Basic Steps To Plan Your Vancouver Island Camping Adventure

1. Vancouver Island Camping Experience.

Before packing up your RV or SUV/4×4, you must decide what type of camping experience you want to have.

Are you more comfortable with a traditional outdoor experience that features restrooms, showers, and some of the other comforts of home?

Or are you the more primitive type that likes to experience the outdoors the way it is meant to be experienced?

Typically, you will find different RV parks and campgrounds that have running water as well as electric hookups in the central and southern region.

Whereas, the more primitive camping experience will likely be had on the campgrounds to the west and north.

For example, Cape Scott Provincial Park and Pacific Rim National Park Reserve.

You can also camp at most of the Provincial Parks on Vancouver Island.

2. Pick The Time Of Year.

After you have decided on the kind of experience you want to have, you are going to need to pick a time of year that you will visit when camping on Vancouver Island.

Do you enjoy being with crowds?

Or do you prefer to have more isolation and private time?

Depending on the time of year, you will have the option for both.

The campgrounds on Vancouver Island are generally more crowded and busy during the months in the summer.

Some of the more popular campgrounds even sell out at this time of the year.

However, the late summer and early spring tend to offer the same amazing experiences without the rush of the large crowds. 

Most forestry recreation sites are less populated in the earlier times of the season and in the latter half of fall before the winter weather rolls in.

3. Visit The Campsites Or Their Websites.

You can either visit the campsites themselves or you can take a look on their website(s).

This should give you a good idea on what you can expect from them in terms of amenities.

This will allow you to be able to make an informed decision regarding what to bring, what you do not need to bring and how much time to allow for travel to and from the campground of choice.

You can even read through our own collection of articles or watch some of our walk-through videos of the campground in the article or tip.

4. Reservations.

Not all campgrounds on Vancouver Island use the same reservation system. Some BC Parks campgrounds can or must be reserved, while others have first-come, first-served sites.

Most Recreation Sites are first-come, first-served, although a few now take reservations (ie: group campgrounds). Private campgrounds make their own rules, so check with them before you arrive.

Not every park campground on Vancouver Island allows reservations and those that do sometimes have a limited number of first-come, first-served campsites.

Some of the rules for campsites without reservations may include a limited length of stay to allow for everyone to have a fair chance at experiencing the camping area they have decided upon.

5. Pack Correctly and Enjoy!

The last step involves having to pack all of your necessities that you need in order to keep yourself dry and safe.

For the basics you should bring a waterproof jacket, long pants, and thermal gear in order to keep your body warm during the cold and long nights. 

You should however create a list of items that you would like to have and actually need to make your experience a more pleasurable and safe one! If you prefer you can use our basic check list as a baseline to keep adding to.

You will be able to fine tune this list every time you plan a new adventure based on the things that you wished you had packed during the last one.

Create a basic safety plan before you go! Consider tick prevention, a first aid kit, wildlife awareness, water safety, warm-up exercises before hiking and leave your travel plans with someone in case something goes wrong.

By following the steps above, you should be ready to have a great time camping on Vancouver Island. Get ready to have one of the most incredible experiences of your life!