Camping at Porteau Cove, BC: What You Need to Know

Right after Labour Day 2018, Colin, our dog Ellie and I spent a few nights camping at Porteau Cove Provincial Park, a campground located between Vancouver and Whistler with beautiful waterfront views. Learn all about our camping experience and what you need to know to have an awesome time at Porteau Cove! 

My family will tell you that I am not a camping girl. On my first camping trip with no toilets, I actually built myself a little toilet out of rocks! So suffice to say, I’ve come a long way to not only being the one to suggest we go camping but also enjoying it so much!

As a Vancouver local, I can say that Porteau Cove is an amazing place to go camping in BC. It’s less than an hour from Vancouver, which makes it super accessible. But it totally feels like you’re out in the middle of nowhere!

Plus, the views are incredible! In the few drives I’ve done up to Whistler over the years, I’ve practically had my head hanging out the window as we drive past Squamish, Howe Sound and the Porteau Cove area.

Keep reading for everything you need to know about camping at Porteau Cove and our Porteau Cove tent camping experience!

Where is Porteau Cove, BC? How do you get to Porteau Cove?

Porteau Cove Campground is on the coast of British Columbia, 40 km north of Vancouver (40 min drive) and 20 km south of Squamish (20 min drive). A 56 hectare park space, it overlooks Howe Sound and the adjacent mountain range. Google tells me that Porteau Cove is “situated on the most southerly fjord in North America” – how cool is that?

The best way to get to Porteau Cove is to drive. If you’re visiting BC without your car, check out local rental car options here!

Is Porteau Cove Campground open year round?

Yes, Porteau Cove Campground is open year round. Expect reduced services in the winter and be sure to check with BC Parks for any current advisories or closures.

Does Porteau Cove have first come first serve sites?

Yes, Porteau Cove does offer first come first serve camping sites. However, it is highly recommended that you make a reservation during peak summer season! As a smaller campground that’s close to Vancouver and absolutely beautiful, it’s not surprising that Porteau Cove fills up quickly.

BC Parks camping reservation: How do I reserve a spot at Porteau Cove?

To make your Porteau camping booking, you’ll need to go through the BC Parks camping reservation system. Reservations are made in real time, require a credit card and include a non-refundable reservation fee. You can also reserve a Porteau Cove camping spot by phone, but this will incur an additional $5 fee. Once booking opens for the season, reservations can be made four months in advance. (Note: the Porteau Cove cabins can be reserved up to a year in advance.)

Prices for 2023 are $35/night for a vehicle-accessible site and $20/night for a walk in site. Additionally there’s a $6 reservation fee and an $8 electrical fee for the vehicle-accessible sites.

BC Parks camping reservations are quite competitive; I know people who set their alarms to wake up on the first day of the season, refreshing their browser and coordinating with friends so they can secure their reservations. If you’re camping with a larger group, on a weekend or holiday, or want a specific site, I’d recommend booking ASAP.

Are there Porteau Cove cabins? Or is this only RV and tent camping?

Porteau Cove Campground has RV-friendly campsites, tent-friendly campsites and limited cabins. The Porteau Cove Olympic Legacy Cabins are one bedroom log cabin lofts with a kitchenette, en-suite bathroom, and room for a maximum of four people. The Porteau Cove cabins also have parking, heating and wifi! But sadly, the cabins are not pet-friendly.

The cabins can be reserved up to a year in advance and require a minimum 2-3 night rental (depending on when you book). 2023 rates are $189/night (low season) or $259/night (high season). Confusingly, the BC Parks website says that linens are provided but the Sea to Sky website says you should bring your own; I’d give them a call before packing.

Can you swim at Porteau Cove Provincial Park?

Yes, you can swim at Porteau Cove Provincial Park. The beach, while very picturesque, is rocky, so plan to wear your water shoes. And if you’re a real water lover, you’ll definitely want to put Porteau Cove on your travel bucket list. This park is known for its excellent scuba diving thanks to two sunken ships, man-made reefs and interesting marine life.

Is Porteau Cove dog-friendly?

Yes, Porteau Cove Campground is dog-friendly (just keep in mind that the cabins are not). Pets must be kept on leash and “are not allowed in beach areas or park buildings” according to BC Parks. I will say that when we camped in 2018, we had our dog on the beach and off-leash (whoops!). Luckily, the campground was very quiet and there were few people and no other dogs around.

I would suggest following the pet rules, especially in busy summer camping season. Do as I say, not as I do!

Is there cell service at Porteau Cove?

Yes, there is. We had good cell reception during our 2018 tent camping trip. If you’re struggling to connect, walk back to the entrance, which is closest to the road, where you should get better service.

What is the best campsite at Porteau Cove?

There are 16 small walk in campsites at Porteau Cove, perfect for tent camping with a small group. These are located on the far right on the campground map below. As you can see on the map, there’s a row of sites right on the water with beach access and a row behind them. Obviously the best campsites are in the front row with uninterrupted water views! Based on scoping out the sites during our 2018 trip, I think W5 or W11 is the best walk in campsite at Porteau Cove.

Porteau Cove camping map

My Porteau Cove camping review

Porteau camping booking

For our Porteau Cove camping trip in September 2018, we booked a walk in site mostly because all of the drive in, vehicle-accessible sites were fully booked. We booked our trip pretty last minute, so this was to be expected. But luckily because we camped after Labour Day and during the week instead of the weekend, we could still get a Porteau Cove walk in site right on the water with beautiful views of Howe Sound!

Setting up our Porteau Cove walk in campsite

Unluckily, on the day we headed out to camp I had a horrible cold. So poor Colin had to put up with my sniffling, complaining and not being all that helpful as we packed up the car and unpacked at our campsite. Despite Porteau Cove being only 40 minutes from Vancouver and us only going camping for two nights, we still managed to fill an entire car with stuff. One thing I dislike about camping is how much gear you have to bring. You can be going for one night and you’ll still have to make three trips to the car to carry all of your stuff.

With a walk in site, you have the added pleasure of walking in all of your gear from the parking lot. Thankfully, the Porteau Cove parking lot for the walk in sites is only a five minute walk away from the campsites on a flat path. They also had some wheel barrows to assist us but it still wasn’t the most fun since I had to stop and blow my nose every few feet.

But we made it! We brought everything in to the small campsite we had reserved. Keep in mind that Porteau Cove walk in sites are not very big – ours was barely big enough for our eight-man tent. Yes, we’re a family of two and a dog and we have an eight-man tent. I’m a firm believer that the number of people a tent says it will hold is double the number it should actually hold (i.e. an eight-man tent is best for four). I can’t even imagine eight full-grown adults sleeping in our tent!

In addition to the small site for our tent, all 16 of the Porteau Cove walk in campsites have sitting benches and shared fire rings. There are pit toilets and a picnic area located nearby (as well as flush toilets and more facilities in the day-use area).

Enjoying the Porteau Cove beach

After we (mainly Colin) got our tent pitched, we headed over to the little bay area behind us, the beach on Porteau Cove. Porteau Cove Park is lousy with beautiful water views so we had plenty of choice for where we wanted to settle. We took our books, bags of chips, chairs and Ellie down to the waterfront to watch the sunset. Ellie got to roam all around the pebble beach and enjoy her puppy adventures!

Dinner on the grill

For dinner, we pulled out the grill we had packed and cooked a traditional camping meal: hot dogs! Unfortunately, there was still a fire ban so no campfires for us. But that’s okay! Hot dogs on the barbecue are just as good.

After dark, there isn’t a ton to do at Porteau Cove. But honestly, that suited us pretty well. It was nice to be away from our usual nightly routine of watching TV on the couch. We opted to make our Porteau Cove camping weekend unplugged which was by choice, because Porteau Cove still has cell service if you need it. So we spent the evening playing cards by flashlight and enjoying a slice of cheesecake I had packed.

Stargazing at Porteau Cove Provincial Park

Before bed, we headed out again to brush our teeth and give Ellie one last walk. I looked up and was absolutely blown away by the stars, especially considering we were less than an hour from Vancouver. They were so insanely bright and you could even see parts of the milky way! It reminded me of seeing the stars in South Africa in the middle of Kruger National Park when I visited in 2013. I haven’t seen stars like that in so long.

All of Porteau Cove Campground was pitch black except for a few propane fires in the distance and faint street lights. Colin and I headed out into the open field behind our campsite to hunt for constellations and crane our necks back until they hurt. It was definitely one of my favourite moments of our Porteau Cove camping trip!

Breakfast on the beach

The next morning, I got up and sat on the beach with Ellie facing Howe Sound. It was so quiet and peaceful. The water was still and we had stunning views of the mountains.

A lot of the walk in sites had packed up by the next morning, so we had most of the campground to ourselves, including the pebble beach with large driftwood logs perfect for sitting. Colin joined us and we ate our breakfast muffins on the logs while Ellie ran around off leash. Camping really lets our city dog live her best life!

What to do in Porteau Cove

We spent the day alternating between the beach on Howe Sound, the secluded Porteau Cove beach and the large grass lawn. We pulled out our beach blanket and played cards on the lawn. Breaking our unplugged rule, we listened to a podcast on Porteau Cove beach. And we took a nap and read our books looking out over Howe Sound.

It was so nice to do things like play card games, read and even listen to a podcast together – things we just don’t do at home. And not because we can’t – we just don’t. It’s so much easier to scroll through Instagram and watch Netflix when you’re at home than it is to go outside and read a book. Colin and I both love reading and this camping trip was our reminder to make time for it more often!

Porteau Cove has a look out point on the top of a little hill. Colin was telling me it was a hike at first, and then he downgraded it to a walk. But he was saying it would take half an hour! I looked at the hill, which had a pretty steep incline, and couldn’t imagine it would take 30 minutes. Nervously, we set out on the trail and reached the top….in about two minutes! It was a little steep but definitely nothing strenuous at only 300 metres. And the views were more of the gorgeous ones we had become accustomed to overlooking Howe Sound at Porteau Cove.

Besides that “hike” and hanging out on the beach, other things you can do at Porteau Cove include swimming, canoeing, kayaking, windsurfing, scuba diving and cycling. You should also keep your eye out for local wildlife, such as seals, porpoises, otters, orcas and spawning salmon.

Our last night camping at Porteau Cove

After a full day enjoying the scenery of Porteau Cove Campground and relaxed camping way of life, we had turkey and chicken skewers with corn on the cob for dinner and played some more card games before bed. In the morning, it was time to pack up and get going. We had a few moments to sit on the beach and take in one last view of Howe Sound before heading out.

Pros & cons of camping at Porteau Cove

While I absolutely loved our little camping trip to Porteau Cove and would highly recommend it, I know it might not be a great fit for everyone. Based on my Porteau Cove camping review, here are some pros and cons:

Pros to camping at Porteau Cove

• Close to Vancouver: You can get to Porteau Cove in just 40 minutes from Vancouver and easily carry onto Squamish and/or Whistler.
• Beautiful views: The Porteau Cove Campground is incredibly scenic with views directly from your waterfront campsite.
• Lots of accommodation options: You can choose to stay in a tent, drive in your RV or stay at one of the Porteau Cove Cabins.
• Open year round: While summer camping might be more enjoyable, you’ll definitely have more space to yourself if you choose to camp in the off-season.
• Dog-friendly: We love any campsite where we can bring Ellie!

Cons to camping at Porteau Cove

• Small campsites: Both the walk in tent sites and vehicle-accessible sites are quite small. There’s a limit of one tent and four people per walk in site and some of the vehicle-accessible sites won’t fit larger vehicles. There are five double-sites and two pull-through sites, so make sure to reserve early if you need those. The small campsites can also make the park feel a little less private.
• Train noise: Because of Porteau Cove Campground’s location by the train tracks, some campers complain of train noise that continues throughout the day and night. One benefit of the walk in sites is that they’re the farthest from the train tracks; we didn’t hear any noise during our camping trip.
• Shared fire rings: The fire rings in the walk in site area are communal, meaning they are shared between a few campsites. For some, this is a good thing (great way to make friends!) and for others, it’s not. But if you’re not stoked about sharing, just remember that most summers there’s a fire ban in BC, so you won’t be using your fire ring anyway!
• Popular: Because of its location, beautiful views and limited campsites, Porteau Cove Park fills up quickly. It can be difficult to secure a reservation during the busy BC summer camping season.

6 tips for camping at Porteau Cove walk in sites

1. While each campsite only has a bench and not a picnic table, all of the walk in sites have access to a large covered area with picnic tables, sinks and outlets. So there’s no need to pack folding tables or camping sinks.
2. For safety, you need to keep all of your food in your car when you’re not eating it – you can’t keep any food at your campsite. So don’t bother walking your huge cooler and three bags of food to your campsite like we did, because you’ll just have to bring it right back to your car. Leave it in your car and only bring out what you need when you need it.
3. Good news: The pit toilets at Porteau Cove are surprisingly nice and clean! They even smelled pretty good and had a huge supply of toilet paper. I was very impressed! Of course, in case you aren’t as lucky as me, I would suggest bringing hand sanitizer and your own toilet paper roll.
4. If you can, aim to go camping at Porteau Cove Park mid-week while the kids are in school. We went the Tuesday after September’s Labour Day and the campground felt much quieter. There were many empty sites and only a few very young kids running around.
5. While the views at Porteau Cove Provincial Park are incredible, they can be obscured by wildfire smoke (a big problem in the summer) or grey and rainy days (a big problem the rest of the year). We lucked out with two clear and sunny days when we visited, so here’s hoping you get the same!
6. The night before you leave your Porteau Cove walk in site, start to bring things back to your car. For example, when you’re heading to your car to get your food for dinner, bring back your camping chairs or something else you won’t need anymore. That way, you won’t have to do multiple trips in the morning when you’re trying to check out. And make sure you claim a good wheel barrow or wagon right away to help with the loading and unloading!

Wrapping up: Enjoy camping at Porteau Cove, BC!

As you can tell, I reall believe Porteau Cove is a great camping spot. It’s quiet, beautiful, close to Vancouver, with great amenities and even better views. I’m so glad we had a chance to camp there and I hope we can do so again soon.

Despite having lived in Vancouver since 2010, there are so many things I haven’t done in my own backyard. We are so lucky to live in one of the most beautiful cities in the world and it’s about time we take advantage of it with more gorgeous camping weekends!

What’s your favourite place to go camping? Would you camp at Porteau Cove?

Check out more adventures around BC to plan your next BC trip:

• The Ultimate Guide to Doing Nothing in Whistler
• How to Spend a Weekend in Penticton, BC
• Where to Eat in Yaletown, Vancouver

Save my Porteau Cove camping review & tips – Pin it!