FREE camping in the Okanagan Valley | Burnell Recreation Site Review

We couldn’t believe it when we found FREE camping in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, Canada. This region is famous for its hot summer days by the lakes, wine tours, desert climate, and abundance of fruit stands. Campgrounds normally book up months in advance and can be quite expensive, so a budget camping option was what we were looking for. You can’t get any better than FREE, right?

The Burnell Recreation Site is not accessible to all types of RV’s, though. The road to get there is narrow, bumpy, and there is the potential for some low hanging tree branches. Those able/willing to brave the drive up are rewarded with a beautiful lakeside campsite nestled in the hills of the surrounding forest.

Amenities are light here, with only pit toilets available. Everything brought in must also be packed out, including trash. Be prepared that mobile signal is very limited, too.

Activities include walking around the lake, fishing or floating on the lake, and taking day trips into the town of Oliver or nearby(ish) wineries. We stayed here during the week and found it was very peaceful and we could see a lot of stars at night.

0:00 Chapters:
0:14 Where is the Burnell Recreation Site?
1:25 What to do at the Burnell Lake Rec Site
3:54 Benny goes walking
4:37 Bloopers