11 Unique Ways to Camp Across Canada

One of the best ways to connect with Canada’s vast wilderness is with an RV camping vacation. Few destinations have the “wow” factor of Canada’s natural surroundings and as many services in place to create that once-in-a-lifetime, memorable experience. Camping encourages visitors to linger, smell the wildflowers, and enjoy a beautiful sunrise or a star-filled nighttime sky. It’s about connecting to simpler times when getting away with the family was affordable, offering something that appeals to all ages.

Hands down, a visit to Canada’s national and provincial parks opens the door to exploring some of the world’s most untouched wilderness. The landscape stretches from sea to sea to sea, and in that boundless space, one can truly find it all: towering mountains, vast grasslands, forests stretching for miles, rocky ocean seashore, and the serenity of pristine rainforest.

Canada’s provinces and territories are peppered with campsites. Connecting with nature and the country’s history is high on the list at the Parks Canada locations offering camping. The Parks Canada website includes a Camping 101 page for newbies learning the ropes. Much of the information is aimed at tent campers but is also suitable for RVers. www.parkscanada.ca

Also, each of the 10 provinces and three territories has its own provincial parks and tourism departments dedicated to helping visitors discover the best fit for their camping style.

1. The Dark Sky Preserves at Jasper National Park (Alberta), Waterton Lakes National Park (Alberta), Fundy National Park (New Brunswick), Grasslands National Park (Saskatchewan), Terra Nova National Park (Newfoundland), and Wood Buffalo National Park (spanning the Alberta-Northwest Territories border) are among the continent’s darkest campsites. Parc National du Mont-Mégantic (part of the Quebec provincial park network) is also renowned for its dark sky programs with an onsite ASTROLab and year-round astronomy evenings. Check park websites for campground information.

2. The hiking trails through the Tablelands at Gros Morne National Park in Newfoundland cross over some of the oldest exposed rock on the planet. The Tablelands tells the story of continental collision—the distinct orange peridotite rock is a slice of ancient ocean floor, thrust to the surface, and one of the few spots on the globe where you can walk on the mantle of the Earth. Gros Morne’s campgrounds have staggered opening dates from mid-May with five different campgrounds, three with serviced sites.

3. Driving along Nova Scotia’s twisty Cape Breton Cabot Trail is a bucket list road trip, especially for the RV enthusiast. It’s best to stretch the journey over several days; plan for six hours of driving with many bends and turns. Top up before beginning the route, as there are limited shops, propane stops, and dump stations. Cape Breton Highlands National Park has seven campgrounds (open from mid-May to mid-October), hiking and biking trails, and golf at the park’s Highlands Links Golf Course.

4. Prince Edward Island is famous for its lighthouses and long stretches of sand beach. At the far east of the island, Basin Head Provincial Park (day-use only) boasts a 15-kilometre stretch of beachfront. The pure white sand seems to “sing” when stepped on due to its high silica content, giving the beach its nickname the “Singing Sands.” There are nearby sites at private campgrounds and beautiful Red Point Provincial Park. Along Cavendish’s north shore, fantastic camping and red sand beaches are at picture-perfect Prince Edward Island National Park. The campground has a large selection of beachfront campsites with no services and wooded sites with full hookups. The park’s level Cavendish Trail is excellent for both hikers and bicyclists, winding through woods and a boardwalk across protected wetlands to an overlook above the dunes and beach.

5. A short drive east of Quebec City, a bridge connects the mainland to Île d’Orléans, the sliver of land that splits the St. Lawrence River into two channels and a place considered one of the founding communities of New France. The First Nations people who settled the island believed the surroundings were bewitched; it was then colonized in the seigneurial land system of New France and was finally a strategic lookout for General Wolfe, leader of the British forces, who camped at the tip of the island to watch the comings and goings of the French army in Quebec City before launching his successful attack. In late spring, the sugar shacks serve hearty Québécois meals, like pea soup, meat pies, ham, and meatball stew. Summertime is ground zero for you-pick strawberries, raspberries, and then in the fall apples.

6. Travelling through Quebec’s Gaspé region is a road-tripper’s dream. The peninsula’s circle route—roughly 1,000 kilometres—has many private and public campgrounds (reserve in busy summer and fall). Parks Canada’s Forillon National Park is a forested nature park protecting ancient fossils, wildlife, seabirds, and an Indigenous heritage. The parkland covers a deep indentation in the terrain where the north shore juts into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and the southern shoreline faces the moderate waters of Gaspé Bay. The land is home to wildlife like black bear and moose, several scenic drives and hiking trails, and historic spots like the Hyman & Sons General Store, reconstructed to the golden era of cod fishing. There are several hundred sites over two campgrounds (some with hookups and pull-throughs).

7. Pukaskwa National Park is an oft-overlooked stop along Ontario’s North of Superior route. It’s a pristine Parks Canada site of rock, water, boreal forest, and arctic-alpine vegetation with a deep-seated environmental ethos. Pukaskwa pays respect to the first peoples of the region with an Anishinaabe traditional camp, medicine wheels, and drum circles. The park’s circular Bimose Kinoomagewnan trail along granite outcrops around a small lake is dedicated to the Seven Grandfather Teachings. At stops along the trail, signs explain the seven teachings of the Anishinaabe elders: love, honesty, respect, wisdom, truth, humility, and bravery. The sites at Pukaskwa rarely fill up and can accommodate small and mid-size rigs (available on a first-come-first-stay basis).

8. Look for traces of dinosaurs from days gone by in the semi-arid Canadian Badlands. In southeast Alberta, the entire region contains sacred native sites, hiking trails, dinosaur digs, and good old Western history and folklore. The rocks at Dinosaur Provincial Park include the largest concentration of Late Cretaceous dinosaur fossils on the planet. A whole host of programs span from introductory paleontology to multi-day excavations. The park has more than 120 RV and tent-friendly sites, including some with hookups and pull-through options. A two-hour drive to the North at Drumheller, the world-renowned Royal Tyrrell Museum pulls together the collection and study of the remains of fish, reptiles, and dinosaurs—galleries are home to these “footprints” of ancient creatures, from tiny critters to the most extensive collection of giant dinosaur skeletons in the world.

© Parks Canada / Scott Munn

9. An overnight stay at Rocky Mountain House National Historic Site—between Calgary and Edmonton—marks the location of a historic trading post and tells the history of the fur traders, explorers, and Indigenous Peoples who shaped the region. There’s an RV-friendly campground (no hookups), bison viewing, hiking trails, and interactive exhibits. For a deep dive into the fur trade history, park the RV and stay overnight in one of the park’s Tipi, Métis Trapper tent, or Trapline cabins.

10. At one time, they called Dawson City in the Yukon the “Paris of the North.” It’s a bit of a hike to the upper reaches of Canada; the drive along the Klondike Highway (officially branded as Highway 2) gets its name from the greatest gold rush in history, a time in the late 1800s when 100,000 prospectors rolled the dice and made for Dawson City, heads filled with visions of streambeds choking with golden nuggets. Lady Luck dealt a harsh hand, and the majority limped home with empty pockets, dreams dashed by poor preparation, bad luck, and the hardships of the North. The small, quirky city is part of the Klondike National Historic Site, safeguarding its storied Gold Rush past with historic false-fronted buildings, rustic log cabins, can-can dancing, and a frontier energy. RVers can find overnight spots at nearby private campgrounds.

11. In British Columbia, Kootenay National Park is marked at the southern entrance by Radium Hot Springs, Canada’s largest hot spring pool. Groundwater seeps deep inside the Earth’s crust, infused with a powerhouse of minerals, heated, and then forced back to the surface by geological pressures. The water is cleaned and heated at the surface up to 40 Celsius, perfect for a long hot springs soak. Kootenay also has spectacular hiking and wildlife spotting along the Continental Divide. Not far to the North, the rock walls and soaring peaks of Yoho National Park are known for the Burgess Shale, which preserves the 510-million-year-old remains of more than 120 species of ancient marine animals. Some well-preserved fossils are on display at the Yoho Visitor Centre (guided hikes to the actual Quarry and Trilobite Beds are long and strenuous).

There is so much to experience and celebrate across Canada. Whether you stay in just one region or decide to do the ultimate road trip and travel “A Mari usque ad Mare”—Canada’s official motto translated as “from sea to sea.” Enjoy!