A lovely camping spot in B.
C.
is a scenic drive up to Lac Le Jeune provincial park between Merritt and Kamloops.
It took less than 4 hours driving including a lunch stop in Hope for little ones to stretch their restless legs.
The weather can be pretty hot during July and August but the lake is deliciously cool.
We used two tents for our family, a large six person for our three kids so they can really stretch out and have space in the centre for play.
We love that tent! You can stand up inside it and still have some headroom! We also brought our newest addition to our tent collection, an extra long three person ultralight used mainly for backpacking.
I don't know the temperature of the lake but it's nicely refreshing and not too cold that it takes your breath away.
Even our youngest got in which is rare.
A small sandy beach worked great for entertaining the kids so bring along sand toys if you're heading there.
Downside: It seemed to be leech breeding season while we were in there during a week in August and a few people including our kids got their first lessons in leeches! Also, the geese stayed all summer which meant the grassy area was totally covered in goose poop but the park did hire a "goose poop picker upper" who worked tirelessly from about 5-10am every day.
What a job! The kids loved the naturalist program and they earned all their Jerry Ranger stickers! This is such a great program for kids with a planned activity each morning followed by different types of talks, plays and other programs each evening at the amphitheatre.
There is also a decent playground for younger kids to enjoy.
The paved roads are perfect for riding bikes plus the dirt trails surrounding the lake are lots of fun for walking and biking.
Since the logpine beetles destroyed so many trees there a few years back they had to take out a lot of the pine trees which has left the campsite fairly open with a lack of privacy and shade.
The upside of that is the campsite will take on new looks over the years as the new young trees grow up.
Will we go back? Probably in a few years when the trees have grown more.
I found this campsite really great for relaxing.
There isn't too much to do if you don't have a boat with you or you have really young kids who won't hike or bike for hours on end.
We got some fishing in from the shore but no bites although we heard tales from previous years of 3-4 pounders being caught.
On the bug side of things, they weren't bad at all.
Just a few mosquitoes and wasps but nothing compared to previous camping in other spots.
Final note: I saw the Milky Way in the middle of the night and we had the privilege of listening to loons and owls all night every night which we honestly enjoyed and missed on our first night back home.
This is a great family campsite and worth checking out.
It's also a short drive to Kamloops if you forget something essential or are looking for a break one day.
Happy Camping!
C.
is a scenic drive up to Lac Le Jeune provincial park between Merritt and Kamloops.
It took less than 4 hours driving including a lunch stop in Hope for little ones to stretch their restless legs.
The weather can be pretty hot during July and August but the lake is deliciously cool.
We used two tents for our family, a large six person for our three kids so they can really stretch out and have space in the centre for play.
We love that tent! You can stand up inside it and still have some headroom! We also brought our newest addition to our tent collection, an extra long three person ultralight used mainly for backpacking.
I don't know the temperature of the lake but it's nicely refreshing and not too cold that it takes your breath away.
Even our youngest got in which is rare.
A small sandy beach worked great for entertaining the kids so bring along sand toys if you're heading there.
Downside: It seemed to be leech breeding season while we were in there during a week in August and a few people including our kids got their first lessons in leeches! Also, the geese stayed all summer which meant the grassy area was totally covered in goose poop but the park did hire a "goose poop picker upper" who worked tirelessly from about 5-10am every day.
What a job! The kids loved the naturalist program and they earned all their Jerry Ranger stickers! This is such a great program for kids with a planned activity each morning followed by different types of talks, plays and other programs each evening at the amphitheatre.
There is also a decent playground for younger kids to enjoy.
The paved roads are perfect for riding bikes plus the dirt trails surrounding the lake are lots of fun for walking and biking.
Since the logpine beetles destroyed so many trees there a few years back they had to take out a lot of the pine trees which has left the campsite fairly open with a lack of privacy and shade.
The upside of that is the campsite will take on new looks over the years as the new young trees grow up.
Will we go back? Probably in a few years when the trees have grown more.
I found this campsite really great for relaxing.
There isn't too much to do if you don't have a boat with you or you have really young kids who won't hike or bike for hours on end.
We got some fishing in from the shore but no bites although we heard tales from previous years of 3-4 pounders being caught.
On the bug side of things, they weren't bad at all.
Just a few mosquitoes and wasps but nothing compared to previous camping in other spots.
Final note: I saw the Milky Way in the middle of the night and we had the privilege of listening to loons and owls all night every night which we honestly enjoyed and missed on our first night back home.
This is a great family campsite and worth checking out.
It's also a short drive to Kamloops if you forget something essential or are looking for a break one day.
Happy Camping!