The best part of the campground are the hosts. Very friendly and helpful. Lots of monthlies but they are isolated from the overnighters. We wanted to stay here because of the water slides and we discovered the slides are closed and we were disappointed. The golf driving range has been abandoned. Batting cages were fun as was the mini golf. The raceway was really not too noisy. The problem was the concrete plant across the parking lot. They start running the trucks at 7:00 am and it is loud. For this reason we would hesitate staying at this campground. We camped here in a Motorhome.
We stayed here for one month while my mom had treatment at the cancer clinic. The park is large and Big Rig friendly. As they say in Real estate, everything is about Location. There are some very nice areas and some horrible ones. They have a lot of permanent sites with some older Rv's and multiple run down cars. The park is so large there are lots of choice. It is clean, well run and we found the staff to be friendly with easy access to the highway and close to Costco. They have big pull through sites for short term stay. If you want to stay longer I would drive around the park and choose the area. This park is usually full so a reservation is a must. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
Ideal location to Victoria, BC. A large RV park with many full-time tenants, but enough sites for passerbys. Our fourth stay and always a positive experience. Large laundry facility with plenty of machines for use. Pull thru sites available for convenience and big rig friendly. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
We wondered why there were no reviews of this campground given its size. When we pulled in, the answer was obvious -- this campground is mostly occupied by long-term residents with very old RVs. The campground is right next to a major highway and the noise is substantial. The sites are not paved and there are weeds growing everywhere. Overall, the campground has a very depressing feel to it. The upsides is that there was sufficient space between sites and the staff was nice. Also, it has easy access to Victoria. If one decides to stay there despite this review, please do not follow the directions in Woodall -- Woodall uses highway numbers but the streets are not labeled that way. We had a real difficult time finding this place. We camped here in a Motorhome.
My husband and I pulled in here a bit late at night. The trip from the highway into the actual campground was a little un-nerving. The campground is situated on a Native Reserve and it was kind of dirty and messy driving in and we both thought, "Oh what have we gotten ourselves into". But there was light at the end of the tunnel! What a beautiful park to arrive at. Bright, clean everywhere! Lots of new RV's and a whole new phase has just been put in. You can stay long term, permanent, or daily, monthly. Pets are welcome, although you cant take them on the beach there is a great 'off leash'park 5 minutes down the road. Bathrooms were sparkling with cleanliness! This is a very clean, private, quiet park. We sill definitely be returning! We camped here in a Motorhome.
Review Rating
[ 6 / 10 ]
May 2008
$25
We were disappointed as there is a big difference between the WEB site and the 'paradise' view illustrated compared to our site which backed up on dilapidated houses on an Indian Reserve. We had booked for a month and when we asked if we could move, the staff was rude and with checking anything said NO. The area is not very tidy, with a garbage pile jut in the front of the main entrance; It looks like they may not like 'travellers' and caters to 'owners' or long term campers. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Under construction the whole time we were there! Large equipment started as early as 7:35a.m. All the trees have been taken down and the wetlands have been filled. As a result you may only see the wooden eagle at the front and not the real thing; as the machines have scared them away. The wind break from the ocean has been removed by taking the trees down. So be prepared to dress warm. The only real wild life that has not left is the mosquitoes of which there are many. The sites are nice size but very dirty, road base is gravel, there is no concrete or grass. The washrooms are clean but were not given a good cleaning on weekends. The office does not open until 9:00 a.m. So if you need any assistance before then; forget it. If you arrive late and the office is not open you had better make sure you have change. A loonie to shower and two to wash, again no way to get change until the office opens. When we were there they had boondock areas (no service) available, but they will add services for next year. If you are a camper in a tent, bark mulch is the base and no where to stake your tent. They do have picnic tables but only one tap to get water and it is quite a walk to get it. That will end though as they are building a cookhouse and more washrooms, they said. If you do not have a toad with you it is quite a hike to the bus so you will need to take your rig. It is about 25 minutes to downtown Victoria. Sidney a lovely little seaside town, and is only about 15 minutes away. They have a payphone. Internet is in the office and only available when it is open (short hours) and not a place to set your computer . I don't think we will ever return here. For the money I would expect more, it is not a resort only a new campground. We camped here in a Motorhome.
No picnic tables, sites hard to get into with big rig due to big rocks and posts at end of site, dirty gravel sites, expensive laundry with only three machines , no playground as advertised, not gated, no pay phone, $50.00 per nite and $1.00 for 5 min. shower, beach is lovely but poorly groomed and grass path is quite a walk through a swampy path with lots of bugs. Bring long sewer and water hoses as the services are not well placed, there are very few 50 amps most are 30, intenet is available only in office from 9 a.m.-9p.m. Park advertises itself as an RV resort - it's not ! On-site manager obviously has had little experience running an RV park. Not all bad: very quiet, away from highway, lots of birds (including bald eagles), close to the ocean, close to quaint town of Sidney, not too far to drive to Victoria. Phone ahead to confirm the amenities you need are indeed available. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
Nice out of the way park. Sites are tight but not out of line with most City type parks. Place was super clean and the office staff was extremely helpful. This used to be an Adult type resort so not much for kids, but kids are welcome and the sand beach is awesome. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Great views and sunsets. Linda was always around to help and ask what she could do to improve the park, the Bear Golf course was unbelievable with it's views and lay out a must for any golfer.Will come back again We camped here in a Motorhome.
We’ve stayed here before a few years ago and noticed this time many more full timers in all sorts of RV and camping vehicles and the park is generally losing quite a bit of its former well kept up appearance. No big deal, just a general observation and a sign of the tough economic times, I suspect. The park is still the best value for the dollar and its location can’t be beaten for visiting downtown Victoria and of course nearby Butchart Gardens. What is something to think about however is that they now charge $1.00 for 5 minutes of shower time. You have to go to the office, purchase tokens and insert them into the shower device and it is on a timer so you can’t simply turn on the water, soap up and then rinse off. Of course the noisy sea planes still come all day and go just over head as they take off and land in the water near the park. We camped here in a Motorhome.
This park was great, the sites were tight but the area was beautiful. It was located right next to a marina and ocean sites were available. It was a very secure, relaxed atmosphere. There is a harbor taxi that comes right there to take you to the city, for a fee of course. There is a beautiful walking trail close by and the beauty you walk through is undescribably fantastic. We camped here in a Motorhome.
This park is a great place to stay! Quiet, clean, and well maintained, and the view from the view lots is nothing short of amazing! This park is accessible to downtown Victoria, and is right on a small Marine Village of very adorable floating cabins. The Victoria harbor ferry stops nearby if you'd like to try that out, which can take you all around the points of interest in the area. The bathrooms in the park have showers, and were kept quite clean considering the volume of people using them. There are some long term campers who stay here, but most seem to be traveling through. We received good service at the front desk, and had no problems getting access to a phone and travel brochures for information. The campground has only a little grass: the sites are mostly compact crushed gravel and are very close together with sites sharing picnic tables. Something to be aware of is the 7.30 am float plane flights into and out of the harbor on the hour. Do not expect to sleep in here! On the plus side, this camp is very quiet in the evenings starting around 8pm. Most people were asleep by 9.30pm. It seemed like some big rigs had trouble getting into place, but with our little setup it was a breeze. I would stay here again: it is much better than the local alternatives! We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
We booked a site on the outer ring several months before we would arrive. If we wouldn't have done so, the park would have been full, even in June! e were lucky to obtain a front-in site, so we could enjoy the view of huge cruise-ships every night. This is opposite of the bay-view. The sites are small and narrow. As the front-in and back-in are situated next to each-other, we almost leave our motorhome on neighbor's soil.... We were lucky to get very friendly neighbors. We stayed here for 3 nights; they for 5 weeks (and they did this for many years already). The main reason for choosing this park is the location, which is by far the best location for visiting Victoria. We walked all the way. Almost next to the entrances a boardwalk starts and we made a wonderful walk to the bridge, crossed it and were in the center of Victoria; half an hour, that's all. We also tried to take the water taxi back, but we were refused in a rude manner by the captain, as my wife was wheel-chair bounded and he judged it would be to difficult; he simply left us and I had to push the wheelchair up the hill again. We took the bus # 6 and arrived close to the camping site. On Sunday morning we wanted to leave at 8:00 to catch the early ferry and still had to wait another 15 minutes for checking out. (the waiter of the restaurant woke her up with his handy phone and offered us a free coffee; great hospitality of this guy!) Summary: It is the best place for visiting Victoria. The sites are small and narrow. There is no privacy at all. Make sure to reserve a site suitable for your size of rig. Only sites on outer circle of the campground are nice but not the back-in sites due to a total lack of a view. We camped here in a Motorhome.
After traveling for one year in our 36 foot 5th wheel this is the first RV park we didn't stay at and canceled our reservation. I know the park very well as we live in the area and stayed there last year for 2 weeks. It is not big rig friendly. There are some spectacular water front sites overlooking Victoria Harbour but you have to book these months in advance. The sites in the middle of this small park are horrible as there is no room. I doubt I could have backed my rig in. If I did there would be about one foot clearance on each side. You would have to park your truck outside the park. If you had a small class C it might work but not for big rigs. It is built on a circle and last year we booked early and got a waterfront site which is on the outside circle. It is still tight and not big rig friendly. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
We stay here annually for 1-2 weeks in summer for the waterfront sites that face Victoria Harbour, although it is a splurge. Even during the downturn in RV'ing the campground is filling with European RV renters during the summer to take up any of the slack, so it is still full most every night in summer. The reason is because of its location in Esquimalt near the entrance to Victoria Harbour with a birds eye view of all the activities - float planes, cruise ships, Washington-bound ferries, the Victoria skyline, etc. The interior sites are less expensive but with little or no view. There is even a boat launch so you can go launch your small boat. We take our zodiak with 2 hp motor and putter around Victoria Harbour - but - beware - motorized boats must cross near the entrance to the harbour that can be quite rough, and across the busy float plane runway! Runway lights indicate plane takeoff/landing but with a slow boat there's not enough warning so you have to scan the waters yourself. Kayakers can take an alternate route. We launch here for Symphony Splash, and coming back in the dark is even more dicey - no float planes but lots of power boats leaving the event. Launching in the Gorge waterway is much safer! The 3-km walkway into town is great, but it's best not to do this alone or in the dark due to the many drug addicts in Victoria, and possibly along the trail. Also, one time after a couple of weeks staying here & walking to town frequently, I developed a respiratory infection, possibly from all the jet fuel that wafts through the air from the turboprop planes. The harbour ferries (little water taxis) also are based at the marina/campground, but it's $16 roundtrip per person to the Empress, $8 to Fisherman's Wharf. Parking in downtown is about $2/hour. If you like ethnic food, a fabulous Ethiopian buffet, the Blue Nile, is a 10-minute walk up Head St (dinner only, $14). The campground itself is mostly gravel lots with rigs slammed in close together, making getting into spots a challenge for larger rigs depending on who is already parked there. I have been coming here for years, and they have never gotten their wi-fi to work right, which is maddening for what they charge. At least now it's free, they used to charge for it! They have the attitude that if you don't like it here, go somewhere else, which is most likely the mediocre Ft. Victoria down the road. The office staff ranges from fantastic and friendly to totally incompetent and rude, best of luck there. We don't use the facilities much but they seem fine, and they finally moved the laundry to where the RV's are, rather than near the office. My ratings: Location:9, Views: 10 for prime sites, going down to 7 for other perimeter sites, and 4 for interior. The campground itself gets a 4. We camped here in a Motorhome.
This is an OK place, very close to inner harbor and downtown Victoria. We didn't use them, but we did notice that the park actually CHARGES for showers. At $35/night, we think that charging for showers seems a bit much. The best and better RV parks do not generally stoop to this money-grubbing practice. The park was clean, but not "sparkling clean" as advertised. The sites are gravel with paved driveway. The presence of permanent-type rigs detracted from the experience. Only thing to justify the $35 price is the very close proximity to town. If you like dry camping and don't need hook-ups, there are actually two downtown 24-hour lots that charge $12 and $5 for overnight parking, and there is no "no camping" prohibition. We camped here in a Truck Camper.
Rating this RV park is very difficult as it depends on your site. Waterfront sites are a 10+, inside sites are not so good. Most sites are gravel, some have grassy patches. Book very early as good sites are often booked one year in advance. Finding using Google is difficult if coming from Nanaimo but once you find the place it is very easy. Seaplanes make all kinds of noise but are nice to watch -- long term I think this would drive me nuts! Would definitely stay here again, but only on a waterfront site. USE water PRESSURE regulators here...water pressure is varied and electricity is wacked too so use surge protectors.
We camped here in a Motorhome.
Great place, nice warm bath house. Very scenic across harbour to Victoria or at the marina and floating houses. Easy walk to shopping center in Esquimalt, terrific biking on Galloping Goose trail. Terrific access to Victoria by waterfront trail (2+ miles, very scenic) or frequent bus service. Restaurant on the premises, very friendly staff. WiFi free and adequate, with occasional interruptions. We camped here in a Motorhome.
This is a tough park to rate fairly. The location is a 10+. The views are 10+. The electricity is a 4, the sites size is a 4, and the campground is tight, tight, tight for a 45 footer. We would however....return as it's the best campground in the area by far. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Great location. Water front sites over looking Victoria. Sea planes land right over the park and make a racket when they take off, however the place is still the best Victoria has to offer. Walk on a man made path all the way into Victoria or take a water taxi that docks near the park. Nice restaurant on site that even stayed open one night when we missed dinner. Reserve your spot early, it fills up almost every night. Good luck on the M.V. Coho ferry. It was a tight fit on and off the boat with our HR Neptune. Did get a few door dings however. We camped here in a Motorhome.
All gravel sites with side by side hookups so one unit has to face the road and one the other way, not good as they put trailers in motorhome sites and vice versa. Older park. Sites are wayyyyyy to close together. Since Victoria harbor is the airport there is constant seaplane noise taking off starting before 7am everyday until dark and if that does not get you then the constant hordes of seagulls making noise will. Only thing going for this park is the waterfront and closeness to downtown Victoria otherwise I would rate it a 4. Way too expensive for what you get. WiFi is $9.95 day or $21.95 a month again too much. If that isn't enough they also charge you for showers! We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Location, location, location. Westbay is great and is in one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The park is simple, but the veiws are amazing. Try to get a corner spot. Lots of activity to watch from your spot like jet boats, crusie ships, ferries, sailboats, and seaplanes. The harbor ferries depart right from the rv park and will take you over to the cities downtown and all the activities. A walkway goes from the park and around the whole bay which is an hour walk. Thirty minutes you can walk to town. The staff is friendly and everything is kept clean. A ten plus plus! We camped here in a Motorhome.