My Review of Ashnola River - Camp Trip # 4 of 2015

Camp Trip #4 of 2015
When: May 14th - 18th
Where: Ashnola River - Keremeos, BC
Who: 7 adults, 5 kids, 4 dogs.

 May Long weekend - the gateway to camping season for some. Just another camping weekend to most avid campers. Interestingly enough, I had a conversation with another avid camper. Knowing he is a hard-core camper, I asked him where he and his family were camping for May Long this year. He chuckled and said "This is the weekend that rookies camp. We avoid camping on this weekend" What an interesting concept. He is right. I have camped every May Long since I was 16 years old - with the exception of my dear Brother's wedding (how dare he pick May Long to get married! haha.) Regardless, every year May long is a gong show. It's hard to find a place to camp that isn't booked solid or free sites packed with campers arriving on Tuesday to secure their spots. I have camped all over the Okanagan valley for May Long weekend. I have seen my fair share of nightmares occur. Everything from accidents, to fines from conservation officers, out of control fires and parties that go until the next morning. My friend was right, although tradition plays a large role in why I camp on May Long, it is definitely the weekend that the rookies come out to play - sometimes those who have the least amount of respect for our beautiful back-country.

To avoid the riffraff and enjoy our own solitude, we like to camp along the Ashnola river. May long weekend is a dangerous time to camp along a river with run off allowing the river to rise 2-3 feet during the weekend.  However, our children have been taught river safety since they were old enough to understand hand signals. My father watched a young boy drown in the Similkameen river when he was young. He instilled it into my brain very young and I have done the same with my kids.

*** A WORD OF CAUTION*** This is a fast moving river with powerful undercurrent. Even the most experienced swimmer can get caught in the undertow and be swept away. Keep children and pets away from the river!

 I have reviewed on this campground before and all of the reasons why I love it and the Ashnola area in general.


DIRECTIONS: Drive to Keremeos. If travelling from the Penticton area, take the bypass and drive as if you are headed to Princeton. When you see the Red Bridge in sight (just a couple kms from the bypass turn off onto the highway), turn left onto the road and go over the red bridge. From there you will have a nice scenic drive through country side pastures and farms. You will drive through a reserve, past the pow-wow grounds (also a great campground!!). As the paved road turns to gravel, set your odometer. This is "ground zero" from this marking drive up and take in the surroundings. There is something heart warming to me as I drive along the Ashnola River. Large river boulders, steep cliffs, fauna and a dirt road. There are MANY campgrounds along the way. Some are rec sites - run by the LSIB. They have user fees so be aware if you camp in one of these marked campgrounds. There are man-made pull offs along the way as well. As soon as you get to km 16, you will notice the road is not grated and maintained. From here on up, there is no fee to camp.

Since the Ashnola is becoming increasingly popular, I won't say which KM marking our favorite campsite is - go explore for yourself! But I will warn you that past 19km, the road gets narrow in parts and there are some major rock slides that you will not get a car through. So be prepared if you are headed past 16 kms.

On to our May Long trip this year! 

Every year we contemplate whether our favorite spot will be taken when we get up the mountain. This year a couple of us headed up on Wednesday afternoon and dropped the trailers off and set up a tent. Thankfully our space was vacant so we set up camp and locked up. We headed out of town on Thursday after work. Kids, dogs, a tank full of water and enough groceries and booze to last us 4 nights. Since it's such a long haul back to town, we try to make sure we are over-prepared. Just in case! The trip takes us approximately an hour and 30 minutes - with no trailer in tow. One thing to know about the Ashnola area is there are mosquitoes and they are BIG.  We carry "OFF" in the truck and immediately spray ourselves when we get there. We go to work setting up our gazebo tent with screens and shelter for the kids to play bug and rain free.

In the mountains, the weather comes and goes so fast. we had 1 overnight and early morning of torrential downpour but most days consisted of tank tops and shorts. The weather really was on our side this May Long!

Dead fall is everywhere. So bring a chainsaw. You will never have a shortfall of wood. We left 1/2 a cord behind for the next campers!

 This is what we love about the change up of camping in the bush with no neighbours. We can have our music up loud (which we did - a dance party happened!!) The kids can shoot their BB guns and bow and arrows safely and our dogs can roam free. No-pay camping doesn't hurt either!

The only downfalls to camping 45 minutes from a town and cell service is emergencies and the pain when you forget something or run out and need to drive to town to get it. In the end, camping in solitude is worth it!




One last thing I would like to add about this camp trip is that I FINALLY used my Coleman "Pudgy Pie" maker. WOW.... it made the most perfect grilled ham and cheese that I have every had! I have tons of recipes on different pudgy pie recipes. You can add everything from leftover spaghetti to nutella and banana to bacon and eggs! I am going to go buy a couple more. I suggest you go grab one too. They are sold at Canadian Tire and Walmart.
What a pudgy pie griller looks like - click here
Recipes found here on Pinterest!

All in all, we had an excellent May Long weekend with friends, kids and dogs galore.

*Same score as always*
SOLD 4 1/2 stars from me. It gets points for - free, pet friendly, no facilitators (private), play your music as LOUD as you want, tons of space, shady and sunny, on a river. Downfalls - no cell service, 45 minutes from town, no hookups (obviously)
If you are a back country camper, THIS is your spot! You will not be disappointed!

Next on our 2015 camping adventure -

GOLD MOUNTAIN RV PARK!

We had previously booked Beaver Lake but we just couldn't pass up another theme weekend at Gold Mountain so we cancelled our reservation and booked with Tracy and Dave at Gold Mountain. The theme is "Mardi Gras". Event details for the weekend include: Bocci Ball Tournament, Dessert Potluck, Kid's Bike Parade and an Ice Cream bar. Who can say no to that?

June is a busy camping month for us! Stay tuned and thanks for reading! Be share to click "share this post" with your friends and family!

My Review of Gold Mountain RV Park - Camp Trip # 3 of 2015

Camp Trip #3 of 2015
When: April 30- May 3rd
Where: Gold Mountain RV Park , Hedley, BC
Who: 20 adults, 15 kids, 7 dogs,

Where do I even start?

I couldn’t wait to get home to start my blog on this camp trip. 35 of us set off to camp at Gold Mountain in Hedley. We arrived and left on different days. My experience is based off a 3 night stay Thurs-Sun. I wish we didn’t have to leave.

From the moment we arrived on Thursday afternoon, the flawless hospitality started. Dave and Tracy were quick to greet us and back us into our river view sites. With a quick reminder to “stay away from the river banks” and not to go down by the river, my 8 year old was off running and I barely saw him again the rest of the weekend.

Our party stayed in sites 9 through 12, 14, 15, 16, 22 and cabins 1 & 2 and even the rented RV which sits in site # 2. The campground is small enough that you can feel safe letting the school aged kids run free (as long as they understand the dangers of the river!) Everything is nice and close - bathrooms, playgrounds etc.

Of course we tried our hardest to be respectful of the other campers that didn’t belong to our group. But all bets were off Saturday night when the party started! Saturday’s “country & western” theme starts at 1pm with the beginnings of an awesome (and competitive) horseshoe tournament! The finals carried us through right until dinner started at 6pm. All guests brought a good old fashioned pot luck dish to go with the tasty baron beef roast that Dave BBQ’d all day for us. It was a scrumptious dinner enjoyed by a community of campers. Dave brought out some communal liquor (wow!!) We all enjoyed the green grass, company and gorgeous weather. There were horse games too and so many were dressed up in their boots and hats. It made for a great day! We had a few communal fire pits going with music until quite late – this was expected but also respectfully low for other campers who were early to bed. The kids had nerf gun wars and played tag in the dark. Everyone was smiling and happy!

Gold Mountain has a couple more upcoming theme weekends. Mardi Gras and Mexican. One at the beginning of June and the other in October. Get your sites quick!

In case this is your first time reading me blog about Gold Mountain, I will update you on the amenities.
- Fire pits in all of the sites plus a communal fire pit. Firewood $8 for wheel barrow full.
- Coin operated showers ($1 for a generous 5 minutes) plus flush toilets and a laundry facility
- Free wifi – although the cell service is shotty and Roger’s apparently does work
- Free cable – 2 channels but hey, it’s free!
- Free sani dump. How awesome is that?
- Playground, giant chess game, horseshoe pits, summer kitchen and morning coffee is always on for guests
- Gold panning, tubing and fishing in the river!
- Little store with ice and the basics that you may have forgotten.

$31 a night gets you all of that plus power and water. 4 cabins available for rent and even an rv – nice one too!

If there was any suggestion I would make for Gold Mountain it would be to try to create more of a beach along the river. It would be so awesome if we could sit in the river with our lawn chairs for hours on end in the summer :)

 The trees keep this campground both shaded and available for sun seekers. We moved our chairs around chasing the sun. It was beautiful weather and we all enjoyed the manicured lawns and conversation with other campers.

 My little slice of heaven. Having breakfast with this view from campsite # 12

Who wouldn't want to cook breakfast on an open fire pit with this kind of view?

Sites 12, 11, 10. As you can see, they are spacious enough to have multiple slide outs!

Pets are welcome – on leashes and all guests must clean up after them. That is understandable though. It’s respect. There are tons of green areas to walk your dogs. You can also walk the highway down to Doug’s Homestead and pick up some jerky. Word of caution – get there at 9 when they open if you want to get any. They sell out right away. I also understand a new restaurant will be opening up on the premises. I am excited to try this out next time I am there. It opens May 15th. Hedley is only a 5 minute drive and has a general store which sells liquor. Just in case you run out.

This is the perfect place for a family reunion or even a group gathering like we did.
Gold Mountain gets a 6/6 stars from me!

• Pet Friendly
• Good value for the price - better than Provincial!
• Great amenities
• Location is ideal - a little over an hour from Penticton and you don't have to fight traffic.
• The best camp facilitators you will ever find! 
• Shaded and Sunny spots - some smaller, some spacious. All green and nicely manicured.

You cannot even stay at any of the popular Okanagan provincial parks anymore for $31 a night. This is $31 but includes water, power and free sani!

Book this gem! People are catching on quickly to the amazing hospitality. This place is a rising star.

Hands down, it’s the best campground around.