BC trip in late September - Escape Trailer Owners Community
Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×

Go Back   Escape Trailer Owners Community > Camping | Places, Gear and Planning > Trips and Travel Planning
Click Here to Login
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 01-26-2020, 09:25 PM   #1
LRL
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: Arcata, California
Trailer: 2017-2013: 21C; Arriving 3/2024: Escape 23
Posts: 172
BC trip in late September

We're planning a trip to BC from Northern California - last two weeks of September and first week of October 2020. Our interests include serious biking, fly fishing, wine tasting, hiking, and anything else that we might not have thought of. Other than to pick up our Escape, and a ski trip to Whistler (oh, and a fishing trip on the upper Dean a lifetime ago), we don't know BC at all. We're open to any suggestions and recommendations, both regarding where to go, as well as where to camp, what to see, weather expectations. Really, any input at all. Greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for what we're sure will be great advice!
__________________
Lee and Nancy Leer
2024 E23Q, March, 2024
2022 Ford F150 Hybrid
Arcata, CA
LRL is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-26-2020, 09:38 PM   #2
Senior Member
 
Eggscape's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Kelowna, British Columbia
Trailer: 2018 Escape 19
Posts: 2,714
You are looking at a great bug free time of year to take a trip in BC. However many of the Provincial Parks are starting to close...especially the small and ones in remote areas. You will be able to have the pick of spots, some right on the lakes.
Bring some warm clothing and throw in a pair of boots as you could wake up to snow that will melt by noon.
__________________
So many modifications...so little time.

https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f8...ape-12918.html
Eggscape is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-26-2020, 10:47 PM   #3
Senior Member
 
gbaglo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: North Vancouver, British Columbia
Trailer: 2009 Escape 17B 2020 Toyota Highlander XLE
Posts: 17,136
Weeks after Labour day to mid October is when we camp. We've noticed a lot of seniors have the same idea.

I suggest you start with https://www.hellobc.com/
__________________
What happens to the hole when the cheese is gone?
- Bertolt Brecht
gbaglo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-26-2020, 11:02 PM   #4
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: White Bird, Idaho
Trailer: 2018 Escape 19, "Zen Purple", 2017 4X4 Chevy Colorado/Duramax
Posts: 402
I think this website is awesome:

https://www.campingrvbc.com/camping/

It has a map with the type and name of the site and a link to more information for most of them.

My most favorite thing to do is camp in primitive sites by lakes and fly fish them. Obviously BC is a great place for that.

I’m a Humboldt State graduate by the way, from 1990. Miss Arcata a lot!
salmo7000 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-27-2020, 03:11 PM   #5
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2020
Location: Victoria, British Columbia
Trailer: 2017 Escape 19
Posts: 18
Don't forget the island. Lots of good provincial parks here. I would consider planning with reservations as spots are getting more difficult to come by. And if you can get up to Tofino, you won't be disappointed. Albeit the road is a bit of a mess right now. You just have to get past the ferry expense.
Vicescape is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-27-2020, 04:12 PM   #6
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2019
Location: Delta, British Columbia
Trailer: 2023 21C
Posts: 3
Kamloops, about about a 4 hr drive from Vancouver has some of the best stillwater fishing you will find with hundreds of lakes to choose from. Check out Roche Lake. Lots of you tube videos. The Okanagan (Napa Valley North) wine festival is usually scheduled around the first 10 days of October
JIMF is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-29-2020, 09:35 AM   #7
LRL
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: Arcata, California
Trailer: 2017-2013: 21C; Arriving 3/2024: Escape 23
Posts: 172
Thank you all for your excellent suggestion! Can't wait.
__________________
Lee and Nancy Leer
2024 E23Q, March, 2024
2022 Ford F150 Hybrid
Arcata, CA
LRL is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-29-2020, 10:30 AM   #8
Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Bozeman, Montana
Trailer: 2019 Escape 19
Posts: 41
The Greenpoint Campground in Pacific Rim Nat'l Park is terrific (and has nice bathrooms and electricity at the campsites). But make your reservations very very soon.

You did not say how far you wanted to go into BC, but hey, there is always the Cassiar Hwy north to the Alaska Hwy, and if the weather is good, it is lovely.

Roger Jenkins
rajenkins is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-23-2020, 10:01 PM   #9
AnJ
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: Abbotsford, British Columbia
Trailer: 1974 Boler, 2018 Escape 21
Posts: 125
Hey, just came across your thread. Not sure if you are still planning on going with all of the Covid-19 business, but we have a couple of ideas if you are still planning to go. We have travelled to these places in the first week of October a few times, it’s very beautiful!

Highway 3 through Manning Park- spending a night at Lightening Lake Campground is a good choice. It is quiet and off the highway. You can rent kayaks usually through to Canadian Thanksgiving the second week in Oct. and kayak around Lightening Lake. You can also hike around the lake in a couple hours. There are also many other hikes in Manning Park of varying degrees of difficulty and length. Across from the resort, you can drive all the way up the mountain (leave your trailer at the campsite) and do a short hike at the top in the alpine.

Osoyoos is nice, you can stay at Nk’Mip campground or Haynes Point. Both will be open. Nk’Mip has wifi and hookups and showers while Haynes does not and you are more camping on the point and have the best views of the lake. They have an awesome bakery, great restaurants and wine tasting in Osoyoos.

From there, you can choose to go up Highway 97 and check out Oliver and the provincial parks. The Penticton area is great for so much to do. You could easily spend a week here. They have fantastic hikes in Penticton, Summerland and Peachland, the KVR trail for serious biking and wine tasting if that’s your thing. We like to stay in nearby Naramata Centre- it’s a retreat but you are allowed to just camp and it’s nice and quiet, but about 20 minutes out of the way. All the towns in the Okanagan have fun stuff to explore- wineries, hiking, biking, great food, etc.

Another option is to stay on Highway 3 and hit the Kootenays. Amazing fall colour this time of year, but as you get to Kootenay Pass, it quite often can have snow. PV Ranch in Grand Forks is 30 minutes off of the highway, but they have one rustic camping spot beside a river and it is so peaceful. Creston is a cool town and Fernie is another favourite of ours- again lots of hiking, mountain biking and outdoorsy stuff to do. If you go this far, you might as well go through Kootenay National Park (lots of stunning spots and short hikes) and spend a night in Banff. You will probably run into some snow with this option.

Mount Robson is beautiful too if you go up that way. Again, lots of hiking and worth seeing the Rockies too if you are this close.

The Cariboo region is quite beautiful, but if you are short on time, I would aim for the Okanagan as you will be able to see more without spending days doing a ton of driving.

As someone said, it’s worth it to bring lots of layers. You can hit summer weather or cooler weather where you’ll want warm layers.
AnJ is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-23-2020, 10:17 PM   #10
Site Team
 
Donna D.'s Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Portland, Oregon
Trailer: 2014 Escape 5.0 TA
Posts: 11,023
Wonder how 'Summer' is defined? B.C. closes provincial campsites to non-residents this summer
__________________
Donna D.
Ten Forward
2014 Escape 5.0TA
Donna D. is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-23-2020, 10:31 PM   #11
AnJ
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: Abbotsford, British Columbia
Trailer: 1974 Boler, 2018 Escape 21
Posts: 125
Yes! I’m curious how camping is going to look this year. I’m hoping we will get to do a bit. We tend to avoid provincial campgrounds in the summer in BC. We find that they are too overpopulated (multiple parties to one site) and noisy, in general, in the summer. Also, quite hard to get as they get booked up as soon as the reservations are live. We tend to search out private campgrounds with good reviews while travelling in the summer. The shoulder seasons are better for provincial park camping.
AnJ is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-24-2020, 07:37 AM   #12
Senior Member
 
Jim Bennett's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Calgary, Alberta
Trailer: 2017 Escape 5.0 TA
Posts: 15,528
Quote:
Originally Posted by AnJ View Post
Osoyoos is nice, you can stay at Nk’Mip campground or Haynes Point. Both will be open. Nk’Mip has wifi and hookups and showers while Haynes does not and you are more camping on the point and have the best views of the lake. They have an awesome bakery, great restaurants and wine tasting in Osoyoos.
I talked to Nk'Mip two days ago and she said the bathroom facilities were closed for the foreseeable future.
__________________
2017 Escape 5.0 TA
2015 Ford F150 Lariat 3.5L EcoBoost
2009 Escape 19 (previous)
“Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” — Abraham Lincoln
Jim Bennett is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-24-2020, 11:33 AM   #13
Senior Member
 
Ron in BC's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: North Van., British Columbia
Trailer: 2014 Escape 19, sold; 2019 Escape 21, Sept. 2019
Posts: 8,728
Quote:
Originally Posted by AnJ View Post
. We tend to search out private campgrounds with good reviews while travelling in the summer. The shoulder seasons are better for provincial park camping.
We're starting out with a Provincial Park in the Caribou, reservations open tomorrow. After that it's nothing but recreation sites. Much more dispersed smaller and quiet than some Provincial Parks.

Who knows what "summer" will turn out to be. So much is unknown about the intensity of the outbreak in the coming weeks and months.

Ron
Ron in BC is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-24-2020, 01:27 PM   #14
LRL
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: Arcata, California
Trailer: 2017-2013: 21C; Arriving 3/2024: Escape 23
Posts: 172
Quote:
Originally Posted by AnJ View Post
Hey, just came across your thread. Not sure if you are still planning on going with all of the Covid-19 business, but we have a couple of ideas if you are still planning to go. We have travelled to these places in the first week of October a few times, it’s very beautiful!

Highway 3 through Manning Park- spending a night at Lightening Lake Campground is a good choice. It is quiet and off the highway. You can rent kayaks usually through to Canadian Thanksgiving the second week in Oct. and kayak around Lightening Lake. You can also hike around the lake in a couple hours. There are also many other hikes in Manning Park of varying degrees of difficulty and length. Across from the resort, you can drive all the way up the mountain (leave your trailer at the campsite) and do a short hike at the top in the alpine.

Osoyoos is nice, you can stay at Nk’Mip campground or Haynes Point. Both will be open. Nk’Mip has wifi and hookups and showers while Haynes does not and you are more camping on the point and have the best views of the lake. They have an awesome bakery, great restaurants and wine tasting in Osoyoos.

From there, you can choose to go up Highway 97 and check out Oliver and the provincial parks. The Penticton area is great for so much to do. You could easily spend a week here. They have fantastic hikes in Penticton, Summerland and Peachland, the KVR trail for serious biking and wine tasting if that’s your thing. We like to stay in nearby Naramata Centre- it’s a retreat but you are allowed to just camp and it’s nice and quiet, but about 20 minutes out of the way. All the towns in the Okanagan have fun stuff to explore- wineries, hiking, biking, great food, etc.

Another option is to stay on Highway 3 and hit the Kootenays. Amazing fall colour this time of year, but as you get to Kootenay Pass, it quite often can have snow. PV Ranch in Grand Forks is 30 minutes off of the highway, but they have one rustic camping spot beside a river and it is so peaceful. Creston is a cool town and Fernie is another favourite of ours- again lots of hiking, mountain biking and outdoorsy stuff to do. If you go this far, you might as well go through Kootenay National Park (lots of stunning spots and short hikes) and spend a night in Banff. You will probably run into some snow with this option.

Mount Robson is beautiful too if you go up that way. Again, lots of hiking and worth seeing the Rockies too if you are this close.

The Cariboo region is quite beautiful, but if you are short on time, I would aim for the Okanagan as you will be able to see more without spending days doing a ton of driving.

As someone said, it’s worth it to bring lots of layers. You can hit summer weather or cooler weather where you’ll want warm layers.
Thank you so much for your detailed and wonderful suggestions. We aren't sure yet whether or not we'll make it (or even be allowed to go) this fall, but if not this year, then for sure next. Your input is very helpful. Thanks again.
__________________
Lee and Nancy Leer
2024 E23Q, March, 2024
2022 Ford F150 Hybrid
Arcata, CA
LRL is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-24-2020, 01:52 PM   #15
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Vancouver Island, British Columbia
Trailer: 2014 Escape 21--FOR SALE
Posts: 411
We live on Vancouver Island and love camping in BC and in other provinces and states as much as anyone in the Escape community, but we have come to the conclusion that 2020 is the year to camp very close to home, or to not camp at all.

Campsite owners and managers seem to agree, as I discovered when I checked camping availability on the Island yesterday. Green Point near Tofino is heavily booked for summer and fall, but Parks Canada has frozen new reservations because of the threat of the virus, and will review and possibly cancel existing bookings should the pandemic worsen.

BC Government campsites can be booked and occupied only by BC residents this year.

When we called yesterday, two of our favourite privately-owned campgrounds on the Island have closed until further notice, and we suspect the owners of some others are taking a wait-and-see attitude for now. Some of the campgrounds that are open have kept their shower and bathroom facilities closed because of the high risk of infection in the petri dish conditions of wet environments.

Highway crossings along the US/Canada border will remain closed to all but essential traffic until late June, and the closure will be extended as long as new COVID-19 infections and deaths remain a threat.

People arriving in Canada from any other country by any method of travel are required to quarantine themselves for two weeks, and this includes Canadians returning home from trips. I'm not sure if being in your RV would meet the quarantine requirements.

Our doctor neighbour tells us that right now there are zero active cases of the virus on Vancouver Island because for over two months residents have followed the guidelines communicated daily by our provincial health officer, and it has worked. This has included thousands of business owners and employees giving up income to help keep the community safe. (The federal government is partially compensating them). It would be a tragedy if all their sacrifices are cancelled out by opening up too soon, and by travellers unwittingly bringing the virus into our province. As much as we like visitors, we see considerable risk in welcoming outsiders before an effective vaccine is available and the pandemic has passed.

People who question how dangerous this disease is should talk with Steve, our 69 year-old friend with no previous medical conditions who presented COVID-19 symptoms upon returning from a trip to New York five weeks ago. He was eventually isolated and put on oxygen in the Nanaimo hospital's ICU, where he fought for every breath for over a week before finally surviving. His wife and adult daughter got the disease from him, but their experience was like a long bout of a very severe flu. They are all still recovering, weeks later, and scientists do not yet know if the antibodies in the systems of survivors make them immune to reinfection or not.

Some non-medical people would have you believe the threat is permanently waning, but they are dangerously wrong. Epidemiologists are warning that historically all pandemics have had a second, more deadly wave of new cases a few months after the first wave. COVID-19 will be no exception, and round two will be worsened even further if it coincides with influenza season, and medical local medical facilities are overwhelmed. As one medical expert said, “We’re only in the second inning of the battle against this virus."

BC is presently hiring and training thousands of contact tracers in an effort to control the second wave of the virus, and testing will become much more widespread. Both of these measures were too weak during the first wave, and many lives were lost unnecessarily.

COVID-19 has killed over 6000 Canadians and will have claimed over 100,000 American victims by Memorial Day. Delaying our camping plans until 2021 seems like a small price to pay to help fend off this deadly virus in our communities until a vaccine is developed.

Stay healthy, everyone!
__________________
Brent and Cheryl.
Catchlight is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-24-2020, 02:06 PM   #16
Senior Member
 
h2owmn's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: Placerville, California
Trailer: 2018 Escape 17A double dinette
Posts: 1,515
If you are in Osoyoos do not miss the hardware store downtown. Amazing place. Allow at least an hour to wander, maybe 2. I had just picked up my 17 in Chilliwack, so I am not willing to reveal the amount of money I spent there. I justified by concentrating on the exchange rate.
__________________
--Time and trouble will tame an advanced young woman, but an advanced older woman is uncontrollable by any earthly force. --Dorothy Sayers
h2owmn is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-24-2020, 04:00 PM   #17
Senior Member
 
gbaglo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: North Vancouver, British Columbia
Trailer: 2009 Escape 17B 2020 Toyota Highlander XLE
Posts: 17,136
CTV News last night carried a story about how, currently, you cannot buy travel medical insurance that covers you for COVID 19. Consider the cost of being confined to ICU for three weeks in another province or country.
__________________
What happens to the hole when the cheese is gone?
- Bertolt Brecht
gbaglo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-25-2020, 11:02 AM   #18
Senior Member
 
barry's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Fraser Valley, British Columbia
Trailer: 2012 Escape "Classic" 5.0 SA
Posts: 554
Quote:
Originally Posted by Donna D. View Post
In BC summer is just that, after Labour Day 95% of BC Parks that have camping shut down and the few that stay open for a couple more weeks have no services at all. We usually head south after the 2nd or 3rd week of September as the State parks in Washington and Oregon stay open until the end of October with some open all year round. Not this year though!
Barry
__________________
Photography website: https://bjustice.zenfolio.com

2012 Escape "Classic" 5.0 SA / 2017 F150, 2.7 EcoBoost 4X4 Supercab
Former trailers: 2005 Escape 17B / 1972 Boler 13'
barry is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-25-2020, 12:05 PM   #19
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2019
Location: Ladysmith, British Columbia
Trailer: 2017 Escape 19
Posts: 216
What a morning trying to use the B.C. Parks reservation site that opened at 7AM for booking max 2 months in advance. My wife and I were up early, on separate computers with coffee in hand and a mission to secure 2 different campgrounds for different short trips.

You guessed it! The site crashes. You get so far into securing your reservation then it locks up or your kicked out. We are both yelling to different rooms to figure out how each other was doing. Two hours later and did succeed in securing the reservations We think

This was worse than getting tickets for a rock concert.
ChuckBC is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-25-2020, 01:21 PM   #20
Senior Member
 
Ron in BC's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: North Van., British Columbia
Trailer: 2014 Escape 19, sold; 2019 Escape 21, Sept. 2019
Posts: 8,728
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChuckBC View Post
Two hours later and did succeed in securing the reservations We think
What! only 2 hours, you lucky dog. Took us 2 1/2 hours and we almost gave up. What a gong show.

Can't believe that after all was said and done we ended up with the park and campsite that was #1 on our list.

Ron
Ron in BC is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off




» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Escape Trailer Industries or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 01:25 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Copyright 2023 Social Knowledge, LLC All Rights Reserved.