Things To DoCamping

Classic Canadian Camping

Whether it’s roughing it, backcountry camping around Murtle Lake, or camping in one of our RV Parks, Blue River is all about classic, Canadian camping. Pitch your tent, or park your RV. Connect with friends and family while making camp and stoking your campfire. Roast marshmallows on a stick. Meet other campers from around the world. Share your stories. Compare your experiences. Stay up past your usual bedtime. Listen to nocturnal wilderness sounds. Fall asleep under the stars with the distant call of a train whistling in your ears. Eat breakfast, lunch and dinner over a picnic table.

Blue River Campground

Open seasonally from May to October, the family-friendly Blue River Campground & RV Park features 42 sites for RV and tent camping, including three tipi tents and an outdoor community gazebo with tv. Wi-fi extends to most campsites within the campground and rental equipment is available on a first-come, first served reservation basis (canoes, tents and fishing gear). Get your bearings and then be sure to visit the friendly site office for daily recommendations on what to see and where to hike, ride or fish.

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Bone Creek Wilderness Retreat

The Bone Creek Wilderness Retreat just north of Blue River will inspire tales of adventure with its magnificent setting in the shadow of Duffy Peak at Cedar Mountain. Surrounded by 155 acres of undeveloped Crown lands, Bone Creek Wilderness Retreat features rustic wilderness cabins outfitted with all the comforts of home, along with fully serviced drive-in and tenting campsites. You’ll be inspired to return in winter, when the cabins at Bone Creek become your staging ground for snow-filled adventures, sledding their vast untracked trails.

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Backcountry Wilderness CampingMurtle Lake

Pack in your tent and make camp on the beach from May to the end of September in one of the first-come, first-served (un-reservable) backcountry campsites. Drift off to that deep kind of sleep you can only have after a day spent exploring the great outdoors. Wake up to sunrise peaking over the mountains and find true tranquility in your tent, on the sandy shores of Murtle Lake.

With over 100 kilometres of forested shoreline, 69 campsites in 20 secluded locations, camping at Murtle Lake truly is getting away from it all. Rugged, raw and wild, camping here is for the adventurous at heart. Point your canoe and begin paddling, it’s the only way you can reach 19 of the 20 campsites. Outfitted with shared fire rings, pit toilets, and bear caches, Murtle Lake is a backcountry camping experience where up-close and personal encounters with wildlife can be a frequent occurrence. Unplug and reconnect with the natural world as you explore Murtle Lake’s endless kilometres of pure, off the grid, get-away-from-it-all wilderness.

Need to Know
  • Get Informed and go Outdoors Visit - adventuresmart.ca
  • No dogs allowed on Murtle Lake
  • Both Blue River Campground & RV Park, and Bone Creek Wilderness Retreat are right off the Yellowhead Highway, making it easy to pull in just for the night or even longer. Both are pet friendly.
  • Bone Creek is not pet friendly
  • Camping at Murtle Lake is backcountry, wilderness camping where you must pack out what you packed in
  • Campsites at Murtle Lake are on a first-come, first-served basis, no reservations required
  • To avoid disappointment, reserve your Blue River Campground or Bone Creek Wilderness Retreat campsite in advance
  • Cash is the preferred method of payment at Murtle Lake and Bone Creek Wilderness Retreat
  • Area trail maps are available for free at the Blue River Campground. Detailed, regional road maps are also available for sale here
  • Due to the backcountry environment, pets are not allowed at Murtle Lake
  • Prepare for mosquitoes in summer –light-weight, long-sleeved clothing, bug repellent and netting for protection