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We’ve discussed the best places to stay, which most people interpreted as hotels. Let’s put a twist on this and name the best places to camp. (I shouldn’t have to say it, but sleeping in an RV is not camping.) Where do you pitch a tent or simply throw down a sleeping bag?
My first choice - About fifteen kilometers into the Escalante Canyon, the Escalante River and Deer Creek come together beneath 100-meter high walls of varnished sandstone. Neither is ever much more than ten or fifteen feet across and ankle deep, but they are clear streams fed by melting snow from the nearby mountains. Here where they join they run across a ridge of sandstone with several short falls and slides, adding their melody to the song of the birds soaring there. A few waist-deep pools offer a chance for a dip, with flat boulders nearby to soak in the sun. The campsite lies just a few meters off in a grove of old cottonwoods that filter the sun and rustle in the breeze. The sand is soft and cool, perfect for walking around barefoot. No need for a tent.
A close second – About ten kilometers north from Gargantua Bay in Lake Superior Provincial Park, there is a long sandy beach running the length of a cove. The water is azure blue, looking like the Agean except for the pine and maple forest on the shores.The bay is filled with several rocky islands. This is all beautiful enough, but at the end of the beach there is another cove of an even more striking blue color, lined by a low rock cliff and complete with its own island in the center. Shallow, sandy and secluded, it is the perfect place for a swim (clothing optional). The wild blueberries and thimbleberries are thick along the edge of the forest in August. Fifty kilometers from any town, the night sky is spectacular. Your best bet is to forget the tent and simply shape a comfortable bed on the sand. Watch the stars until the waves lull you to sleep. If you are lucky, you may be nuzzled awake by a bear.
My first choice - About fifteen kilometers into the Escalante Canyon, the Escalante River and Deer Creek come together beneath 100-meter high walls of varnished sandstone. Neither is ever much more than ten or fifteen feet across and ankle deep, but they are clear streams fed by melting snow from the nearby mountains. Here where they join they run across a ridge of sandstone with several short falls and slides, adding their melody to the song of the birds soaring there. A few waist-deep pools offer a chance for a dip, with flat boulders nearby to soak in the sun. The campsite lies just a few meters off in a grove of old cottonwoods that filter the sun and rustle in the breeze. The sand is soft and cool, perfect for walking around barefoot. No need for a tent.
A close second – About ten kilometers north from Gargantua Bay in Lake Superior Provincial Park, there is a long sandy beach running the length of a cove. The water is azure blue, looking like the Agean except for the pine and maple forest on the shores.The bay is filled with several rocky islands. This is all beautiful enough, but at the end of the beach there is another cove of an even more striking blue color, lined by a low rock cliff and complete with its own island in the center. Shallow, sandy and secluded, it is the perfect place for a swim (clothing optional). The wild blueberries and thimbleberries are thick along the edge of the forest in August. Fifty kilometers from any town, the night sky is spectacular. Your best bet is to forget the tent and simply shape a comfortable bed on the sand. Watch the stars until the waves lull you to sleep. If you are lucky, you may be nuzzled awake by a bear.
