The reservation process can be stressful. Setting up is never easy. Weather can be hit-or-miss. But that first cup of coffee sitting by the water at low tide while watching the kids turn over rocks and view the life underneath makes every bit of work involved in coming to Porteau Cove worth the effort.
Where is Porteau Cove?
Porteau Cove is a popular stop along the Sea-to-Sky Highway 99 between Vancouver and Squamish. But most people just use it as a quick stopover on the way to other places, use the bathroom, maybe unpack a snack, and then move on.
Camping there, however, is another story altogether. It’s difficult to get a campsite if you don’t book three months in advance, sitting on your computer at 7AM hitting refresh until a spot comes up. This filters out most of the riff-raff, leaving those who know how special the place is to have one of the best waterfront campgrounds in British Columbia, and perhaps even the entire Pacific Northwest.
The Reservation System
Porteau Cove has exploded in popularity over recent years, and as a result, you can’t just waltz in there and expect to get a campsite. Most of the prime real estate gets gobbled up the moment it becomes available, three months in advance. Booking a site is a semi-stressful process, but thankfully everything else about the experience is pretty straightforward and simple.
The key is to know what dates you want to go, and be ready to reserve through the BC Parks online reservation system. Make sure you have an account set up before the system opens up to bookings at 7AM, three months before the intended date. Because once 7AM hits, you’ll be battling it out with everyone else trying to get the same spots.
Not all campsites at Porteau Cove are created equal. The best sites are along the water’s edge, with south and southwest facing views across Howe Sound for ideal evening light. This makes it even more limited for getting the site you want. Summer months are obviously more competitive; as are the weekends. So our tactic is to book for Sundays or the Monday of a long weekend where the highest chances of people leaving are.
The Best Campsites at Porteau Cove
Once you have settled on dates, the hard (and perhaps most stressful) part of the booking process begins: finding the right campsite at 7AM online. You first need to choose which zone you’d like: A has the nicest sites by far, but are also the most popular. B has good drive-up views for RV’s. The Walk-in area is pretty good all around but there is a waterfront row, and a non-waterfront row. So if you want the best of the best, go for section A.
Then, you have to hope that the site you want is the one you’re choosing. Each campsite also has an availability calendar so that you can see if someone is checking out the day you want to check in. Then it’s a game of chance if you can beat someone else to booking at the right moment.
Campsites #13-22 are probably the best due to their southerly exposure and size. 18 and 19 are double campsites, so larger parties will want to book there for a quality setup. But really, it’s hard to go wrong with anything near the water.
We are partial to campsite #31 because it has waterfront access, but is also shaded with a nice large spruce tree, which also acts as a wind buffer. And it’s worth noting the wind here, which picks up like clockwork every day around midday. While the oceanfront campsites are nice, they are also exposed to the wind, which is important to keep in mind if you’re staying in a tent.
Speaking of tents – if you have a large tent that needs staking, the ground in the powered campsites can be incredibly hard. It was a chore staking in our Kodiak 10×10 tent in the hard ground with a heavy mallet. But well worth it once it was in!
The Water
You don’t get many chances to have a fully serviced campsite next to the ocean, so it’s wise to make the most of it by investing in some sort of watercraft. People bring everything from fishing boats (there’s a boat launch in the public lot) to inflatable paddleboards. Whatever the vessel, it’s worth it to spend some time out on the water.
We went in springtime where there are massive schools of herring shimmering right beneath the surface. The kids loved seeing them sparkle and move en masse. With the herring comes other species that like to feast on them, so the wildlife viewing while out on the water is quite unmatched.
Porteau Cove also has a big yin and yang aspect to it with the water conditions. Mornings are generally calm; but by the afternoon the wind can pick up and make smaller boats unenjoyable. So we recommend getting up early and making sure you have some time on the water before it gets too choppy. When it does, there’s the namesake cove at the far end of the walk-in campsites that make it a bit easier to manage with children.
The biggest thing you’ll realize when you touch the water—but is worth a fair warning before you do so—is that it’s cold. Summer can be a bit better, especially from the cove where its a bit more shallow. But with the tide constantly moving and glacier runoff coming from the Squamish River, it’s not a pool in Vegas. It’s more one where you’d want to get in and get out fairly quick.
The other important fact about the “beach” at Porteau Cove is that its rocky, and in some spots peppered with barnacles. So a good pair of water shoes will go a long way to increasing enjoyment both above and below the tide line.
Speaking of tides—it can fluctuate quite a bit here. While it may be tempting to set up shop at low tide close to the water, make sure you can be light and able to move quickly. It’s not so quick that you’ll have to panic, but enough where if you leave the gear unattended for a few minutes, there’s a chance it’ll be floating by the time you get back.
The Vibe
If I had to give the camping experience at Porteau Cove a tagline it would probably be something like “The Most Accessible Nature Experience Near Vancouver”. It really is something special to be only a half hour from the city and feel like a world away. Aside from the highway sounds (which isn’t totally negligible, but the mind does begin to filter it out), you feel pretty remote despite being along a major thoroughfare.
At night is where it really stands out as a special place to visit. When the ocean is calm and the starlight flickers on the surface, you almost feel like you can touch the sky. The light pollution is minimal, especially when looking north. And speaking of looking north—it’s a fantastic spot to view the northern lights with the coast mountains silhouetted along the jagged horizon.
But daytime has its own special feeling to it, especially with kids as they explore the campground in relative safety. Our little ones love the flat grade of the road where they can zip up and down without fear of getting run over. Cars do still go along the road, but it’s so infrequent (especially in the afternoon) that we give our kids a bit more leeway to explore than when at home in the neighbourhood.
A Luxurious Bonus: Renting a Sauna
And if you really want to improve the vibe for the campsite (and make friends with your neighbours) we recommend a bit of a splurge and getting a sauna delivered. This is dependent on if there’s a fire ban, but if not, there is nothing like stepping out of a hot sauna and into the ocean… and then rinse and repeat. Our friends as The Finnish Sauna Co. would be happy to get you sorted. This is also something you should book ahead for, especially over the weekend. But it’s well worth the effort, especially if you have a few people to pitch in for the costs.
Important Facts About Porteau Cove
There are a few things to know if you do end up having the luck to get a campsite:
- As of now, the water is unsafe for drinking/cooking, so pack in your own water.
- There are showers available but they get busy in the morning, so plan on a shower in the early morning or late afternoon.
- Campfire bans do go into effect when it’s dry. Be sure you check ahead of time to avoid disappointment, or bring a propane fire pit along if you can’t go without a campfire.
- You can buy firewood and ice at the welcome station, but you’ll have to drive to Britannia Beach (only 5-7 minutes north) to get anything else, or further to Squamish if you really need to stock up properly.
- The animals here love human food, so be sure to stash any unattended food in the car. Racoons are particularly daring at night and will wait for the right opportunity. Birds and squirrels will hover around during the day. The staff will give you a warning if you leave food out, and reserve the right to kick you out if you don’t follow the rules.
To Sum it Up…
There aren’t many places where you can camp so close to the ocean where you have 3 million people only a half-hour away. It’s easy to see why it’s so popular. Although it can be a bit of effort to reserve a campsite, I promise it’s worth it.
Porteau Cove is well worth the journey, no matter if you’re coming from just down the road (like us) or are an international visitor renting an RV and touring around BC. It’s well worth the advance planning and hopefully you’ve found this guide in enough time for you to play campsite roulette at 7AM, 3 months before your stay.
There is much more to see and do along the Sea to Sky Highway, and we’ve got more great guides for you to check out. First thing you should do is check out our Sea to Sky Family Navigator web app which can get you the lowdown and help you plan a trip a bit more easily. Then maybe check out all the wonderful hikes for toddlers available in the Sea to Sky. We also have a free Wildlife Bingo for the kids if you would like to keep them occupied while travelling.
We will see you out there!
Leave a Reply