iRVins: More than just a cute name
Written: Oct 14 '09
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Gorgeous location, friendly proprietors, spectacular views
Cons: Flat, treeless, little privacy
The Bottom Line: Friendly but otherwise ordinary park in a spectacular location
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| Penguinlady's Full Review: iRVin's Park and Campground |
We couldn’t believe how hot it was in British Columbia. I mean, Canada is the Frozen North, right? We expected to see Sgt. Preston, and stalwarts in ski sweaters yodeling among the snow-capped mountains. But what we got instead was temps that approached triple digits.
So we headed north again. Wells Gray Provincial Park is glorious, but we were roasting. So we checked the map and figured that Valemount would be far enough north to be cooler, and provided easy access across the Rockies to Jasper. Off we went.
Valemount isn’t much of a town, but there are several RV parks. Not knowing which to pick, we chose iRVins (yes, that’s how it’s spelled) RV Park and Campground.
LOCATION
iRVin’s RV Park and Campground is located at 360 Loseth Rd., Valemount, British Columbia. Phone 250/566-4781.
Loseth Rd. crosses Rt. 5, the Yellowhead Highway, just north of town. From iRVins, it’s a short drive, maybe half a mile, to 5th Ave., the main drag in Valemount. Heading north, you turn east onto Hwy. 16 at Tete Jeune Cache, 19 km (12 or 13 miles) up the road, to enter the fabulous Mt. Robson Provincial Park. If you continue east, you’ll go through spectacular country for about 80 miles before reaching Jasper, Alberta.
THE PARK
iRVins is a large flat park with four rows of spaces. There are about 80 spaces total, of which about 70 are for RVs and the rest for tenters.
The individual sites are pea-gravel with separated by grassy strips. I didn’t measure them but they looked about 22'.
All the spaces are pull-through.
From what I could tell, they all handle big rigs, defined as vehicles 40' and longer without a towed car.
All sites offer full hook-ups (water, power, sewer.)
30-amp service is standard, but some sites have 50-amp.
Free Wi-Fi is available.
There are four satellite services available for watching TV.
Each site has a picnic table but no BBQ. The BBQs are next to the pavilion.
Camp stoves are permitted at the sites, but must clear the picnic tables by at least 6", to avoid damaging them.
The tent sites offer water and are right behind the laundry-restrooms-showers in the registration building.
The coin-op laundry room is open 24/7.
When we arrived, a big family reunion was happening in the very large tented pavilion, next to the registration building. This space is available with prior booking; when not in use by a booked party, it’s available to all guests.
Just beyond the pavilion is the ping-pong table, volleyball net, and horseshoes pitch, as well as two large campfire pits.
At the far end of the park is a pet area.
The registration office includes a small store for conveniences and ice cream.
There’s a dump station for non-resident RVs.
The tariff for our space was a very reasonable $29.37 (Canadian, not US.) Our Good Sam discount brought that down to $27.75.
FURTHER INFORMATION
iRVins RV Park and Campground doesn’t have its own website, but complete information is available at http://www.valemount.com/irvins/.
WHAT WE LIKED
The absolutely best thing about iRVins is its location. Valemount is at the confluence of three mountain ranges, the Rockies, Monashee, and Cariboos. Wherever you look, you see spectacular peaks, line on line of them falling away in the distance. It’s really spectacular - by far the most amazing location we stayed in. I don’t usually appreciate flat, treeless campgrounds, but this time, I was glad there was nothing between me and those fabulous mountains.
Beyond that, the owners, Peter and Pat Reimer, were very friendly and accommodating. We’d called the day before we arrived, and weren’t sure if we’d be staying one night or two, and they were flexible and welcoming. We made the acquaintance of one of our neighbors, who helped us when we got into a jam. He turned out to be a Native - in the US, we would call him a Native American, but in Canada, they refer to themselves as members of the First Nations - who supervises a crew that does heavy rockwork. He and his wife live at iRVins for weeks at a time, and described it as one of the nicest places they’ve stayed; they know whereof they speak because his work takes him all over the country for weeks and months.
The Valemount area is rich in recreational opportunities. You can hike, fish, canoe-kayak, white-water raft, take a nature float, go on a helicopter tour, cycle, go horseback riding, or visit the local salmon-spawning site. And of course, there’s tons of wildlife around.
WHAT WE’D CHANGE
The weather was blessedly temperate when we were at iRVins, a welcome change from the broiling we’d experienced further south. In fact, it even rained on and off for a few hours one afternoon. So the lack of shade in the RV park wasn’t a problem. But had it been hot, the flat, treeless park would have been pretty miserable.
SUMMARY AND VERDICT
iRVins RV Park and Campground was far from being the nicest place we stayed, mostly because I’m a very tree-ish person and there just aren’t any here. But all I had to do was raise my eyes from my breakfast and feast on those spectacular mountains - including a rainbow that lasted for more than 20 minutes - and trees be damned. The park was clean and well-maintained, and the staff were friendly and accommodating. So I’m going to give it my highest rating, with a caveat - don’t go in hot weather, or even the mountains won’t protect you.
Recommended:
Yes
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Penguinlady
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