Central Vancouver Island has a wide variety of camping opportunities, including free recreation sites, provincial park campgrounds and fee-based campgrounds. Some are close to communities, while others are in remote areas reached by gravel or active logging roads.
Much of my current campground coverage is concentrated in the Central and Northern Regions, where I have spent considerable time visiting lakes and recreation sites while building this website.
The map below includes the campgrounds I have documented so far, with more locations being added as I visit other parts of Central Vancouver Island. Most of them are maintained and some of them are not. Recreation Sites And Trails BC manages many recreation sites throughout Vancouver Island. Some charge camping fees, while others remain free.
If you prefer to visit our review page for each campground and recreation site visited instead of clicking on the map, you can visit our Vancouver Island Camping Review page in the blog.
Map Of Campgrounds In Central Vancouver Island
The central zone has a larger population than the northern zone but less than the southern zone of Vancouver Island. The last population estimates from BC Stats in 2023 are 337,779.
Central Vancouver Island is represented by 4 regional districts. Some overlap into the other regions like the Strathcona Regional District and the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District. The other two regional districts are the Comox Valley Regional District and the Nanaimo Regional District.
The largest cities and towns in this region are: Campbell River, Comox, Courtenay, Nanaimo, Parksville, Port Alberni, Tofino and Ucluelet.
First Nations Of The Central Island
The central zone of Vancouver Island is the traditional territory of the Coast Salish on the east side of the island and Nuu-cha-nulth speaking First Nations. They are comprised of the following peoples on Central Vancouver Island there are many more living on the Sunshine Coast, Lower Mainland and Washington State:
- Ahousaht
- Hesquiaht
- Hupacasath
- Huu-ay-aht
- K’omoks
- Klahoose
- Mowachaht/Muchalaht
- Pacheedaht
- Pentlatch
- Qualicum
- Snaw-naw-as
- Snuneymuxw
- Tla-o-qui-aht
- Tlowitsis
- Toquaht
- Tseshaht
- Uchucklesaht
- Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ
A few territories overlap in the central zone of Vancouver Island. The Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw people also reside in and around Campbell River.
If any of this information regarding First Nations is inaccurate please let us know so we can make it right. We did our best to do our due diligence when researching the content and it isn’t our intention to offend or insult any First Nation peoples.