Your home in the gorgeous wilderness
Written: Sep 27 '09
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Lots of amenities, including a pool; well-maintained KOA park; great location for park access
Cons: None
The Bottom Line: A comfortable, well-maintained RV and tenting campground, handy to the beauties of this gorgeous part of the world
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| Penguinlady's Full Review: Clearwater Valley Resort |
The next stop in our continuing quest to escape the heat of British Columbia took us about 270 km north, to Clearwater. We didn’t go the most direct route from Hope because of the passes we’d have to climb, so our trip was a little longer, but even going directly, Clearwater is considerably north of Kamloops, which is considerably north of Hope. It’s about an hour south of the southernmost entrance to Wells Gray Provincial Park, a wonderland of forested mountains (largely infested with pine beetles, which are killing forests all over Canada,) 250 fabulous waterfalls, hiking trails, and beautiful lakes.
Clearwater is even smaller than Hope, with far fewer RV resources, so we wound up in the Clearwater Valley Resort & KOA Kampground.
LOCATION
The Clearwater Valley Resort & KOA Kampground is located at 373 Clearwater Valley Rd., Clearwater, British Columbia. Phone 250/674-3909.
Highway 5, the Yellowhead Highway, runs right through Clearwater on its way north. If you turn on Clearwater Valley Road headed toward the park, you’ll pass the KOA on the left, about one block off the highway. The business district is about a mile away. The south entrance to Wells Gray Provincial Park is about 65 km (about 45 miles) north. There are more than a dozen turnoffs to waterfalls and hiking trails between the KOA and the park; this is a beautiful place to visit for hikers, boaters, rafters, and hunters.
THE PARK
Like other KOA parks, the Clearwater Valley Resort & KOA Kampground has something for everyone.
To start with, among the 92 sites:
• 33 have full hook-ups (water, electric, and sewer,)
• 18 have partial hook-ups (no sewer,)
• one has electric only,
• 40 have no hook-ups for the "boondockers,"
• six sites have 50 amps,
• 33 are pull-through sites,
• 20 are RV-tenting combo sites, and
• nine sites are for tents only.
The tenting sites are around the perimeter of the RV park, and are very generous in size, larger than many I’ve seen in the US. They back right up to the edge of the property, which is completely fenced, with forest behind the fences. So the tenters had the best sites in the park
For non-campers, there are some small cabins (they call them kabins but I refuse,) and eight motel rooms.
The average site width is 30'.
All sites offer 30-amp service; the 50-amp sites can accommodate 45' rigs plus their toads. We had a 30-amp site with plenty of room for our Jeep in front, and another 15' behind us, so it probably could have accommodated a big rig.
Each site contains a picnic table and a fire-pit with a grill. But open fires are prohibited all over BC because of the extreme fire danger, so you can only cook in an enclosed BBQ.
There’s a pay dump station for non-resident RVers; residents in partial or no-hook-up sites can dump free.
Cable TV is available, as is free Wi-Fi.
Pets are welcome, but the usual restrictions apply: either inside the coach or on a leash no longer than 6' at all times, never left alone. There are also some breed restrictions. There’s a nice off-leash run near the front gate.
The main building houses not only the registration desk but also a small store, toilets and showers, and a coin-op laundry room. The laundry costs $2 Canadian per load, though, the most expensive we found on this trip. AND, to add insult to injury, you have to use dollar coins, called loonies; the machines don’t take quarters.
There’s also a small sit-down café in the main building, serving basics like hamburgers, pizza, and hot dogs, as well as breakfasts.
Right next to the office is a swimming pool. It’s open until about 10:00 pm and while not very big, was always mobbed with kids, most of whom were playing beach-ball polo and cannon-balling into the pool. The adults were mostly along the edges. But the weather was unbelievably hot, so even with the chaos, it was fun.
There’s also a group campfire area - not available at this time - horseshoe pit, a small playground, sand volleyball, and mini-golf.
KOA’s philosophy seems to be to provide such enticing amenities and distractions that you’ll be tempted to spend your vacation with them, instead of as a transient passing through, as we were. But unlike the KOA in Kent, WA, this one doesn’t have a movie night, or a $1-apiece pancake breakfast. What it has instead is the wonders of Wells Grey Provincial Park and environs, starting about a mile up the road.
We noticed an enormous number of people speaking Dutch, so I asked the manager if this is a popular destination for Dutch people, or if she was hosting a reunion of some sort. She told me that for several years, large numbers of Dutch and German people have been visiting, but very few Americans. We estimated that about 75% of the people we encountered were Dutch, about 15% were German, and the rest were Canadian, mostly English-speaking but also a few French. We didn’t see any other American license tags in the park during our stay. Per the manager, American travel to that part of the world has fallen off by about 40% in the past few years.
The park is open from May 1 to mid-October each year.
For people who don’t arrive with tents or RV, there is a handful of small cabins and some motel rooms in the lodge.
The Clearwater Valley Resort & KOA Kampground offers RV storage.
Rates are based on when you stay: May 1 to June 14, June 15 to September 1, and September 2 to October 1, and are for two people. The May 1-June 14 and September 2-October 11 rates are the same; the June 15 to September 1 rates are a little higher. Additional adults cost $5 each and children up to age 12 cost an extra $3 per night.
• Full hook-ups range from $31 to $38 Canadian, depending on which dates you book.
• Full hook-ups with 50-amp service run from $34 to $41 per night.
• Partial hook-ups run from $28 to $35 per night.
• Boondockers and tenters pay between $35 and $29 per night.
• "Kamping Kabins" cost $50 to $60 per night.
If you have a KOA Value Card, your rates will be reduced by 10% across the board. And GST (5% tax) is added to all rates.
The KOA in Seattle offered an extremely generous 25% discount for the military, but of course the Clearwater Valley Resort KOA is in Canada, so American military doesn’t get a discount. I don’t know if they offer it to Canadian military.
WEBSITES
The KOA website, http://www.http//www.clearwaterbckoa.com, isn't terribly useful.
I prefer this one from Woodall's RV Guide: http://www.woodalls.com/campground/campgrounddetails.aspx? campgroundid=46101100&index=0&type=PlacesToCamp&subtype=RVCamping.
(Please note that Epinions wouldn't let me post this URL because it's too long, so I put a space after the question-mark. Delete it after pasting. Sorry.)
THE AREA
This is a wonderful area for people who love the outdoors unsullied by development. Once you leave the RV camp and head north toward the park, there are very few signs of human habitation other than a few small houses and barns. Everything is off the road.
In the immediate area are numerous hiking trails, rivers, lakes, and of course the incredible waterfalls. Several operators provide rafting and lake cruise trips, and there are plenty of places to put in your own canoe or kayak. And if you’re inclined to do some trail biking, you can rent bikes in the small town, about three miles away.
SUMMARY AND VERDICT
We usually prefer to stay in places that are a little more individualistic and redolent of their specific locale, rather than the somewhat homogenized and standardized chains. But we were quite glad we’d chosen the Clearwater Valley Resort & KOA Kampground. It was nicely shaded; very handily located for our forays into Wells Gray Provincial Park to gawk at the waterfalls and do some kayaking; clean and spacious; and best of all, in the blistering heat, had that pool. As roiling as it was with all the kids, we enjoyed it a lot and had some nice chats with the Dutch and French (Canadian?) visitors. Five stars.
Recommended:
Yes
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Penguinlady
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