Escape to Our Top 5 Hidden Vancouver Island Campsites
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- čas přidán 14. 06. 2024
- Welcome back to Backroad Journals.
2023 was an exciting year for us here on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. We explored new places, met new people and stayed in some beautiful campsites.
Join us today, as we look back at our 5 favorite hidden campsites on the Island.
If you enjoy a bit of an adventure, then you will find a plethora of free camping here on Vancouver Island.
All but one site on this list are free of charge and well worth the extra bit of effort to get to.
So sit back, relax and enjoy the video, and maybe we'll see you along the road somewhere.
All the best,
Michelle and Holger 🙏
If you would like to watch the full adventure for each campsite, just click the ink below:
An Unexpected Find: • VANCOUVER ISLAND OCEAN...
Remote Beach Camp: • The Beauty of Side Bay...
The Mystical Lake: • We Just Found The PERF...
The Bay: • Is This The Perfect Va...
The Island: • Unplugged and Happy: E...
00:00 Intro
00:54 An Unexpected Find
02:42 Remote Beach Camp
04:58 The Mystical Lake
07:21 The Bay
10:32 The Island
#vancouverisland #explorebc #britishcolumbia #camping
That island, wow! So beautiful and my fave of all the places you were in 2023. Thanks for sharing your experiences and promoting good habits and etiquette when using public sites. 👍👍
Thank You very much 👍! And now on to new adventures 🙂.
All the best,
Michelle and Holger 🙏
Loved this! You guys have some beautiful shots. And some of these places seem Squatchyyyyyy
Thank You 👍! Have not seen one... yet🙂!
Thank You for following along and all the best,
Michelle and Holger 🙏
WOW, what paradisiacal places.
Thank You 🙂! Glad you enjoyed the video 👍.
All the best,
Michelle and Holger
What a beautiful showcase of all the places you've been.....we remember each of those spots from watching you r videos!
Love seeing the difference in your set up as compared to 2013
Love the simple yet stunning sunset colors at 7:11
Your friend Wyman (hope that's correct spelling) little piece of this planet is unbelievable.
Home run again guys as always.
Thanks for the trip back!
Thank You! We just realized that that is the only place on the list that is not by the ocean😂!
Thank You so much for following along, of to new adventures now 🙂👍.
All the best,
Michelle and Holger 🙏
We need to get over to the island. I would love to camp at the second place on the beach.
That sure is a beautiful place 🙂. Thank you for tuning in 👍
All the best,
Michelle and Holger
@@brianmclaughlin5603 absolutely agree Brian!! We hope to get over to the Island this year for sure!
Great vid 😊 adventure on the island is awesome 👏 keep exploring ✌️
Thank You 👍!
Safe and happy travels,
Michelle and Holger 🙏
Addios canada
You guys really do an amazing job! We are totally enjoying checking out all your videos now, just discovered your channel a few weeks ago. ❤
Thank You so much 🙂! Glad to hear that you are enjoying our videos.
Thank You for following along and all the best from Vancouver Island,
Michelle and Holger 🙏
Camping. but back country camping in particular allows one to meet the most wonderful people.
Absolutely agree, it makes the experience so much better 👍.
Great choices😁
You got in some great trips in 2023 and hopefully you'll get many more in 2024😀
Thank You👍! it's been a heck of a year.
Thank you for following along,
Michelle and Holger 🙏
That’s Island hideaway…wow!
Yeah, that was special 🙂!
All the best,
Michelle and Holger 🙏
The landscape is just breathtaking, and the views are absolutely mesmerizing! Thank you so much for sharing this incredible video. Big Like!💛👍Subscribed💫
Such amazing vlogs forever I really enjoyed it stay connected
Thank You🙂! Glad you enjoyed the video.
All the best,
Michelle and Holger🙏
The second lake that starts with an H is so magical. They recently relocated elk in that area to populate it. I live in Port Alberni, and I adventure these back roads all the time
It's a special place!
Thanks for watching.
All the best,
Michelle and Holger 🙏
Really nice campsites. I hope to venture north more this year. Great video. 😊
Thank You! There is so much to explore on the island, you'll never have to leave 🙂.
All the best,
Michelle and Holger 🙏
Another great example of why we are so lucky to live on this little island in the Pacific 🏝️
Thank you for not naming all of your fave spots because they are my favourites as well 😊
Let's help others to enjoy these places.
Our pleasure👍. You either know, or you don't🙂. The whole point is to go out and explore 👍.
Thank You so much for following along and maybe we bump into each other at some point,
Michelle and Holger 🙏
I've been to "The Bay " some 20 years ago. I did not want to leave.
Neither did we 🙂!
All the best,
Michelle and Holger🙏
Nice video, brings back many memories! I suggest you consider a trip to Sointula and the campground at Bere Point, bring a kayak or canoe, there's a whale rubbing beach right there.
Thanks for the tips! Just looked it up and it sure looks like a place that we would enjoy🙂!
All the best,
Michelle and Holger 🙏
Great video! We're planning a trip to VI this summer. Curious how you know if camping is allowed or not allowed at a particular spot. I don't mind wandering and finding camp spots but the last thing anyone wants is to set up camp and then have someone come by and tell you you can't camp there. What are the best resources for Canada/BC/VI to know where it's allowed or not?
Thank You very much for watching! We use Gaia GPS to find locations to camp, either rec sites or wild camping spots. With Gaia GPS you will have the option to use different map layers like Backroad Mapbooks, Topography maps, overland maps, etc.. Use the color legend to see where you are allowed to camp (crown land, forestry).
Gaia will also show you a bunch of rec sites, but do your research before going to any of those, as some of them are difficult to get to, or even closed.
Hope that helps.
Have fun on VI.
All the best,
Michelle and Holger 🙏
@@backroadjournals thank you! I’ve used Gaia extensively just not familiar with Canada layers. I’ll check it out. Are you allowed to wild camp anywhere in Crown and forestry areas?
@@scottsnyder8691 There are a lot of gates here on VI, especially South and Central Island that were put up by the logging companies. Nonetheless, there are plenty of opportunities to camp. The most prominent logging company is Mosaic, and you can check gate closures/openings on their website. However, we found their information to not always be accurate.
You can camp anywhere on crownland for up to 2 weeks at a time, unless otherwise indicated
@@backroadjournals thank you!
... and now they are no longer "hidden" ... sigh
Let's share with our fellow man and let others enjoy it too.
That is the spirit of what we are trying to do🙂👍!
All the best,
Michelle and Holger 🙏
Thank You very much for watching👍! We certainly understand your concern about overexposing certain areas. We are trying to walk a fine line of trying to inspire people to get out and explore and not giving away names, locations or directions.
If you watched the video, then you may have noticed, that we did not give any of this away.
We did not even mention the name and location of the only official, paid campground on this list.
We found all of these places by exploring and luck and in one case by invite only..
If you are one of the lucky ones that actually has been to all of these places then we really commend you for your adventurous spirit, as some of these locations are not easy to get to.
Keep adventuring and all the best,
Michelle and Holger 🙏
Quick question about your access to these sites... correct me if I'm wrong, but sure looks like these aren't book-before-you-go campsites, but places you're literally driving into and camping at. Please inform me about this. I live in WA and we (as far as I know) have nothing like this. You obviously have the right vehicle to do it, but I am curious about how you know a good place that will allow you to access by car all the way up to your preferred spot?
Thank You so much for watching🙂!
The only reservable site on this list is 'The Bay', and The Island was by invite only. All other sites are just drive-in and hope that no one is there.
We do a lot of research through backroad maps (Gaia GPS), compare that with google earth and google maps to find locations that we want to explore.
Even with all of that research, we don't always end up where we were planning to end up. Some Roads may be gated off or just overgrown. It really is hit and miss sometimes.
A lot of the sites we end up in are on Crown Land, similar to BLM Land in the States.
I hope this helps.
All the best,
Michelle and Holger 🙏