The McLeod Lake store is just north of a most fabulous secret camping spot I will reveal to you now. The McLeod Lake store is one of the best parts of camping at the secret camping spot. I tell you, the McLeod Lake store is all you should ever need. It has charcoal, it has matches, it has candles, it has beans in a can and rum in a bottle. It has wines red and white and tapes scotch and duct; it has stamps and vinegar and crayons.

It might also have, I don’t know—towels. I brought enough towels and so this is why I don’t know that.

Ten years ago, my little family and I embarked upon a glorious camping trip. The length: summer. All summer. Seven full weeks. We were slowly making our way from Terrace to visit relatives in Manitoba. Not the usual rushed trip in a small car in midwinter, nor even a quicker trip by plane: Hello, eat, hello, eat again, eat and good-bye. Oh, no. This was a leisurely trip.

My sister phoned me on my ultra-modern cellphone and was surprised to hear we were still in BC. “It has been weeks!” she exclaimed. “Yes,” I agreed, readily, “but we like this spot we found, and we are not in a rush.”

So, this is that spot: lakeside.

But not the lakeside that you have to reserve three months prior or the lakeside that is so dear as to be rare: no! Whole dang thing is lakeside, each with a little sandy beach. Imagine the joy! Want sunset? Yes. Want a little more privacy, more trees between, more shade? Yes. Want at least three spots away from the RV with the speakers outside? No problem. Want a larger sunny beach for a day or two or a week? Totally.

How is that not to love?

Every day we decided to stay another day, until, finally, five or so days later, we decided to mosey on up the road.

It’s called Whiskers Point Provincial Park campground, located 130 km north of Prince George on Highway 97, and you are welcome to take our spot. Our little RV was badly damaged late last summer, and so this camping season we will be doing renovations on our house and some landscaping. It will be a staycation, where we will sit in our backyard of an evening and admire the improved drainage.

You may also take our camping spot at Kinaskan Lake Provincial Park, about 100 km south of Dease Lake on Highway 37. It is reminiscent of Whiskers Point, but everything is bigger and wider and wilder.  From the campground, located at lake’s edge, campers are treated to sweeping views up the lake’s length with Todagin Mountain to the east and the Klastline Plateau to the west: spectacular scenery.

If you canoe across the narrows, you can hike along an old trail and see numerous abandoned cabins along the way. Who lived here, how did they get all their stuff here, why did they leave such a beautiful place? It is mysterious indeed.

Here’s another mystery: the provincial park with two—count ’em, two—camping spots. It’s 50 km south of Meziadin Junction and you turn east on Brown Bear Road to make your way to Brown Bear Lake. When the road turns to a trail with bear scat every 10 yards, you’re almost there. It’s called Swan Lake Kispiox River Provincial Park and, yes, you can take our spot there, too. Oh—and wear your whistles.