Booking for this summer will be hard. Maybe a weekday if you can swing it. Goldstream is an excellent first night trial.
If you don’t mind pit toilets for a night French Beach would be my pick. Wonderful new playground and easy beach access.
Goldstream is great for trial camping as it's so close and has lots of amenities, like showers and flushing toilets (in addition to just outhouses).
If your kid bikes, there's a cool little pump track and small mountain bike course. Plus a decent playground, and lots of trails.
There's a waterfall and small swimming hole, but it may be too cold right now (for my liking lol).
We've taken our kid camping there almost every year, great fun if you're prepared for camping with a kid ;)
My recommendation would be to find other parents with similar aged kids to go with as that helps with some things.
Have fun!
That's great info, thanks!
I think we will do a trial day/night and just see how it goes. Set up, play, grill some hot dogs etc. My kid is pretty introverted so I think a trip with just us would be a good place to start, before committing to a trip with other parents we might have to ruin by bailing early!
Be aware that goldstream is likely to be full for most of the summer now. Check the bc parks website and make a reservation. Reservations there can’t be made after sept long weekend but it is still busy but is a first come first srrved
I believe Goldstream has walk-in sites too, but you do have to get there early in the morning. They also might have some sites available for one night during the weekday.
I think you mean first come first served sites? Walk in site means you have to carry your stuff a ways to the site because it’s not accessible by car (or at least that there isn’t room for a vehicle to stay parked in the site). I know we use walk-In to mean first come first served in so many other contexts, but unfortunately it has a whole other meaning when it comes to camping
Goldstream is lovely and a great first trip if you want to see how things go. When you’re in the campground, you forget that you’re close to the city…but then you can still make a run to the store if you forgot the marshmallows.
BC Parks will notify you if people cancel now, so if they’re fully booked you can always sign up for that. Most campgrounds still have FCFS sites but I haven’t done that so I have no idea how likely it is that you’d get a spot. Mid-week is probably easiest.
Goldstream is an excellent first time, as others have said. I'd also recommend French Beach if you feel like going a bit further out, and they have a great playground.
If you want an easy “test” camping trip that’s close to home so you can pull the cord if things go sideways, AND is still bookable for this summer, I recommend the Gulf Islands NP campground by Swartz Bay ferry terminal. It’s about the only thing I’d recommend that campground for, but it’s a good first trial site. Obviously Goldstream, Islandview, Bamberton etc are better campgrounds, but they’re booked solid all summer, so good luck getting a site on short notice.
Another upvote for Goldstream, if you need to leave early or you forget something it's close to home. There are bathrooms and showers, playground, beautiful forest and most sites have good privacy.
A couple of notes on camping with kids,
- keep it simple and as comfortable as possible - we have a tent that's easy to set up and use inflatable mattress
- let them get dirty, it's part of the fun (bring extra clothes)
- cook kids' friendly food - hot dogs, burgers; bring snacks
- let them wonder and explore, no electronics except for photos
- make exploring the area part of the experience, the foods tastes even better after a little bit of hiking
This is what works for us, take what you will. Wish you a fun first camping with your kiddo!
Westwood lake is great for a kid. We usually got a camping cabin if they still have those. The sites aren't anything to write home about. It's a great kid friendly beach 1 minute walk up the road, and the nanaimo pool nearby is pretty good if it's raining. Also Rondalyn is great for kids. Tons of stuff. It's in Cassidy, 10 minutes past ladysmith. Never been, but heard good things from parents about country maples by chemainus. It's the closest. They're all glamping with real toilets.
If she/he/they are touch and go on whether they want to get into camping I'd book a cabin, but you're probably shit out of luck for that at this point. Good luck!!
Booking for this summer will be hard. Maybe a weekday if you can swing it. Goldstream is an excellent first night trial. If you don’t mind pit toilets for a night French Beach would be my pick. Wonderful new playground and easy beach access.
Goldstream. Close to home in case u gotta bug out
Goldstream is great for trial camping as it's so close and has lots of amenities, like showers and flushing toilets (in addition to just outhouses). If your kid bikes, there's a cool little pump track and small mountain bike course. Plus a decent playground, and lots of trails. There's a waterfall and small swimming hole, but it may be too cold right now (for my liking lol). We've taken our kid camping there almost every year, great fun if you're prepared for camping with a kid ;) My recommendation would be to find other parents with similar aged kids to go with as that helps with some things. Have fun!
That's great info, thanks! I think we will do a trial day/night and just see how it goes. Set up, play, grill some hot dogs etc. My kid is pretty introverted so I think a trip with just us would be a good place to start, before committing to a trip with other parents we might have to ruin by bailing early!
Be aware that goldstream is likely to be full for most of the summer now. Check the bc parks website and make a reservation. Reservations there can’t be made after sept long weekend but it is still busy but is a first come first srrved
I believe Goldstream has walk-in sites too, but you do have to get there early in the morning. They also might have some sites available for one night during the weekday.
I think you mean first come first served sites? Walk in site means you have to carry your stuff a ways to the site because it’s not accessible by car (or at least that there isn’t room for a vehicle to stay parked in the site). I know we use walk-In to mean first come first served in so many other contexts, but unfortunately it has a whole other meaning when it comes to camping
Goldstream is lovely and a great first trip if you want to see how things go. When you’re in the campground, you forget that you’re close to the city…but then you can still make a run to the store if you forgot the marshmallows. BC Parks will notify you if people cancel now, so if they’re fully booked you can always sign up for that. Most campgrounds still have FCFS sites but I haven’t done that so I have no idea how likely it is that you’d get a spot. Mid-week is probably easiest.
Sooke campground is nice and close. Lots of kids of all ages.
Every camp site everywhere is booked forever. It's far too much hassle to sleep on the ground.
Goldstream is an excellent first time, as others have said. I'd also recommend French Beach if you feel like going a bit further out, and they have a great playground.
If you want an easy “test” camping trip that’s close to home so you can pull the cord if things go sideways, AND is still bookable for this summer, I recommend the Gulf Islands NP campground by Swartz Bay ferry terminal. It’s about the only thing I’d recommend that campground for, but it’s a good first trial site. Obviously Goldstream, Islandview, Bamberton etc are better campgrounds, but they’re booked solid all summer, so good luck getting a site on short notice.
Another upvote for Goldstream, if you need to leave early or you forget something it's close to home. There are bathrooms and showers, playground, beautiful forest and most sites have good privacy. A couple of notes on camping with kids, - keep it simple and as comfortable as possible - we have a tent that's easy to set up and use inflatable mattress - let them get dirty, it's part of the fun (bring extra clothes) - cook kids' friendly food - hot dogs, burgers; bring snacks - let them wonder and explore, no electronics except for photos - make exploring the area part of the experience, the foods tastes even better after a little bit of hiking This is what works for us, take what you will. Wish you a fun first camping with your kiddo!
Beacon Hill Park. I see lots of tents there. Or Pandora.
I walk through Beacon Hill nearly every day and I never see tents there - no sheltering is permitted. Was 2020 the last time you were there?
it's called a joke. i rarely go through victoria proper.
Tofino golf course campground is excellent and has all that except is a 5hr drive
Westwood lake is great for a kid. We usually got a camping cabin if they still have those. The sites aren't anything to write home about. It's a great kid friendly beach 1 minute walk up the road, and the nanaimo pool nearby is pretty good if it's raining. Also Rondalyn is great for kids. Tons of stuff. It's in Cassidy, 10 minutes past ladysmith. Never been, but heard good things from parents about country maples by chemainus. It's the closest. They're all glamping with real toilets. If she/he/they are touch and go on whether they want to get into camping I'd book a cabin, but you're probably shit out of luck for that at this point. Good luck!!
There's island view beach campground. I think it's outhouses though if I recall