Great Places to Camp – Kikomun Creek Provincial Park

Turtles, turtles and more turtles!  What an awesome bonus to an already great area to hang out in.  Though you would never guess it after a visit to Surveyor and Hidden Lake’s in Kikomun Creek Provincial Park, these colorful critters are endangered.  It is fun to walk around the lakes and see whole families of turtles hanging out sunning themselves on the logs in the water.  This time we even had the bonus of seeing teeny one’s.Kikomun Creek is an extremely popular camping destination.  So much so, that it is difficult to get a spot in the summer.  Our antidote to that is to go early season, when you can show up at 6pm on a Friday night and choose just about any site you want.

Living outdoors in warm weather, to me, is one of the very best things in life.  It is a goal of mine to do that as much as possible this year.  So with that aim in mind, we have bought ourselves a very old trailer to use as a bedroom.  Our requirement was that it was small and that we could improvise it to fit 7 sleeping bodies.  I would like to be able to up-and-go if I feel so inspired, even if Hubs is working and it’s just me and the kids.  A trailer is much easier than fussing with sleeping in a tent and feeling anxious about the healthy bear population in the area’s we would go.  So, this weekend was our maiden voyage, and my answer to “what do you want to do for your birthday?” Camping!  OF COURSE!The weather was primo – A-M-A-Z-I-N-G for May.  I packed along some extra birthday treats, and sheets and duvet instead of sleeping bags, thermarests and tents.  We invited some good friends to join us, and other good friends popped in and out over the weekend.  I just really love the rhythms of outdoor life with our kids and friends.  It does something extra ordinarily good for my soul.

The area has awesome trails, which I went for a long run on.  The kids loved playing with their friends and biking around camp.  They were brave swimmers, enthusiastic sand-dam builders and crayfish catchers.Surveyor’s Lake has a couple of beaches.  This one is Saunder’s which is closest to the campground and playground.  The one on the other side of the lake that you can see in the picture is great for day use, as the parking lot is right there.  You can wander between the two beaches on a trail.  Or pick any watercraft you want without a motor, and go for it!  It’s a beautiful place to float about.The kids enjoyed running up and down the dusty hill behind our campsite.  A couple of them started to wander a little further than I wanted, and I saw the glow of the sun waaaay up the hill behind them, which inspired me to tell them to ‘run for the sun’ which of course the two of them did enthusiastically.  After a good little hike we reached the top, and a gorgeous view out over Lake Koocanusa.  A minute or two later a whole bunch more kids from our crew showed up with a couple of dad’s.And in case you were wondering…..eating breakfast is always safer with a helmet.