Reserving BC campgrounds online – otherwise known as Crazy town!

For avid campers in BC an important date is fast approaching – Reservations for BC Parks’ front country campsites open Sunday March 15th, at 9 a.m. Pacific Time.

Unlike our neighbours across the border, where you can reserve campsites up to 10 months in advance, we have only a 3 month window which creates some adrenalin fueled early mornings, I don’t mind admitting! I’m no gambler, but I’m sure that slightly anxious adrenalin fuelled waiting to for the crad to be turned must feel a little bit like trying to make a reservation on discover camping. Many a morning I’ve sat at my computer, my campsite all picked out, credit card at the ready, watching the seconds pass painfully slowly towards 7am when the ‘inventory’ is released to the camp hungry public. You’ve done your research, know exactly which site would make your camping trip perfect, your dates are set, heart pumping, palms sweaty…7am finally arrives…you click ‘reserve’ and…someone else, inexplicably beat you to it. How does it happen??!! Then you’re suddenly scrambling to reserve your second choice, or third…there have been times when I’ve watched it go from about 20 sites available to nothing in less than a minute. Crazy town.

In BC we have only a 3 month window which creates some adrenalin fueled early mornings, I don’t mind admitting!

According to the BC parks website the campsite shows reserved even if someone is just looking at it so you can see what a mad scramble it becomes when even a handful of pajama clad campers are trying to book their family vacations!

So here are some tips to help make reserving your campground, feel less like something you shouldn’t become addicted to!

1. Do your research.

For me, this is Jayne Seagrave. Jayne wrote the camping in BC bible in my opinion –

 Jayne has camped at them all at least once and more often at least three times in recent years. Jayne has kids and pays attention to things that matter to Campermamas. Jayne has not been wrong in our experience and so now we trust her explicitly. If Jayne says this is the best campground I’ve ever stayed out we mark it down as one to make a point of going to. If Jayne says this site is not worth the effort of getting to it, we cross it permanently off our list. I have recently also bought Jayne’s ‘Camping with Kids’ book but I think it’s better suited to parents with younger kids than mine and much of the park info is repeated, so stick with Camping British Columbia – it will serve you well!

Other than Jayne, there is also the BC Parks site of course and also campingrvbc, both of which have basic info about the parks and their campgrounds (in the case of the campingrvbc one there is also some useful info including camping recipes, fishing licenses, activities and events – worth checking out!)

Next step is to go onto the discovercamping website and look at the campground you’re interested in, click onto the various sites on the reservation map and for most of them you’ll be able to see photos of the sites. Bear in mind that these are to be used as a guide only – they can be deceptive when it comes to size and location. Always read the notes about privacy and look at it on the map – is it close / far enough to toilet facitlities, water etc. Is there a public trail or open space next to it? will you be too close to a highway or busy road?

2. Have your itinerary planned.

If you are planning a road trip with multiple campsites involved you will, unless you happen to be a jammy so and so, have to be somewhat flexible with your itinerary. Know what dates you need to camp at each site – how many nights that equates to – and plan out the ‘3 month in advance’ dates. Write them on your calendar, put them into your phone but don’t miss a date because it might, especially if it’s a busy site, alter your trip more than you expected!

3. Set up an account with discover camping if you don’t already have one.

You will need to have an account to make a reservation so don’t leave that until crazy town hits! Set it up and then log in before 7am comes around so that you can process it quicker.

As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, there are loopholes to this process and this summer I will be trying them out. The cancellation fee for reservations has a max of $18 attached to it so, I have been told, you can in theory make a reservation for a few days or even a week, earlier than you actually want to go – then cancel them. This enables you to have access to the good sites in advance of the 3 month “open” window. Sounds sneaky but, it does sound as if it should work and if you have 2 discover camping accounts in your household you should be able to book ‘overlapping’ dates. We are planning a 2 week road trip to the Rockies this summer and I will most likely be forced to try out this process just to get the sites that I want when I want them – or in some cases, even to get onto the campground at all!

 

Okanagan Bound!

Tomorrow we set off for the BC Interior! 8 nights, 3 provincial parks (Paul Lake, Fintry and Otter Lake) and 30c weather has been forecasted!

As much fun as it is to go, there are a few challenges involved when it comes to camping for a whole week or more:

1. Food (Keeping things fresh, cold and having enough!) Staying healthy and feeling good are essential.

2. Clothes (The need to wash – especially the kids’ stuff and trying to cover off weather eventualities!)

3. Getting enough sleep (you need patience at all times as a mama, camping you need even more so sleep is essential!)

 

Being a campermama for a few years now, I’ve learned a thing or two that I’d like to share so that you can meet these challenges with gold stars!

1. Food

Plan, Plan and oh, did I mention planning? Use containers to put portions in so that you don’t take too many jars and bottles that take up more room than they need to. Make things like pancake mix ahead of time. Think about meals you eat at home that could become camping meals with a little adjustment. Get a good cooler – the stainless steel ones really do work, keeping a block of ice for 3 days even in high heat. I always take a Camping Basghetti (see previous blog for recipe) a heat and serve sauce that has the added benefit of being an extra ice pack in your cooler for a day or 3! Here are some other ideas:

1. Chicken curry and rice (you can buy some great jarred curries at large supermarkets – try President Choice’s Mango Coconut Curry or Pataks Tikka Masala) Measure and bag your rice at home for ease. Take frozen chicken breasts from home or pick some up while you’re out – you can always buy chicken! Throw in some red peppers, tinned peas, onions or whatever else you fancy and voila! You’re laughing! Warning – rice can be a bugger to wash off your pans but the trick is to take a sieve big enough to rest on your pan. Boil the rice for 10 minutes, then drain into the sieve, add about an inch of water to the pan and put the sieve on top with the lid on – let it steam for 10 mins and then take it off the heat – it will sit quite happily until you’re ready for it – perfectly fluffy and fabulous.
2. Souvlaki, salad and potatoes. Personally, I like Presidents Choice Souvlaki marinade – it tastes authentic and it’s a 3 portion jar. You can either take along your chicken marinading away in zip lock ready to be scewered and BBQ’d or you can take the bag, marinade and buy some chicken while out – preferably when you pick up the bag of salad! The potatoes you can cook by chopping into 1″ cubes and boiling for about 6-8 minutes, drain and then fry in some olive oil, salt and pepper until crispy – yummy is not even close!
3. Burgers. This one is easy but to make them amazing – cook them on a charcoal BBQ. We bought ours about 3 years ago from Canadian Tire for about $20 – it’s incredible and still going strong! Serve with salad and Tortilla chips
4. Pasta, Peas and Sausages. Take the sausages along frozen, a jar of your favourite pasta sauce (I have recently discovered one from President’s Choice which is a creamy tomato sauce in just the right size jar to serve 4 without having to throw any away! Cook the pasta, throw the peas in just before draining (use tinned or even frozen – bag up a portion before you leave home) add sauce and fry up or grill the bangers (translation: Sausages!) This is one of the kids favourites!
5. Quesadillas. Tortillas keep very well. A can of refried beans, some cheese, red peppers, onions and maybe some meat if so inclined, more veggies if you’re not – we actually like egg in ours – a kind of omelette quesadilla if you will! As long as you’ve got some salsa, you’re good to go!

2, Clothes

• Short of buying ‘The Scrubba‘ (see previous blog) it will be washing things through in the sink (if there is one) your washing up bowl if not, hoping the weather is warm enough to dry it and that it’s not so badly stained that throwing it out hasn’t already crossed your mind! Tip here is to take some washing detergent (liquid is best) and a good length of cord or rope to construct a clothes line (don’t forget to pack a few pegs!)
  

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• Packing smart is key. Think layers that can be worn together – in mutliple ways and try and styick to one main colour scheme so that all your clothes would work together. If you can’t be without colour, try and pick one that goes easily with your main scheme. (Mine is olive green, cream and light grey – along with this I can throw on a black, blushy / nude pink or coral or light turquoise top and it all works no matter how I do it. You’ll need a break from those colours when you get home but it won’t be a permanent break up!
• Take a good warm, cozy layer that’s good for early mornings and campfire evenings. A rain coat – these are amazing at blocking out a chill breeze as well as keeping you dry in a downpour. Long pants are essential to have too – even the hottest day can turn chill when the sun sets!

3. Getting enough Sleep

• Earplugs and an eye mask is all I can say. You can’t go wrong and will sleep much better without hearing the owls hooting or your neighbours recounting their trip to Florida at 2 in the morning! This goes for kids as well! Make sure they have a clock nearby so that they know that, even though it’s light outside, it’s not time to get up!
• The other is obvious – don’t go to bed too late!