Why you SHOULD go camping with your boat or PWC!

By Cody McGhee
Senior Marketing Associate – Marine
Yamaha Motor Canada

One of my favourite things to do in summer is go camping. It’s my way to disconnect from the everyday hustle and bustle while enjoying some time in nature.

Over the years, I’ve managed to spend a lot of time camping, exploring Canada coast to coast. From campsites in the mountains of the Yukon Territory to picturesque Cape Breton Island, I’ve seen parts of Canada that most people only dream about.

Some of my fondest trips have been those with a boat or WaveRunner! I’ve travelled 100km+ along the Bruce Peninsula coast, circumnavigated the islands of Thousand Islands National Park and eaten a lot of packed lunches with my toes in the water! But why are these my fondest camping trips? Because they all start where the asphalt ends, and only likeminded people can be found.

Using a boat or PWC to go camping isn’t just about a new way to get there; it’s about finding new campsites and views that are otherwise unreachable. A watercraft and a tent unlock a whole new world of possibilities.

With an asphalt perspective, you might think you need a lot of special gear or equipment but that isn’t the case. If you already have the gear and equipment to go car camping or backpacking, it’s easy to make the transition to water-access camping. I would recommend buying a few dry bags though! Packing Tip: Always ensure that you have warm clothes readily available, air temperature on the water can change fast!

Now that you’re eager to explore, where do you actually go? Well, your imagination is the only limit! A remote lake? Grab a small aluminum boat and a portable! One of the great lakes? Not a problem! Saltwater? Absolutely! Between Crown Land, Provincial Parks and National Parks, there are countless places and opportunities to go camping in Canada! I start with what I want to do and base my camping trip around that. I shift between small lakes for a weekend getaway or large “expedition” style trips, where I load up gear and head out for three or four days, visiting remote parts with some extra gas onboard. The options to camp in Canada are truly limitless.

Does your boat already need to be in the body of water you want to camp on? Absolutely not! If you can trailer your boat, put it on the roof of your car or inflate it after pulling it out of trunk, you can go anywhere. I usually find a public boat launch operated by a marina or a municipality and set off from there. This way, I know there is a sound ramp for launching and a place to leave my vehicle when I head out. A few times I’ve gone down a back road and launched from a gravel ramp to explore a lesser visited lake. Any ramp you can launch your boat or PWC from will be a great place to start your first water-based camping trip.

Any day you can get out on the water is a good one in my books. But the days when you know you get to sleep next to the water are even more special and the only way to do this is to make a splash and go camping with your boat or PWC.