Theres an area off sooke lake rd in shawnigan where you can explore and play a little. Theres an old sand pit on the left that I was able to get my ranger on 31's and only a shackle lift in about a year ago.
No guarantee that it hasn't been dug up or blocked though. Theres more than just the gravel pit to play in if you explore a bit but most of the side road are gated.
The old Franklin camp is just a ugly strip of gravel off of the main logging road. You dont want to camp here unless you have a large RV or something. Nobody will kick you out, but they will wonder why you choose such a terrible place.
If you have a 4x4 with decent ground clearance you can camp at Francis lake, or theres a cute little rec site at flora lake where you wont need 4x4.
Keep an eye on these forums. Once in a while some of us meet up for stock runs in that area.
I just moved to Victoria recently from shawnigan lake and I plan on exploring forebay main and stuff around sooke pretty soon. You'd be more than welcome to tag along with my gf and I.
I'm not even exaggerating how sketchy the camping is out near san joseph bay. My gf and I ended up sharing a camp site with a single female traveling on her own because neither of us felt safe.
Garbage is dumped all over the place and tons of broken glass from people vehicles being broken into. I know I probably sound like a pussy, but I grew up in a bad area of toronto and I know a sketchy place when I see it lol.
I wouldn't go past port alice. I did a trip all the way up island in October and I was really disappointed with the port hardy/san Joseph bay area. San Joseph bay and the north coast trail is stunning but the camping is really bad and sketchy. There are only 2 really badly overgrown camp sites in the area and the natives from port hardy are constantly breaking into people's vehicles.
You should look up the port alice lake route. Spend a couple days exploring the logging roads and lakes in this area, then head to port Alice, gas up and re supply in port alice, then make the 2 hour trip out to side bay. Side bay is the best camp spot I have found on Vancouver island. It's a stunning and sheltered bay and you can drive right out onto the beach and camp.
Theres an area off sooke lake rd in shawnigan where you can explore and play a little. Theres an old sand pit on the left that I was able to get my ranger on 31's and only a shackle lift in about a year ago.
No guarantee that it hasn't been dug up or blocked though. Theres more than just the gravel pit to play in if you explore a bit but most of the side road are gated.
The old Franklin camp is just a ugly strip of gravel off of the main logging road. You dont want to camp here unless you have a large RV or something. Nobody will kick you out, but they will wonder why you choose such a terrible place.
If you have a 4x4 with decent ground clearance you can camp at Francis lake, or theres a cute little rec site at flora lake where you wont need 4x4.
Keep an eye on these forums. Once in a while some of us meet up for stock runs in that area.
I just moved to Victoria recently from shawnigan lake and I plan on exploring forebay main and stuff around sooke pretty soon. You'd be more than welcome to tag along with my gf and I.
I'm not even exaggerating how sketchy the camping is out near san joseph bay. My gf and I ended up sharing a camp site with a single female traveling on her own because neither of us felt safe.
Garbage is dumped all over the place and tons of broken glass from people vehicles being broken into. I know I probably sound like a pussy, but I grew up in a bad area of toronto and I know a sketchy place when I see it lol.
I wouldn't go past port alice. I did a trip all the way up island in October and I was really disappointed with the port hardy/san Joseph bay area. San Joseph bay and the north coast trail is stunning but the camping is really bad and sketchy. There are only 2 really badly overgrown camp sites in the area and the natives from port hardy are constantly breaking into people's vehicles.
You should look up the port alice lake route. Spend a couple days exploring the logging roads and lakes in this area, then head to port Alice, gas up and re supply in port alice, then make the 2 hour trip out to side bay. Side bay is the best camp spot I have found on Vancouver island. It's a stunning and sheltered bay and you can drive right out onto the beach and camp.