Although not a totally new experience it was new to our dog, Maui, and a first for me as far as solo camping.
I booked into Fintry a while back, taking advantage of a cancellation at the provincial park and booking in for one night. I needed just one because I was also training for the Across the Lake Swim (see my last post for details) and needed to be in Kelowna for the swim clinic on Saturday morning.
About the Site
I booked site 4, the pictures showed a smallish site with a view of the lake, not too close to the washrooms but not too far away either. A decent spot. When I arrived I remembered that we had camped in this spot before and it really should be listed as a double spot with site 5. There is no vegetation for privacy between the two sites and really no break or landscaping to separate the two. Luckily the family in site 5 were pretty chill and parked their trailer in a way that it did allow some privacy. But as a tip if you are looking for a double site and the official ones are booked try and snag 4 and 5.
There was a great view of the lake in a couple of spots including one that had a path down to the lake to the beach. It is a no dogs beach (not that anyone really follows that rule) so we didn’t go down there until Sunday morning when I was pretty sure no one would care if I took Maui down for a swim.
The interesting thing about being a tent camper at the provincial parks is that in the past decade a shift has occurred. Most people have trailers so the site pads are a hard packed dirt/gravel situation and tents are not allowed to pitched anywhere other than the camp pad – so no tenting on the softer ground that borders the site itself. A few things about that: bring a really good mattress to sleep on and don’t forget the mallet to help hammer tent pegs in to the ground.
About Fintry Provincial Park
Dog Beach – Easy to get to, a well marked path leads the way. The water level was quite high when we were there so there wasn’t much a beach but it was enough for a quick swim (for me) and lots of swim time for the dog.
Hike to the Falls & Area: Be sure to wander over to Fintry Falls and the old barn. It’s a nice walk over and you can walk the stairs up to view the falls. We didn’t do the falls this time (too hot!) but have done it many times in the past. It’s a lot of stairs but worth it!
Wash house: I really love that some of the parks have added in a dish washing station to the washroom buildings. Two sinks with hot and cold water and a spot to put your stuff when washing are a really nice bonus for us. It means not having to boil water and wash dishes at the picnic table and then carting your grey water to a disposal pit.
Playground: Fintry has a really nice playground, we didn’t need it of course, but in the past have and really appreciated it.
About Camping with The Dog
The dog really was unsure about tent camping. It was our first time out and he liked the walking, swimming and being outside but was ready to get back in the car after dinner. He was not a fan of the noises at night so spent a bunch of time barking, extra unfortunate because the family next to us seemed somewhat nocturnal and were in and out of their trailer a lot – each time they came out Maui barked. Needless to say we were up early, finished breakfast and packed up pretty early the next day and that naps in the afternoon were had by all!
We didn’t get a chance to get back out for another camping trip this summer but I am planning for next year and thinking about setting up the vehicle to sleep in instead of a tent – thinking it might be more comfortable for me and the dog! So stay tuned for details on that – next year!
Outside in Kelowna 