of over 2,300,000 souls-campgrounds of any stripe are of necessity some distance from the city centre.

Google maps and drivebc.com will help you with distances for these

http://www.fortcamping.com/

http://www.kilby.ca/

http://www.cultuslake.bc.ca/default.aspx?PAGE_ID=127

http://www.cultuslake.bc.ca/default.aspx?PAGE_ID=132

JPinBC

For some "amazing scenery" (during the drive to, and while there) our personal favourite area is Manning Provincial Park. Haven't done the campground thing there for a good long while, but have stayed several times at the at the Lodge and a cabin at the Manning Park Resort.

Here are some sites with info, details, and etc.:
Manning Provincial Park
http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/exp...pgs/ecmanning/
http://www.vancouverisland.com/parks/?id=142
http://www.manningpark.com/summer.camping.html

Sam_Salmon

<i>"I'm wondering if anybody has some recommendations for nice campsites <b>in the Vancouver area</b></i>"

Note that Manning Park as mentioned is <b>at least a 3 hour drive</b> from Vancouver.

Capilano RV Park has tent sites but consider the location carefully.

http://www.capilanorvpark.com/

Honestly I see posts from people in USA all the time asking about camping and visiting the city-it's not really practical- expect <u>a minimum two hour commute a day</u> and usurious parking charges downtown.

You could I suppose drive to one of the outlying Skytrain stations and commute in but you'll pay for parking and 3 zone fares times however many people are in your group.

My suggestion is to stay somewhere like Jericho Hostel and bus into the city centre each day-20 minutes each way.

http://www.hihostels.ca/WesternCanad...o_Beach.hostel

BCgal

Not entirely sure if you're looking for a camping trip in nature or a more urban setting? Camping isn't really practical if you're looking for a city vacation - but if you want to explore the outdoors, the areas Vancouver-ites go to for a quick weekend camping trip tend to be about an hour's drive from the city - usually East or North.

I'd recommend taking a look at the BC Provincial Parks website. Golden Ears is a beautiful park near Maple Ridge, a suburb of Vancouver. Not too far. You could head to Porteau Cove, which is before Squamish along the Sea to Sky highway. Even closer to the city are the North Shore mountains. If you want to do a bit of back-country, you can hike in from Mt. Seymour or Cypress.