BC in early spring

"We stored our RV in Kamloops last year.."

would like to here more on that arrangement if you have the time.

ccchuck wrote:
"We stored our RV in Kamloops last year.."

would like to here more on that arrangement if you have the time.

Not sure whether you mean our Kamloops arrangement or RV storage more generally. We're in the habit of using our RV far from our Newfoundland home. We do not require year-round access to it and prefer not to drive it thousands of unnecessary km. When we have done our trip for the year we find a storage location through local listings, RV dealers, friends or online ads. We fly home and later fly back for our next excursion. Storage usually costs about $500 for the year.

In Kamloops we located this small facility online, through Kijiji I think. I'd rather not provide contact info publicly as the operation is quite small, but if there's a way we can communicate privately I can give the guy's name and number.

Watch the weather, the passes will be unpredictable for a while yet. Snow tires or chains are also mandatory until March 31.
We were pleased with Dogwood RV Park in Surrey, it is very convenient to everything and is reasonably priced. We looked at Tynehead but access is not good and sites are narrow.
The bloom is late this year due to the unusually long winter but should be starting soon, spring at the coast is unbelievable with all the colour. If you don't have a toad rent a car to see Stanley Park and the VanDusen gardens. Walk or bike the seawall. So much to see and do.

Unfortunately, the campground our family went to in West Kelowna for a few generations became a condo development a couple years back, so I can't give you advice in that area.

As for attractions on the island, we always find ourselves going back to Coombs, Cathedral Grove, and Tofino/Ucluelet. The road from Port Alberni is two-lane undivided and windy, however, so that might be best left as a day trip in a rental or toad, or a night or two in a hotel. Black Rock Resort in Ucluelet is fantastic.

Further south on the island are Cowichan Bay and Chemainus, which are nice as well.

For the Vancouver area there are several parks that I would recommend depending on what area you want to be in. I would not recommend Dogwood RV Park; it has degraded to quite a scummy run down place with lots of live ins and is very noisy with the highway upgrade. Fort Langley Camping, Burnaby Cariboo RV Park, Capilano RV Park, and Eaglewind RV Park are all full service parks with decent room even for large rigs. Capilano RV Park is closest to downtown Vancouver although it won't be the quietest place out of these. Further out near Chilliwack is Bridal Falls Camperland Resort which is our favorite local park, although it is likely too far out for sight seeing in the city.

If you can name some of your desired features I can certainly narrow it down for you.

Watch the weather, the passes will be unpredictable for a while yet. Snow tires or chains are also mandatory until March 31.

This sounds like information we need to understand. Are snow tires required in BC in all circumstances until March 31, or are there particular requirements in mountain passes? We once drove through BC at a time of year when there were snow squalls and found the radio stations very helpful in passing on warnings of where the highways were slippery or had reduced visibility.

I confess to having a poor grasp of the terrain and road conditions between Kamloops and Vancouver. Is there a route that would provide fewer challenges than others?

Thank you (and other posters) for taking the time to respond.

Thank you for the recommendations for parks and towns. We were entranced by our trip through the mountains from the Alberta side and know lots of beauty awaits.

When staying in a city or large town we look for a park that is near public transit as we do not have a tow car. We're a 29 ft Class C, which gets us most places we need to go, but urban driving is not always fun. We also enjoy parks where we can walk to grocery stores, coffee shops, museums, galleries -- and anywhere with an ocean or mountain view.

Has anybody reading this used Harvest Hosts in BC? Which wineries? Was it a good experience?

VagrantVan wrote:

Watch the weather, the passes will be unpredictable for a while yet. Snow tires or chains are also mandatory until March 31.

I confess to having a poor grasp of the terrain and road conditions between Kamloops and Vancouver. Is there a route that would provide fewer challenges than others?

Highway 5 (Coquihalla) reaches far higher elevations than Highway 1 (Fraser Canyon). If running into a late-season snowfall is a concern, I would definitely recommend Highway 1. That route is about an hour slower by passenger vehicle, but has the advantage of less extreme grades than Highway 5.

Highway 5 (Coquihalla) reaches far higher elevations than Highway 1 (Fraser Canyon). If running into a late-season snowfall is a concern, I would definitely recommend Highway 1. That route is about an hour slower by passenger vehicle, but has the advantage of less extreme grades than Highway 5.

Thanks, good to know. We've got plenty of time so slower routes are no problem.

Looks like the Okanagan area campgrounds open April 7th which is earlier than most. Okanagan South (Between Summerland and Peachland)is open year round but does not have services except vault toilets during the winter.

Dave