Camping season is well underway and Kmart wants to know How do you get outdoor ready? Their camping website offers some great tips on camping Do’s and Dont’s and a handy checklist you can use to prepare for your trip.

One of the essentials for any car-camping trip is a good lantern. Kmart has kindly offered to give away a LED rechargeable battery lantern to one lucky reader of Outdoor Vancouver!

4D LED Rugged Rechargeable Battery Lantern – $37.99
-          Ultra bright – 190 Lumens(*)
-          Includes 6V XPS Rechargeable Cartridge (120v adapter for home and 12v adapter for car or boat are also included)
-          Three position switch – choose from high, low or off settings
-          Lifetime bulb – LED never needs to be replaced
-          Durable – Water and Impact resistant
-          Flexible Power – Easily switch to operate on standard disposable batteries (using 4D Battery Cartridge, sold separately)

To enter the contest you can do the following:

1. Post a camping photo in the Outdoor Vancouver Flickr group (1 entry)
2. Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
3. Post the following on Twitter (1 entry):

Win a Coleman LED Rechargeable Battery Lantern from @karlwoll http://ow.ly/24Rl9

Do all 3 for a maximum of 3 entries. Winner will be drawn at noon, July 16th. Good luck!

Update: Contest is now closed, congrats to @TylerIngram for the winning tweet!

Categories: Camping, Contests
12 Comments »

Porteau Cove Provincial Park is a great campsite just 40 minutes north of downtown Vancouver (it is actually the nearest campsite to Vancouver). Porteau Cove, known to many as a great local scuba diving spot, is a beautiful area offering great views of Howe Sound and full car-camping facilities. Activities available in Porteau Cove include canoeing, swimming, fishing, diving, hiking, and windsurfing. It is also an RV friendly site.

Situated on the most southerly fjord in North America, the park features waterfront campsites with a view over Howe Sound to the mountains beyond. An old ship has been sunk to provide interest for Scuba divers and to attract marine life. There are special facilities for divers. Adjacent train tracks are active and occasional noise disturbance may occur.

The only draw-back to Porteau Cove is the camp sites are really, really small. You’ll be lucky to fit two tents into one lot with any space to spare, and if you want privacy from your neighboring campers, this probably isn’t for you. On the plus side, since there isn’t much privacy and the fire pits are communal, camping here is a great way to meet some new people.

Tags: Campsite,Porteau Cove
Categories: Camping
2 Comments »

Alice Lake Provincial Park is located just north of downtown Squamish. There are 108 vehicle accessible campsites (55 with electrical hookup) and 55 of them are reservable through Discover Camping. There are also 2 shower stations within the campground with electrical outlets. Campfires are permitted, and there is a nice playground for young ones. If you’re looking to go camping with your kids in a family friendly environment, this is a great camping destination. If you’re looking to party with your friends and get rowdy… not so much.

Alice Lake itself has two nice sandy beaches, plenty of park benches, and a large grassy area to spread out on, soak up the sun and play some frisbee. Kayaking and canoeing are also permitted on the lake. Rainbow trout can be fished for at Alice Lake, along with the 3 other lakes within the park (Stump, Fawn and Edith).

There are also more hiking and cycling trails than can be explored in a one or two day visit.

The Four Lakes Trail is a nice 8km (~ 2 hour) hike that takes you in a circular route of the park around all four of the lakes. This is a great hike through dense forest and has little elevation change so its fairly easy to complete. A more strenuous hike, DeBeck’s Hill Trail, can be accessed from the southern parking lot at the beach. The trail is only 3km return-trip but rises 274m to the peak. The peak offers a nice view of the Tantalus Range and Mount Garibaldi (except for the massive communications tower/ equipment at the peak). Also on the way you will pass “an old steam donkey once used for yarding logs”, pictured below.

You can view a nice map of the park here to get a sense of some of the other trails and park layout. To get there drive just north of Squamish on the Sea-to-Sky and follow the signs, turning right on Alice Lake Rd.

Remember, Squamish is bear (and cougar) country so take the necessary precautions on trails and around your campsite.

Tags: Alice Lake,Camping,DeBeck's Trail,Four Lakes Trail,Provincial Park,Squamish
Categories: Camping
No Comments »

Pull those 3 season tents out of the crawl space and dust them off, camping season is here. Here are some helpful links to help you pick the perfect get away spot.

First, Tracks and Trails has a nice article on free camping in BC. They have a helpful .pdf that lists all the free campsites around BC and an interactive map as well.

Inside Vancouver also recently posted an article on camping near Vancouver and they suggest these popular spots:

* Golden Ears Provincial Park
* Manning Park (Lightening Lake)
* Alice Lake
* Cultus Lake (although can be busy/noisy on weekends)
* Porpoise Bay

MyVancouver on Twitter (of Inside Vancouver) posed the question of “what is your favorite campsite near Vancouver” and received these answers:

@TourismLangley: Derby Reach Regional park for bar fishing or Fort Camping at Brae Island.

@andrewip: Garibaldi Park is pretty awesome for camping with lots to do. Otherwise, Widgeon Creek can’t be beat.

@lilchick: Squamish river valley! It’s off road car camping and it’s wicked. Untamed wilderness for the most part!

@TylerIngram: Gold Creek @ Golden Ears Provincial Park

@karlwoll: Best campsite = Granite Falls. No road access, pristine wilderness and you sleep below a thundering waterfall http://ow.ly/5hUi

@hummingbird604: For me, camping means a cabin with hot showers, wifi and a warm bed to sleep in.

@TourismSquamish: Favourite camping around Vancouver? Alice Lk for car camping http://bit.ly/zhDbW and Garibaldi Lk for backcountry

Anyone else have any other hidden gems?

Lastly, Trails.com has a nice list of eco-friendly camping equipment.

Tags: Free Camping,Granite Falls,Manning Park
Categories: Camping
1 Comment »

Most people shudder at the thought of camping in the snow, but for those of you out there who can’t wait for our mountains to be covered in a white blanket, here is a good article from the Gear Junkies on the best sleeping gear for winter camping.

Few outdoor pursuits draw such strong reaction as winter camping. The idea of laying down in the snow, closing your eyes and going to sleep is a ridiculous and foreign concept for most of the population.

But new equipment for winter camping, including puffy sleeping bags, pads, shelters and bivy sacks, makes the task more bearable. Indeed, with the right gear you can be warm sleeping outdoors any time of the year.

Exped’s cushy DownMats, for example, keep the chill of the ground from seeping in. These air mattresses, which come in four sizes and start at $130, are stuffed with 700-fill goose down insulation. For transport the Exped (www.orgear.com) mats compact to the size of a football. The DownMat 7 Short, which is 47 inches in length, weighs just more than a pound…

…Continue reading.

Tags: Winter Camping
Categories: Camping, Products & Gear
No Comments »