bc_guy

I don't know how many people on this forum are naturalists or outdoors people, but I'm certainly interested in camping out in certain parts of Canada. For all you naturalists/campers/hikers, would you mind posting your most desired eco-region in Canada (temperate broadleaf forest, taiga, Aspen Parkland, montane forests, prairies, etc). Please specify the province/region if applicable. I'm just curious about what expats/newcomers think about camping in Canada.

Oink

YVR

bc_guy

I'm not exactly too fond of camping out in airports overnight. There's always the risk of oversleeping and missing your flight the next morning.

Greenhill

Kejimkujik, NS

Parks Canada - Kejimkujik National Park and National Historic Site - Kejimkujik National Park and National Historic Site of Canada

bc_guy

Wow, I'd have to say that this is probably the most stereotypically Canadian park I've ever seen. It's just like the ones you see on TV. Surprisingly, this isn't even in Ontario, although it's the same type of biome. The weather in Kejimkujik also seems better than most of those in Ontario since it doesn't get too hot in the summer.

Atlantic Xpat

I don't know what a Biome is but presumably in Canada there are three:

• ****ing Cold
• ****ing Hot
• ****ing Flies!

Greenhill

Not sure about that, it'll get up to 35-40 on the humidex for a good portion of the summer.

Shard

I don't think many campers are that interested in biomes or eco-regions, they're basically looking for campfires and cold beers.

Oakvillian

I think there are three distinct demographics of Canadian camper - at least in this bit of Ontario; like everything else in Canada it probably varies widely across the country.

There are the family groups, who book a pitch in a Provincial park, turn up with tent, dining shelter, portable kitchen, barbecue, badminton set, airbeds, etc, settle in for the week/long-weekend, swim in the lake, cook s'mores on the campfire, and so on. Then there's the beer 'n' burgers crowd, for whom one part food to seventeen parts beer is an appropriate packing list. Amenities and location are fundamentally unimportant, so long as it's not too far to the nearest liquor store.

And then there's the die-hard hikers and canoeists, who I suspect are closest to those the OP wants opinions from. The sort of if-you-can't-put-it-on-your-back-you-can't-bring-it camping, on foot or via canoe, that gets you properly out of the way of civilization. At least hereabouts, opportunities for this are surprisingly limited, and restricted to National or Provincial park lands. Algonquin, the Bruce Peninsula, that sort of thing. I suspect these are the only folks who would have the vaguest notion of what biome or eco-region they were in, and even then I don't know how many would care...

Shard

Well exactly.

burks

You could always the West Coast Trail in the Pacific Rim National Park on Vancouver Island.

I hear it is quite the outdoor adventure.

Parks Canada - Pacific Rim National Park Reserve of Canada - Planning your Hike on the West Coast Trail

Aviator

Wreck Beach Provincial Park

Shard

I hear it is quite the outdoor adventure.

bc_guy

I actually know someone who went camping there back when I lived on the island. I so envy that person.

bc_guy

Well, I'm more into the hardcore survivalist camping where you temporarily live off the land for a few days at a time. The biome and eco-region actually matters a lot. For example, I'd much rather camp out in one of the west coast's montane forests or in the prairies (during the summer) than someplace with really dense and impenetrable vegetation (like the ones in the tropics). I'd seriously get exhausted really quickly if I had to constantly cut vegetation out of my way in order to go anywhere. Then you also have to consider the type of wildlife that lives around you and how easy it is to repel them or avoid getting bitten or poisoned by them.

I know someone who knows a group of Canadians who tried to camp out in the deep of the Amazon rainforest. Thousands of dollars worth of camping equipment was destroyed or rendered unusable by mold because they didn't know very much about their environment and how to properly prepare for a radically different environment like a hot and humid rainforest with nutrient-thick air/winds blowing through it. Every time you put your food or drink down for even a few minutes, insects try to form colonies on it. How those guys made it out of the jungle alive is completely beyond me.