October … but the summer weather refused to give way to the rain and wind of fall, so how could we not take advantage of this wonderful gift?
We loaded Rosie up with gas, packed her up with food, kayaks, wine and clothing for any and all occasions and were off.
We didn’t want to be gone long so we opted to stay on Vancouver Island and check out some of the campgrounds that are too busy to consider in the summer. We hoped to find some deserted spots near a lake or the ocean to while away the warm, sunny days.
Victoria to Lake Cowichan to Port Renfrew/Jordan River and back!
Well. Easier said than done. We headed up to Lake Cowichan where there are several recreation sites to choose from. We opted to stay on the North side of the lake at either Pine Point or Maple Grove, which quickly turned into a non-decision as Maple Grove was closed for the season! How sad …. The weather is so beautiful this time of year and the fishing is amazing! Why close so early?? Nevertheless that was the case, so Pine Point it was. Unfortunately, with the other site closed there were a lot of other campers and no deserted spots to be had.
Campsite at Lake Cowichan
We found a spot not too bad tho with a view of the lake and settled in. A nice day out paddling around in our kayaks … and we hopped out of the
boats at the shore of Maple Grove for lunch. To our delight we were joined by a sizeable herd of elk who seemed to be not only unafraid of us … but kept getting closer and trying to follow us … looking for handouts? They are very large, magnificent animals but other than having us snapping a few pictures they were 
disappointed in us and finally left.
Back to camp and a nice campfire, appies for dinner and of course some glasses of wine.
The next day saw more and more campers arrive (weekend!) and we decided it was a bit too crowded for our liking and decided to head out the next day on the circle route towards Port Renfrew.
There is a rec. site called Fairy Lake that we’d wanted to try out and thought it might be a bit more secluded as it’s farther afield and more difficult to get to.
Road to Port Renfrew
After a VERY narrow, twisty road (at least it’s paved now … the first time I drove it (many years ago) it was simply a gravel logging road), we made it to Fairy Lake only to find it was also closed! (Even tho their website claims it’s open till October 31st …!!!)
So … now what?
On towards Port Renfrew was about the only thing to do at this point so off we went. Lots and lots of activity there and nowhere to camp that wasn’t very, very busy.
So …NOW what?
Off towards Jordan River where we know we should be able to get a spot right on the ocean, which we did.
Jordan River Rec Site
The Jordan River Rec site is basically a parking lot with pit toilets for $15/night … but you’re backed up right to the ocean shore for a breathtaking view so even tho it was full, everyone was quiet and the night was amazing. Beautiful sunset, great campfire and oh … the stars!
The only unfortunate thing about this spot is that it’s less than 50 ft
from the highway. We thought it’d be pretty quiet at least at night as it only goes out to Port Renfrew … but there was still enough traffic during the night so that sleep was impossible – for me anyway.
Having exhausted the sites we were interested in, we were contemplating heading home … and then our inverter decided to pack it in … and the thought of not being able to grind our coffee for our morning caffeine fix made the decision easy!
In parting … I think that it’s unfortunate – even in the fall- you can’t get away from the crowds unless you’re willing to drive a long way from any towns or civilization. This once again makes me glad we’re heading to Alaska next year and some wild, open spaces!
Till then …. Happy camping!
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