Right down on the southern end of Vancouver, you will find the popular seaside town of Sooke. Surrounded by famously unspoiled stretches of wild nature and rugged coastlines, the town is home to many excellent local restaurants, artisans, and – of course – the friendly holidaymakers who flock here.

You can also find extensive old-growth national parks, hiking and biking trails, and warm waves perfect for water sports nearby.

If you are looking to add Sooke to your travel itinerary, Sooke River Campground offers you a spot to set up basecamp that comes complete with power, water, showers AND WiFi.

Just a 7-minute drive outside of the town limits, the grounds are ideally placed for adventures in nature and water access. The campground is family-oriented and offers various accommodations for tents, RVs, and even cabin rentals.

Sooke River Campground: Your Vancouver Island West Coast Basecamp

Sooke River Campground Our Site

We were exploring the wild west coast between Sooke and Port Renfrew for 9 days. It was important for us to have access to power, water, showers, and WiFi (as we were also working).

While there are stunning BC Parks campgrounds along the way, like French Beach Provincial Park and China Beach, we needed those services you can’t find at these campgrounds.

Sooke River Campground offered us a great basecamp while we explored these wild beaches and day hikes of Juan de Fuca Provincial Park.  

Sombrio Beach Hidden Waterfall

Your Options for Accommodation at Sooke River Campground

Sooke River Campground offers a large variety of camping options to accommodate a range of guest needs.

If you are sleeping in a tent or recreational vehicle, you can find fairly plain non-service spots and hook-ups with your choice of electricity, water, and sewage. The electrical hook-ups come in 15-, 30-, and 50-Amp varieties. Please note that you are only permitted one tent or RV per camping spot, as additional sleeping places will cost extra.

All sites offer little in the way of privacy. It is a super basic campground. But the people are amazing. And it has the services you might want within the vicinity of amazing adventures.

Sooke River Campground Open Sites

If you fancied a little bit more comfort and permeance for your visit, Sooke River Campground also offers your choice of three authentic rustic cabins. The choices are between:

  • Rustic Little Cabin, which is the smallest cabin on site. Inside you will find a double bed, as well as two single bunk beds.
  • Paul’s Place or Dave’s Den, which each host a queen size bed, twin bed, and a bunk bed which has a twin bed for the bottom bunk and a single for the top bunk. This means you can sleep up to 4 adults, or a combination of 2 adults and up to 4 children here.

All of the cabins come equipped with a small electrical heater, fridge, electric kettle, toaster, and a cooking plate with two burners. Outside you will find access to potable water, as well as a fire pit and picnic table.

While there is no access to running water inside the cabins, they are conveniently located just a 1-minute walk away from regularly cleaned and well-maintained bathroom facilities.

Please note that the cabins do not come with bedding or kitchen utensils, so you will have to bring your own with you.

The Amenities at Sooke River Campground

Even though it is just over a 5-minute drive from Sooke, the campground is well-stocked with amenities and essentials so that you don’t have to break your immersion by returning to civilization early to restock if you don’t want to!

The office sells those camping essentials like firewood and ice and is open from 11 am until 7 pm every day. There is also free Wi-Fi access which runs (mostly) throughout the site. If you need anything else, there are campground managers accessible on-site all of the time.

Wheelchair-accessible washrooms ensure that everyone is catered for, and the showers are hot, but you do need to pay with coins. You can also find a sani-dump station on site.

Other than that, there is a picnic area and clubhouse, as well as a children’s playground to keep the little ones occupied. If you are hosting a large event, meetup, or family gathering, you can also find an event space here.

Sooke River Campground Playground

The campgrounds even have direct water access and a boat launch, so it is a perfect overnight location for anyone who is a fan of boating, kayaking, canoeing, or paddle boarding.

Sooke River Campground

Finally, it is worth mentioning that Sooke River Campground pride themselves on maintaining a safe family environment. The entrance is closed at 10 pm every day, and is equipped with a security gate and lightning.

(This was a bit of an issue for us, though. We were driving quite far away some days and wanted to capture sunset shots. We were not able to do so as we had to be back before 10pm.)

Everything You Need to Know About the Surrounding Area

The area around Sooke River Campground and Sooke itself is rich with adventure opportunities that allow you to get up close and personal with the untamed nature and rugged beauty of this part of Vancouver Island.

East Sooke Regional Park plays host to hiking trails for every ability level. Birdwatching enthusiasts should definitely pay a visit to Whiffin Spit, which is a natural breakwater past Sooke Harbour. There are also some excellent whale watching tours nearby, which will give you the opportunity to see seals, sea lions, orcas, and baleens whales in the wild!

A little further inland, you can find the Sooke Potholes Regional Park and its deep crystal pools which are perfect for cooling off in the heat of the day. The gorgeous Galloping Goose Regional Trail also links Sooke to Victoria along 55 kilometers of the former railway, for your biking or hiking pleasure.

Sports fans should also consider checking out the nearby SEAPARC Leisure Complex which hosts the facilities for skating, swimming, baseball, biking, and golf!

How to Find Sooke River Campground

The community of Sooke is easy to find, located just approximately a 40-minute drive from Victoria on Highway 14 to the southern end of Vancouver Island.

Once you have crossed the bridge on Phillips Road, you need to take the first right. After this, you pass by the Sooke Region Museum and Visitor Centre, as well as the SEAPARC Leisure Complex, both on your left. At the bottom of that hill, you will find the campground situated on the peaceful shores of the Sooke River and De Mamiel Creek. From here, it is just a 7-minute drive back to Sooke if you wanted to visit the town or restock your supplies!

Or, alternatively, if you are biking (or trekking) instead of traveling by car, you can reach Sooke directly by following the beautiful Galloping Goose Regional Trail.

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