Camping comes in many forms: car camping, canoe camping, overnight hikes, camping by a river, on a lake, on an island, on a mountain. I’ve experienced all of these on a number of occasions over the last 20 years, but one still eluded me: winter camping.
Now that we have kids, I thought I might never experience what it’s like. But we are in Canada, so opportunities do abound. And here in the Ottawa region winter camping can be made easy. That’s because the National Capital Commission offers four-season tents (four people) or yurts (six people) in Gatineau Park. These sturdy canvas tents are ideal for first-time winter campers like ourselves, and make it a breeze to bring the kids along. You just have to ski about 2-5 km to get there! The tents cost just under $100 a night. It’s a bit steep, but the experience was worth it.
We booked two weeknights during the kids’ March Break the day reservations opened (they get reserved quickly). We could only hope the weather was going to be nice!
Some prep work required
As the departure date neared, there was some prep-work required. While you can get all your gear delivered for a fee, we’re thrifty travelers so we decided to carry all of ours in. That meant getting (read building) a pulk – basically a sled that you can pull. I found out how to make one that cost me less than $20 by using one of the kids sled. All I had to do was buy some rope, carabiners and 20 ft of PVC pipe. There are a number of possibilities for building your own, depending on how durable you want it and how much you want to spend.
Once it was done, all I had to do was strap in our bags and clip the pulk to a backpack and we were good to go. (I did have some minor difficulties with the rope at first, so make sure to test it out before you go out!)
Hitting the trails
The weather cooperated extremely well, with temperatures hovering around the 0C mark. Skiing out was quick because the trails were fairly icy. However, the conditions flipped completely the other way on the way out, as thick snow slowed us down. Make sure you bring different types of ski wax with you as the conditions can change quickly. The ski trails are maintained in Gatineau Park, with space for both classic and skate-skiing, but with heavy snowfall, the groomers weren’t able to keep up.
The kids loved to ski out and around the tents, especially on the hills. M. spent a couple of hours just going around the tent area as there was a nice little hill. N., on the other hand, skied a bit but was more interested in building little stockpiles of nuts and branches for the squirrels. Because the weather was so warm, we were able to hang outside most of the time.
Spacious and cozy accommodations
The tents themselves are spacious with enough space to cook and comfortably play card games on the dining table. There’s a double bed and two singles (bunk style over the double). The kids loved the bunk beds, and spent a lot of time reading and playing on them. The tent comes equipped with a barbecue for cooking, a few kitchen items so you don’t have to carry everything. You just need your clothes, bedding and food. The tent is kept warm thanks to a fireplace. In fact, while we were there, it was sometimes too warm in the tent, especially early at night, when we would fill the fireplace hoping it would last through the night.
We could have easily spent another night or two, enjoying the peace and quiet that only a winter night in the woods seems to be able to provide. We’ll probably do it again… or maybe next time, we’ll actually bring our own tent instead!
