[Calgarian]

I am planning a camping trip for September long, and I am wondering if anyone here has even been to Writing on Stone? My friend wants to go there and I want to go to Cypress Hills. I've never been to or know anyone that has been to Writing on Stone, what is it like? are there trees? can I bring copious quantities of beer? is there a beach?

Thanks

[lubicon]

Funny you should ask. We just got back from a week long trip to both Cypress and Writing on Stone. WOS was fantastic in my opinion. The scenery is stunning and the park is very nice. Well treed, interesting Interpretive Centre, nice beach on the Milk River, and great for tubing or rafting. Well worth it in my opinion. The only drawback is that the closest town is Milk River (about 40 km away) so if you need supplies it is a long run to get them although there is store at the park with basic supplies available.

Cypress was nice too. Both Cypress and W.O.S. are stunning in the fact that they appear virtually out of nowhere on the prairie. Cypress is more developed than WOS but as a result it draws more people (ie is more crowded). The lake is OK and the beach is so so I would say. Most of the campgrounds (there are 6 I think) are a long walk from the lake, and more likely a car ride away. The small town of Elkwater has more services as well. However I get the impression that Cypress is 'colder' than WOS due to it being much higher in elevation.

If I had a choice I would go to Writing on Stone, but if you don't have reservation sat either place you might be out of luck anyhow.

[Calgarian]

I've been to Elkwater a few times back when I lived in Medicine Hat. WOS sounds great, I may have to go there. Both should be a warm place for Sept long, I've camped in foothills or the Rockies a few times and had snow on sept long.

Thanks

[Spoolmak]

Shuswap!

[Calgarian]

Shuswap is a little further that I was planning on going, though it is awesome there.

Is WOS a bandlands type area? I googled and it looked to have Hoodoos.

[0773|=\]

Yeah, there's some badlands, but it's rockier than the ones by Drumheller or Brooks. I 100% recommend WOS. That park is one of the most scenic places in Alberta that nobody seems to notice. Bring inner tubes or air mattresses if you have 'em, floating down the Milk River is an awesome way to relax during the heat of the day!

[Calgarian]

Turns out Writing on Stone is booked so Elkwater it is.

Where does everyone else like to go on a long weekend? Shuswap was already mentioned, that's probably the best place to go camping or better yet, houseboating.

[0773|=\]

Well speaking from an Edmontonian's perspective...

The most popular place to go is obviously Jasper, but you're probably wondering about places that someone from Southern Alberta might not know about:

Within an hour's drive:

-Wabamun Lake (better than people would lead you to believe, especially around Fallis)
-Pembina River -- awesome place to go tubing, paddling, or rafting
-Thunder Lake
-Alberta Beach (not as nice as it used to be)
-Hubbles Lake (private now...b@stards)
-Pigeon Lake

1-2 hours away:

-Sylvan Lake -- you know this one
-Long Lake -- small, but deep and clean water, nice golfing and paintballing in the area
-Hanmore Lake -- nice because it's got a good beach, good swimming, hardly anyone knows about it, and the wardens let a lot go in the evenings...
-Smoky Lake -- been a while since I've been here, but from what i remember, it wasn't a bad lake
-Churchill Island (Lac La Biche) -- AWESOME. How cool is camping on an island in the middle of a lake accessed by a 2.5 km causeway. Beautiful sandy beaches everywhere. Extremely pristine.
-Slave Lake -- Best lake in Alberta IMO. Huge, awesome beaches, awesome hiking, 'nuff said.
-Crimson Lake -- Rocky Mountain House has a gem with this one. Not nearly as crowded as the lakes closer to Red Deer either.

2-3 hours away:

-Whitney Lakes -- near Elk Point. Way hillier than one would expect. Awesome hiking and swimming.
-Dillberry Lake -- right on the AB/SK border, very nice quiet lake and the campground has lots of amenities.
-Carson-Pegasus Provincial Park -- Near Whitecourt. Another great place to camp/relax.

Beyond these places, I like to get a couple people and a canoe, and do a weekend run down one of Alberta's many rivers. I've done a fair bit of the North Saskatchewan, but I also really enjoy the Pembina River, the Athabasca (nice and fast current), Red Deer (slow, but scenic), and the McLeod.

I've heard the Brazeau has some wicked rapids if one paddles from the dam, and one of these days I want to paddle the Milk River (with a stop in Writing on Stone might I add)

How about in Southern Alberta? The two lakes I've discovered and really enjoy are Travers Reservoir (Little Bow Provincial Park) and Lake Newell (Kinbrook Island Provincial Park). Are there any other good lakes close to Calgary (aside from Sylvan)?

[b31den]

Just got back from camping near Sweetgrass, Montana. Found a spot a couple km out of town by a gravel road. It was likely on private land. Did not get much sleep due to worries of getting shot or driven over by a pickup while in my tent.

Only a few cars went past the whole night, one drove by at like 10km/h with country music twanging.

That area of montana is fairly scenic but I won't stop there again due to extreme redneckness.

[amaruk]

I spent a night camping in Elkwater last year, and it was all right...the second and third nights though we went to the Saskatchewan side and there is a little campground with maybe 10 sites on it. We were the only people there and it was nice and secluded and very much not like the main campgrounds, it was fantastic. The landscape around Cypress is pretty awesome, but make sure you've got a full tank of gas if you're planning on doing a lot of running around on the roads...

If you're willing to go further, I went to Sandpoint, Idaho for the August long weekend and absolutely loved it. The people are super friendly, and everything is so bloody cheap there (the drive is about 7 hrs). We ended up staying at the Mirror Lake campground just south of Sandpoint, definitely one of the best places I've stayed. If anyone has watched Dante's Peak, the Mirror Lake campground is grandma's house in the movie (of course the lake isn't actually acidic and it's really warm). I'll definitely be returning there. Oh, and if you're not too fond of bears, they don't really get them there at all (same with Cypress).

[mersar]

One place not too far from Calgary that my family likes to go is just out at Sibbald Flats, usually pretty quiet and good for the 'just want to hang around doing as little as possible' type of trip. For a bit further we've also frequented Gull Lake (west of Lacombe).

Personally this long weekend I'll be working my way back from Vancouver (leaving there on the 4th after a trip to Portland and Seattle via Amtrak), I'm actually in Kelowna tonight on my way to Vancouver. Was going to throw up my tent at a campground but decided to go with a motel with A/C instead.

[Calgarian]

I usually go camping around Sylvan Lake, Gull Lake Pigeon Lake, Ghost Lake oir somewhere in the BC Interior. I've been to Elkwater a few times, but next weekend will be my first time there in 10 years.

[Calgarian]

wow, I guess camping isn't a popular discussion among the skyscraper crowd, even before the last camping long weekend of the year.

[ExcaliburKid]

Camping is great, finally bought a new tent and used it out in BC over the last couple weeks. Stayed at a small campground up near Silver Star outside of Vernon called Cedar Falls Campground. Most sites are small, but well treed. Showers were clean and free, also had laundry. Cant recall the exact number of sites but wouldnt put it over 35-40. Best part was the creek and waterfall, got some great pics and it helped us cool down in the heat. *Added Bonus* being so close to Kalamalka Lake. Kal Beach was really nice, great sand, 20min drive from the campground, good concession....I would go back in a heartbeat.
From there went to Scotch Creek campground on Shuswap Lake, north of Sorrento and Salmon Arm. Nice but massive. Full of families, which sucks for a young non-family man who wants to party, but had great facilities. Apparently the campground used to have tons of giant pines, but the pine beetle killed every single one of them. Shame. Didn't really give a good first impression unfortunately. *Recommended* Adams Lake Provincial Park campground - 10.00/night, beautiful beaches, calm quiet lake with great fishing. Have to drive down FSR's to get there so if you have a car make sure you have a spare tire (or two).
That was the only trip I did this summer, oddly I don't do much camping in AB, likely because our family has a cabin at Wabamun Lake, but it's good to see the options that others have posted just in case.

[Calgarian]

You found the sand at Kal beach to be really nice? I find the sand around the Okanagan and Kalamalka to have the consistency of gravel.

BC camping is much better than AB if you ask me, better lakes, bigger trees etc. Though there are some great locations in Alberta too.

[ExcaliburKid]

I had actually been warned to stay away from Kal Beach, I guess its had problems in the past, but I was pleasantly surprised. I don't know if there's been some sand trucked in or not, but it was better than what I was used to out there.

Has anyone been up camping in the Boyle area? Amisk, Chump, North Buck lakes? I haven't been that way in a few years and was thinking of checking it out (likely next season now).

[0773|=\]

Has anyone been up camping in the Boyle area? Amisk, Chump, North Buck lakes? I haven't been that way in a few years and was thinking of checking it out (likely next season now).

I've only been to Long Lake, not too far south of Boyle. I'm guessing you've been there too (if not, it's quite a popular choice with people from Edmonton). As mentioned above there's a nice little 9-hole golf course and a paintball area right next door to the park, not to mention Long Lake itself is great for boating because it's so deep.

I'd love to go a little further north to Lac La Biche again. It's been a while, but that lake really stood out to me because its beaches had such nice sand and the lake itself was very clean as well.

[Calgarian]

I had actually been warned to stay away from Kal Beach, I guess its had problems in the past, but I was pleasantly surprised. I don't know if there's been some sand trucked in or not, but it was better than what I was used to out there.

What kind of problems?

[Hardhatdan]

I've only been to Long Lake, not too far south of Boyle. I'm guessing you've been there too (if not, it's quite a popular choice with people from Edmonton). As mentioned above there's a nice little 9-hole golf course and a paintball area right next door to the park, not to mention Long Lake itself is great for boating because it's so deep.

I'd love to go a little further north to Lac La Biche again. It's been a while, but that lake really stood out to me because its beaches had such nice sand and the lake itself was very clean as well.
Long Lake is great, but getting a camping spot is very difficult.

[Calgarian]

I like campgrounds that have a first come first serve policy, I get off work @ noon on Fridays so I'm pretty much guaranteed a spot. I went to Brewers @ Gull Lake a few years back and really enjoyed it.

[0773|=\]

^Yeah that one's nice, especially since everyone knows if your going to party, you go to Brewer's, but if you want peace and quiet, go just up the road to Lakeview instead. The officers seem to let a lot slide @ Brewer's (from my experience, anyways)

[ExcaliburKid]

What kind of problems?

Garbage it sounds like. People being careless and just leaving or tossing their trash onto the beach which then blows into the water. I had mentioned to a former local that I had a great time at Kal beach and the response went something like "Kal beach?! Really? Wow they must have really cleaned it up"

[Calgarian]

Just got back from camping and I can say I will never even consider going to Elkwater again. The sites are very small, are extremely close together and the Conservation Officers are a bunch of power tripping assholes. They saw a bunch of guys in their mid 20s pull in and started plotting how to get us to leave, we were booked in for 3 nights but got kicked out after the first for being too loud, this is after we got harassed all night by those pricks. We were standing on the road @ about 11 talking to a couple girls and watch their dog play with our friends puppy and these 2 COs come walking up to us, blinding us with their flashlights and tell us to pour out our beers, we then ask why we need to pour them out and ask if beer is allowed in Elkwater, they then reply very rudely that we are indeed allowed to drink, but only on our site, now pour out the beer, so I take one step back onto my site and say is that better, then the guy shines his flashlight right in my eyes again and tells me to pour out my beer, so I do, my friends do and we go back to our site. About a half hour later the neighbours come and ask if we are going to be staying up late, we say we are but we will keep it down and he leaves, we then decide to go for a walk so as not to be too noisy, in an attempt to avoid the Gestapo we go into the woods, find a path and walk for a bit, we end up back on the road after a bit and sure enough, the 2 Cos were hiding in the bush waiting for us, they then call in backup and take our information and issue us $115 tickets for having alcohol in a public space, we are very annoyed and frustrated so we start giving them some shit back which Im sure didn't help our case but at least made us feel better. After all this we are walking back to our site when we run into the girls on their site so we stop and talk about our encounter and within 5 minutes the COs show up again and tell us that we are too loud (which we weren't we were talking at a reasonable volume) and that we have to go to sleep now or we will be forced to leave (its about 12:30 by this time, 3 encounters with the COs in an hour and a half), so we go back to our site and turn in. We are woken up by 4 more COs at 8 the next morning and are told that we were too loud and we have to leave, turns out there was some ornery old guy across the road that decided we were trouble and started calling the COs pretty much the minute we showed up, and that was enough to get us kicked out. As we are packing up the guy who was at the site beside us asks us why we have to leave and we say apparently there were a bunch of noise complaints, the guy said that's bull and went and talked to the COs telling them he was less than 20' from us all night and didn't hear a thing, the guy across the road was easily 2x as far and complained several times. After this we went back to Medicine Hat, decided that since we had all of our stuff in the car we should at least try to find another campground, we made a few phone calls and found a place near Maple Creek called Eagle Valley that had a few spots left so we went there. This time we were really nervous pulling in since we already got the boot from one place, bit we met the neighbours, they were pretty chill so we partied with them all weekend, this place turned out to be great and we had a blast with no problems from anyone, and by the second night there we were actually getting pretty loud, but no one bothered us. Getting booted on Saturday morning with everyone watching was extremely embarrassing and I wouldn't wish for that to happen to anyone. I advise very strongly against going to Elkwater unless you are a 65 year old woman or if you are a family, and even then I advise against it based on the way they treated me and my friends.

[ExcaliburKid]

Sorry to hear about the BS you had to go through there. I've had similar scenarios at a campground south east of Edmonton at Miquelon Lake. We've been kicked out of there on more than one occasion, but it didnt help that the CO's there were douchey pricks. Always coming by, asking how many of us were in the site, how long we planned on staying, if we were aware that it's a family campground etc. I dont get why some of these campgrounds and other campers automatically assume that a group of 20 somethings are always bad news. We carry on the same way at every campground we go to so I never quite understood the treatment we got a Miquelon. Oh well. I will be adding Elkwater to my list of "must avoid" for camping.