Canada Camping Guide
Camping in Canada
Your guide to the best places in Canada to camp. plan your next camping trip here!
Canada is an incredible destination to go camping, with vast expanses of wilderness and a really well developed infrastructure. Across Canada there are a multitude of developed camping in provincial and national parks, as well as opportunities to wilderness camp. There are a variety of ways to enjoy camping in Canada, including self guided trips, RV or campervan holidays and guided camping tours in Canada. You can camp virtually anywhere in Canada, though we will outline some of our favourite places to go camping in Canada below.
When is best to go camping in Canada?
The season for camping in Canada is fairly long, and with a little planning you can get perfect conditions most of the time. In general, there is snow in early spring, followed by warming temperatures, then bugs, then brilliant summer weather, and then a return to cold and the onset of rain season in the fall. Naturally summer is the best time to go camping in Canada, though it is also when the crowds are at their peak and the campsites are toughest to book. We recommend trying to plan your trip for immediately after the bugs go away but before the crowds arrive in July, or right after the crowds go home in September but before the cold and rain of October sets in. Of course you can’t go wrong camping pretty much all summer long!
What should I bring on a camping trip in Canada?
What you should pack while camping in Canada depends largely on the type of camping you are doing. If you are car camping, you can pack all sorts of comfort items like wine, warm sleeping bags, camp chairs, propane fireplaces etc. If you are backpacking, you won’t want to lug those chairs up a mountain with you, but the wine might still fit in your bag!
Bottom line, just make sure you have a warm sleeping bag and a comfortable sleeping pad, with a weather proof tent and some good food. Make sure you have a solid bag to carry everything in, a headlamp and something to start a campfire with. Don’t forget some warm clothes, a bathing suit and rain gear!
Where are the best places to go camping in canada?
The short answer is literally everywhere, but we will try and narrow it down a bit to some of the more popular places to go camping.
Camping in British Columbia:
Some of the best camping in Canada is in BC, with a huge variety of climates and geographic zones to go camping in. Exploring the west coast is completely different than the desert ranges in the interior of BC, with completely different temperatures and climate, as well as different plants and even animals. Go camping in BC if you want to do a road trip, be near a lake, hike some mountains, or do some paddling.
Camping in Alberta (The Canadian Rockies):
Camping in the Canadian Rockies is one of the best adventure trips in Canada. There are a ton of well developed campgrounds in each of the national parks. You need to reserve the campsites before you arrive, although there are sometimes last minute sites that open up. If you are planning on using a first come first served site, you should be there first thing in the morning to get your site. During your camping trip in the Rockies, you can explore the many hikes and trails in Banff, Jasper and Yoho National Parks. (Technically Yoho is in BC, but we will lump it together with the rest of the Rockies). It can get colder at night in the Rockies, and can snow any time of year, so make sure you have some warm layers and a good sleeping bag!
Camping in Ontario:
Camping in Ontario is amazing. There are lots of areas to wilderness camp, and also lots of parks with campsites and campgrounds. Camping in Ontario is best paired with a paddling trip. You can go sea kayaking on a lake, or canoeing down a river. One very popular place to go camping in Ontario is Algonquin Provincial Park. There is a lot of wildlife there so make sure you camp responsibly and store your food in bear proof containers.
