My review of Bear Creek Provincial Park - Camp Trip # 1 of 2015

Camp Trip #1 of 2015

When: March 27th-29th
Where: Bear Creek Provincial Park
Who: 2 adults, 2 teenagers, 2 kids, 2 dogs and a couple visitors


The excitement *may* have been similar to Christmas Eve in our house on Thursday evening. Kids had all of their worldly possessions packed. Food was prepared. The last few items on the list were ready to be ticked off in the morning.

Our original plan was to leave Penticton at 6am so that we could be there for 7am when the gates opened for the first time of the season. Once I crawled into bed at 11pm, I has second thoughts. Instead I shut my alarm off and knew the kids would wake me up.

We left the house around 7:30. We rolled into Bear Creek at 8:30am - anxious and excited to pick a spot!  I quickly scanned the area. One vehicle in a spot with a couple setting up a tent. Good timing! We were 1/2 way around the first turn when we were met by Patrick, the camp facilitator. He greeted us with a warm smile and pointed out that 3 sites were already reserved and paid for at 7am. He, like us, had also contemplated whether there would be anyone sitting at the gates at 7. He said there was 3 people in line. He was quick to remind us that camp fees went up to $35 a night, sani was still at $5 and extra vehicles remained at $12 per night. We discussed whether we thought it would be busy, the weather, the best sites for the kids closest to the playgrounds and off we went.

We pulled up to site # 35. It was the best for us. Close to the playground, against the open green space, large enough and close to the bathrooms. I pulled in and paid the man. Then we set up camp!

Love the big green spaces. If you are headed out to this spot, make sure to bring lots of stuff to do. Here are some of the things we saw people/kids doing this weekend: Soccer, Bocci ball, geocaching, frisbee, baseball, football, flying a kite. Bring it all! Just watch out for goose poop. There is a lot of it.

I absolutely LOVE this campground for kids on bikes. It's flat with lots of speed bumps to slow cars down. There are 3 large loops for the kids to race around. We saw kids on bikes, long boards and scooters. Don't leave home without something for the kids to race around on! You will regret it otherwise.

The weekend was great. The campsites filled up rather quickly. They only had 1 loop open. This was sites 1-44. I really do believe that all sites at Bear Creek are quality sites. They are well spaced with lots of choices in shady, sunny, lake sites or private sites. Some of the doubles are quite small. I wouldn't use doubles - to me they are a waste of money. Get single sites with your friends and family for the same price and way more space. Like I said it last year's review, doubles are NOT made for trailers - or anything with slide outs.... unless you are a slide out and your neighbor is a tent.

One thing that made me very happy to see as I walked my dogs throughout the loops was the amount of people that get "into the spirit" of camping. Campers hung decorations, lights, paper lanterns and neat little decorative stakes into the ground.

Of course the weather wasn't exactly cooperative. We chased every ray of sunshine that we could with our chairs but we wrapped ourselves with blankets around the fire at night. It was damp and chilly. NOTE: when trying to light a fire for the first time of the year in the fire pits at provincial parks, bring in your own DRY wood and dry kindling. We had a heck of a time because the pits are wet and moist and cold and haven't had anything hot inside of it for months.

Regardless of duck poop and crappy weather (both out of our control) we had a good time and made the best of it!

Camp set up:

An interesting tip that I learned this weekend and didn't know. Bikes are free at Provincial Parks. One bike per adult. So you could come in with 5 adults on 5 bikes and put up a few tents and it would all be covered under one cost. Interesting to know!

So for this trip I have to give it a 5.5 /6 stars.
Patrick, our facilitator was friendly, happy and helpful.
The sites are fantastic. The amenities are perfect - playground, shower, bathroom, sani dump, trails, lake. 
Location is convenient. Just a few kms off Hwy 97 on Westside Road. Took us about 45 minutes to get there.
VERY pet friendly - I think every campsite had a dog. So many great trails for you to walk your dog. I put 10,000 steps on my fit bit in a day, no problem!
The only downfall to this is the price. :( $35 a night now (plus $5 sani) is steep... especially in shoulder season when you can't utilize 100% of the amenities (the lake). BC Parks really needs to put Bear Creek on its radar for electrical. Especially if it wants to keep jacking up the prices. Private campsites that offer the same beauty and include utilities is now looking much more appealing to me.


Next stop.... Pickard Creek, Hedley, BC - Easter weekend!

Smells like SPRING. Time for camping....

The sun is warm through the window.... the blades on my lawn are starting to turn bright shades of green.... Camping gear is starting to appear on the front pages of the Canadian Tire flyer.

So I guess it must be time :)

5 more sleeps until our first camping trip of the season!!

This year I will be blogging our camping trips with reviews and reflections of our time spent at various campgrounds around the Okanagan/Similkameen and Boundary Country.

First stop.... BEAR CREEK on Westside Road for opening day! March 27th. The trailer has been overhauled, stripped and cleaned, stocked and is ready to roll....

My list started out as a 3 pager this time.... to do - to make - to check - to pack - to buy. It's down to "to pack" and "to make" The first trip of the year is always the most expensive. My master wish list of stuff to buy for the trailer has been widdled down considerably.... but there are still things I really want to add.... Like a new Honda generator. One day!

Our first trip of the year will include 2 adults and 4 kids... plus 2 dogs. Yes, we are crazy! We picked Bear Creek as our first trip of the year for many reasons. We carefully considered the options this early in the year. We chose Bear Creek because 1) It has a playground 2) Its perfectly flat with paved roads which are best for little ones riding their bikes. 3) showers 4) low elevation.
We did not pick it for price. It is going to cost us $70 to camp for 2 nights at Bear Creek... plus $5 for the sani dump on our way out. STEEP!

This time of year, the pickings are slim. Provincial park wise in our area, this is what is open:
Stemwinder
Okanagan North
Bear Creek.
Because we have the kids, Bear Creek was the obviously and FLAT choice.

Although the cost to stay at Bear Creek now exceeds some private campgrounds, our only reason to stay here is because of the lack of choices. Lakeside Resort in Oliver is open but you must be 100% self sufficient - their bathrooms and showers are not open. Gallagher Lake Resort might be open too - but no fires allowed. No thanks!

In the meantime, while I count down the days, have you planned your camp trips yet? I hope so because the reservation line for Discover Camping BC opened on March 15th. Locally almost everything is sold out for the prime weekends.

This is our camp trip list so far this year!

Bear Creek, Provincial - Westbank
Pickard Creek, Forestry - Hedley
Gold Mountain RV Park, Private - Hedley
Ashnola, Forestry - Keremeos
Beaver Lake Resort, Private - Winfield
Banbury Greens, Private - Kaleden
Kettle River, Provincial - Rock Creek
Peach Orchard, Private - Summerland

This just takes us 1/2 way through July!

Stay tuned for our trip report on Bear Creek.

March 1st... with some trailer organization tips!

Finally. It's here. March. The gateway to camping season. Well, for us anyway. Our first camp trip is planned for spring break this month.

In anticipation of spring and camping season I have been busy trying to organize the trailer and making better use of the space. Here are some great tips I have found in my Pinterest searches. I applied some of them to my trailer. So far, I am happy with the organizational results! :)

Something I don't understand is why trailer manufacturers continue to install closets with no shelving. I have a wardrobe by our kitchen and 2 closets in the bedroom - none have shelves. They all have a rod for hangers. What a waste of space!

So I changed that.

What I found:

What I did to add space:
This can be purchased at a dollar store. It is made of vecro at the top and wraps around the rod. This one is small but it's better than a giant heap of clothes in my bedroom closet. It's a work in progress :)

My handy honey also built us some pantry shelves in our wasted space closet. How many coats do these people think we need to hang anyway?! The first owner built the cupboards on the left. We added more on the right. He used no-slip pantry liner to make sure things wouldn't slide around and also added a lip so nothing falls on us or the ground during transport. Nothing hurts more than a jar of spaghetti sauce landing on your foot!

#firstworldproblems - small space for dishes in the cupboard above the sink. First off, I am too short to see what a mess it is. Secondly, after we stop and set up camp and I open the cupboard, it never fails. Some sort of dish falls on my head. I needed better organization for my plastic plates and coffee cups.
This is what I found:

This is what I did:
This is a magazine rack. Also an organization rack for creating "layers" of stacking. Both can be purchased at the dollar store.

This picture below reminded me that I am constantly looking for the trailer keys and my sunglasses. Best to hang the keys up as soon as we park and unlock. Then the sunglasses when I come in for the night so that I remember where I put them.

So this is what my honey did:

Then we took it one step further so we could hang up the broom and dust pan, dog leashes, plastic bags, sweaters of whatever else we need by the front door :)

I REALLY liked this idea too... mostly for the kids. My daughter is a teenager. At night she crawls into her bunk and has a whole bunch of stuff to unload. Her phone to take pics on, her ipod for music, sunglasses, hair elastics, chapstick and whatever else is in her pockets. My son usually has his camping treasures he found that day, the book he is reading, a couple lego men stashed away plus marbles, a hat and a DS game or two.

It never fails when we get home. Stripping the sheets and finding everything that my kids thought they lost while camping - gone forever. I needed a place for each kid to hold their treasures while they slept.

So this is what I came up with. also purchased at the dollar store.It worked out perfect when my son had a friend some camping and he wore glasses. He put them safely in here at night. Then he woke up and fished them out in the morning.

Here is something that drives both my honey and I nuts.... TOYS. How many toys need to come camping and how do we keep them limited and all in one place?

This picture got me to thinking.....

So this is what we did. We bought 2 large size green bins. We took measurements first for some wasted space we had under our fridge. With those dimensions, we bought 2 of these. Each child gets to fill "their bin" with the things they want to take. It get stored away in transport. When we set up, it comes out and goes outside. Then back in it's spot when we go home.

 We still keep a separate collection of board games, cards, books, crayons, craft supplies and movies for rainy days - for everyone's use.
Of course our teenager isn't included in the bin limit. As long as she has her ipod for music, her phone to take photos, and a deck of cards, she is happy for DAYS.


After these ideas were complete, I continued measuring unused spaces. I took my measurements to the dollar store and was shocked by how many little containers and holders and bins and hooks and gizmos that I could find!

Here are a few:

 A pencil/pen holder is perfect for toothbrushes/paste

Assorted desk organizers and a q-tip holder are awesome additions for keeping "small things" organized in our medicine cabinet.

Larger see-through container for keeping shampoos/body washes/sunscreens and bug sprays from falling out while in transport.

This was probably my favorite find! Small squeezable bottles which are much more space sensible in our fridge door. We never use an entire bottle of mustard or ketchup. We need tiny ones so we can fit more beer! haha.


One more space organizer that I haven't put up yet. I searched high and low for one of these! I finally found one second hand. I am just trying to decide on the best space for it in our trailer. We have SO many maps, books, RV magazines, kids coloring books etc. It would be nice to put this up to better free up some drawer space. :)

Last but not least, THIS is how organized I am and how serious I take this "camping business" Who else do you know that has a camping binder?

 In this beauty I keep a calendar of all of our trips planned for the year, copies of reservations, site maps, tips and tricks, first aid instructions - guides to poisonous plants, fun campfire recipes, camping games, copies of scavenger hunt lists for the great outdoors, lists for organization purposes and on and on.

If you see something in your internet travels that you think belongs in my camping binder, please let me know! :)

26 sleeps until our first camp trip! But who's counting? ;)