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Category Archives: Camping

Camping in Canada for many Canadians is the key ingredient to a successful summer. Camping means something quite different to each individual depending on the tolerance level and ability to accept outdoor conditions of the individual. Financial capacity and willingness to bring the comforts of home to your outdoor adventure can also change a camping style.

This means that there is a vast array of camping experiences available to you in Canada and if you are going “camping” with someone for the first time, you may want to ask questions and discover what “camping” means to the individual or group you are going to be sharing the outdoors experience with. I say this with a smile but it is also a grave safety concern.

Many campers embark on a camping excursion unprepared and this unpreparedness can sometimes result in an array of negative experiences that may impact your impression of camping before you actually have a fair chance to enjoy camping. (If you live to tell about it)

Before you say yes to joining a camping trip in Canada, find out the following:

1) Will you be hiking to a campsite with no facilities and carrying all of your own supplies with you? This to some is just pure torture. To me, it is heaven!

2) Will you be hiking in a well established park or on crown land? What is the difference? In National and Provincial Parks there are nice trails and lots of safety features. On crown land, you are like Robinson Crusoe and you better be prepared to survive.
3) Will you be driving to a campsite and setting up camp? If you do not require a backpack it will certainly change what you will be packing for camp.

4) Does the campsite have washrooms or showers? For my wife, this is the important question. Provincial Parks have great facilities but many of them do not have showers or flush toilets. Are you prepared to deal with the hardship of smelly outhouses? To be honest, that is one reason I like roughing it on crown land. On Crown Land there are no buildings and I make my own washroom by digging a small hole and filling it back in when done. This way there is no smelly outhouses and no impact on the environment as long as you are a safe distance away from any body of water.

5) Will you be in a tent, back country cabin, yurt, or motorhome? All of these options are called camping as well. The difference is the size of your budget.

6)If you are camping for the first time with a group, the most important factor for you may be to find out what activities will you be doing on the camping trip. This information will allow you to pack the correct gear. Many folks like to just completely relax in a lawn chair and sit by the fire all day and night…usually this activity is combined with copious amounts of drinking alcohol.

Other folks will have boats and fishing gear so you will have to ensure you have the proper life jackets for you size etc.

If you are camping with me, expect a good hike, possibly a little shelter building and being awed by various wild animals in their natural habitat. That is camping to me but I also enjoy just doing almost nothing while tenting or living in a motorhome near by a lake close to home for the weekend.

Whatever type of camping experience you decide on embarking on, have fun be safe and when you get back home, drop by TracksAndTrails to rate your camping experience.

The following posts listed below are a few examples of different types of camping opportunities in Canada.