My Review of Banbury Green - Camp Trip #6 of 2015

Camp Trip #6 of 2015

When: June 19-21st - Father’s Day Weekend
Where: Banbury Green, Kaleden, BC 
Who: 5 adults, 5 kids, 2 dogs

Annually we book Father’s Day weekend at Banbury Green in Kaleden. This is our 3^rd time for Father's Day but it is about the 8th time I have camped at this location. We book this campsite because of its close proximity to Penticton and full hookups. We also love the beach front. However, like all Okanagan campgrounds, fees keep creeping up due to increased popularity.

Allow me to give you a description of Banbury. This campground is on private property. The property is lakefront (Skaha Lake). This campground has a shower house (free showers) and flush toilets scattered throughout the property. It has a boat launch and in the summer you can rent paddleboats and canoes right from shore. It has a dock and a small playground. The KVR trail is accessible through this campground. Some of the sites are small, others large – especially lakefront spots. I find that most spots are shaded. Campers may argue which sites are the best. My favorite spots are North 22-24. Here is an updated site map for you to take a look at. http://www.banburygreen.com/PDFs/site_map.pdf

 

Now, if you are willing to pay the fees to stay at Banbury, by all means, this is an awesome campground. We paid $57.50 per night for Father’s Day weekend in June. “High Season” started on June 19^th, the day we arrived. We were in an RV so we paid the most. They even asked us at check-in how many adults and kids we had in our party as there are now extra charges over and above your family of 2 adults and 2 kids.

Here is the pricing direct from their website:
Tents:
Low Season: $30.00 per night + Tax
High Season: $45.00 per night + Tax
RVs/Trailers etc:
Low Season: $40.00 per night + Tax
High Season: $55.00 per night + Tax

The daily rate per site is based on a family of 4 i.e. 2 adults and 2 children. An adult is any person 17 years or older. Children 16 and under stay free. The maximum number of adults per site is 4. The maximum number of persons permitted on a site is 6 - no exceptions. Additional adults are $5.00 per person per night.

If you have read my previous blogs about Banbury you will know that 3 Father’s Days ago, we received a noise complaint for our 90’s on 9 sirius satellite being too loud for the tenters camping next to us. Again the camp host brought it up to my brother when he checked in. Ugh. Get over it! It almost makes me want to register as “Mickey Mouse” next time just so we aren’t attached to one infraction 3 years ago. 

 

Some of the good things about Banbury – they are dog friendly, safe roads for kids to bike, beach front sites, flush toilets and free showers. You can bring an extra vehicle and park it for free by the office (assuming there is space). There is a pie lady that frequents the campground on weekends. Her Mom makes pies, jams, treats, bread etc. The food is awesome! I recommend trying her food.

Some of the not so good things about Banbury – the price and the management. This is my opinion as this is my blog. I have said it so many times – campsite hosts can make or break a camping trip. When you are trying to get people to return and book again, friendliness goes a long way. When you want locals to recommend your campsite to tourists, you should leave a lasting impression on them. Nobody at Banbury comes around to say hi. Nobody asks how your experience was. Nobody even smiles. The office isn’t even open most times you drive or walk past it.


This year we had a ridiculous wind storm. We couldn't enjoy our fire or each other's company. Bad luck for us! We spent most of our weekend hunkered down protecting our awning and tent from blowing away. The kids did have 1 day of swimming in the lake which was nice. Lots of bike riding to be had and we always have a potluck dinner on Saturday night to honor the Fathers.

3 Father’s Day trips is enough at Banbury for us. We are booking elsewhere next year. As much as we love the spot, we don’t love the price. So we will be looking for a better suited spot next year! Possibly we will duke it out to get a spot at Chain Lake next year for a 1/4 of the price – on the lake.

I rate Banbury a 4/6. They lose points for customer service and price. They should also add a sani station. No sewer hook ups on the lake.