FanVancouver · Local guide
Porteau Cove Provincial Park
Porteau Cove camping 2026: nightly fees by campground, booking window, facilities and step-by-step arrival. Fees from $51 a night in peak season.
FanVancouver · Local guide
Porteau Cove camping 2026: nightly fees by campground, booking window, facilities and step-by-step arrival. Fees from $51 a night in peak season.
Home · BC Camping · Porteau Cove Provincial Park
Sea-to-Sky · Howe Sound · frontcountry
Sleep with Howe Sound under your pillow.
Tiny + iconic — often fully booked Peak summer; shoulder still popularPorteau Cove is salt, granite, and scarcity. The park is small enough to memorize in one walk, popular enough that summer Saturdays are a solved puzzle only if you reserved months ago. Across the water the Coast Mountains rise like a theatre curtain; freighters draw slow lines on the Sound.
You get flush toilets and showers in a footprint that feels almost European in its density. The railway is part of the night. Divers talk about reefs; photographers talk about the last light on the opposite shore. If you need sprawling privacy, this is the wrong cathedral — go north. If you need the ocean’s voice within an hour of Vancouver, few places argue better.
| Campground / service | Peak season | Shoulder season | Winter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main campground | $51 | $51 | $18 |
| Walk-in campground | $29 | $20 | $18 |
| Moorage | $2 per metre | — | — |
| Dock use | $12 per vessel per night | — | — |
| Sani-station | $5 per discharge | — | — |
Fees per party per night unless stated otherwise, verified against the BC Parks fee schedule on 2026-08-04. A dash means the campground does not operate in that season or the fee is not published separately. Transaction fees are extra.
Nearest service hub: Lions Bay / Squamish corridor
Fuel in North Vancouver or Squamish. Do not rely on tiny corridor stations being open late.
Dive charters and kayak outfitters operate on Howe Sound seasonally — book from Vancouver/Squamish. Site is small; bring your own compact kit.
Building a kit from scratch? See the BC camping gear guide — tents, sleeping systems, stoves and bear spray.
Marine influence: cool wind off Howe Sound, sudden fog, spectacular clear evenings. Pack windproof layers even in July.
Always re-check the morning you leave: Environment Canada + BC wildfire map + DriveBC.
Store food, garbage, coolers, toiletries and dishwater in a locked hard-sided vehicle or the campground's locker. BC Parks specifically asks you not to hang food at frontcountry campgrounds — that is a backcountry technique, and a badly hung bag simply teaches a bear where the food is. Keep 100 m from bears, wolves, coyotes and cougars, and 30 m from deer, moose, elk and wild sheep. Report dangerous or habituated wildlife to RAPP at 1-877-952-7277.
Open in Google Maps · coords ~49.56, -123.24
Nightly fees range from $51 in peak season at main campground, per the current BC Parks fee schedule. Add a $6 per night per site reservation transaction fee, and from May 15, 2026 a $20 per stay fee for visitors without BC residency proof.
3 months to the day before arrival, with new inventory released at 7:00 am Pacific Time daily. Reservations close 8:00 pm two days before arrival at parks without internet connectivity. Note that a booking made on the first day of your window cannot have its dates or length changed later — only cancelled.
Limited; bans common. Prohibitions change through the summer and are enforced — a violation ticket is $1,150, and a fire that escapes can cost up to $1,000,000 and/or up to 3 years in jail, plus the government's firefighting and damage costs. Check the current ban status before you light anything.
Yes, in the ordinary British Columbia sense. Store all food, garbage, coolers, toiletries and dishwater in a locked hard-sided vehicle or the provided locker — BC Parks specifically asks you not to hang food at frontcountry campgrounds. Keep 100 m from bears, wolves, coyotes and cougars, and 30 m from deer, moose, elk and wild sheep. Report dangerous wildlife to RAPP at 1-877-952-7277.
Planning guidance only — facilities and access change with season, construction and emergency orders. Fees verified against the official BC Parks schedule on 2026-08-04; confirm on the official park page before you travel. Updated 2026-09-27.
More BC camping
