Reviews

April Krupek

I don’t often leave reviews—positive or negative—but I felt this one was important for anyone who may be sensitive to smells. The campground staff were friendly and efficient, and the facilities for children were excellent with great playgrounds and a nice pool. The river was beautiful, and it was a bonus to have flush toilets, showers, and laundry available. While the sites lack privacy, they are adequate. Unfortunately, the intermittent—at times nearly constant—smell of sewer gas throughout much of the campground was almost unbearable. It woke us during the night and made sitting or eating outside nearly impossible. After three days, we left with headaches, nausea, and dizziness (and no, alcohol was not a factor). The system all looks brand new, but something must be seriously “off,” as we frequently stay at sites with hookups and have never experienced this issue before. Sadly, we won’t be returning.

M L

We had a great time! The late check-in was awesome and the location was top notch. Having a gate card was a great feature that allowed us to enjoy our late night evening without having to rush back to our lodging. The campsite was clean and so were the facilities. My only small complaint, there was no hot water even after inserting my loonie. Other than that, 10/10 experience. We will definitely be back again. 😊

Tara Jean Stevens

Camping at Pathfinder is officially a family tradition! We'll be back next year for our 3rd year in a row. There's so much to love, like riverside tent sites, nice facilities (bathrooms, showers, laundry, pool, store). The biggest draw here for my family is the private river access, with shallow areas for wading, and, deeper areas for some fun, safe, & entertaining cliff jumping. Bring your snorkels, tubes, and water shoes. Is it perfect? No. There's very little privacy between sites, and there is an unfortunate stench of sewer. But, that smell is mostly contained to the back few rows of RV sites, and it's my understanding that this is not a permanent issue. Thank you to the owners and staff, and see you in 2026!

Ella Arnold

Stayed 2 nights and would absolutely go back! The staff are funny and kind and even escorted and helped us pull into our site. Makes it even better that it was a pull through site which makes it easier for people. Bathrooms are super clean and I love the cedar vibe to it. Laundry room is open 24 hours as well as the bathroom. Hot showers ($1 - 5 minutes). Lots of activities for kids with 2 play areas, a pool, office with candy and ice cream, go karts ($10 for ½ an hour and $15 for 1 hour), themed activities every weekend, colouring contests, a few basketball hoops, and a river with jumping spots. The location is great too as town is not far away (maybe 15 minutes not even) but it feels like you're separated from everything. Lots of trees as well so most sites have lots of shade. Definitely recommend!

Stevie M

Great camping spot! Our family stay here from May to September. This is our second year and we still love it as much as the first one. Staff is great ! Tony and his wife are amazing. They all make my kids feel welcome and keep them busy lol! 😂 Weekly activities, Saturday movie night in the park. Beautiful river for swimming ! We bring our paddle boards and it’s always a blast ! They also have a heated swimming pool if you find the river to cold (Englishman river). Dog friendly as well ! I have read a lot of bad reviews and I’m honestly shocked.. I have camped a lot, and this is by far the best spot, local to us. Sure the septic smells here and there, I mean, it’s like this everywhere I have been. Don’t let the bad reviews drive you away. ❤️

Sheena a

The upgrades to this place are amazing! For a relaxing swim check out the beach and river. River too cold? Head over to the heated pool! Well stocked store. Don't worry if you have forgotten anything, they are sure to have it. It is family friendly. My 9 yr olds asked to return before we even left Parksville. The staff are friendly and helpful. Already planning my stay again for this year. Thanks Pathfinders!

Erin Sebastian

We love this campground! We have visited many different campgrounds on Vancouver Island over the past few years, and the people here are the nicest by far! So helpful, welcoming, friendly, generous and kind. The campground is really clean, has a great location with perfect access to the beautiful river, awesome playgrounds for the kids, and a wonderful pool in the summer. The general store is really handy, with great ice cream and candy, plus free goody bags/activity kids for the kids! Just awesome!!! We will keep going back year after year - mostly because of the best staff!

Gary Candy

Wow, pleasantly surprised with all the upgraded amenities, The showers and bathrooms were very clean and well maintained and the heated pool was fantastic. Swimming in the Englishman river was great.The prices for full upgraded services were very competitive. Walking or biking distance from downtown Parksville in just a few minutes. The best part of our trip was the overall kindness and wanting to satisfy our every request by Nicole and Toni. Fantastic people running the resort. I would definitely recommend you stay a while at Pathfinder resort.Thanks for all your help guys. Cheers see you soon

Lorraine W

Really enjoyed our stay. For a modern campground , with all the amenities, it still had that rustic campground look. The campsites were a good size and gave us plenty room. Nice easy access to the River. The camp caretakers were very good. They were very friendly and ready to give a hand to anyone that needed it. The playground was good and fit the rustic theme with lots big logs and climbing ropes but i think having more stuff geared for smaller (3-7yrs.)would be good. They are still working on the campground so maybe there will be next year? A fenced Dog area would be nice where you could take your dog of leash for a bit and let them play and run.

Nikki Anderson

The staff are friendly, Tony was great! The park is VERY well kept and you can see that they are working hard to make major improvements. The pool was nice but cold, the sound of the river was relaxing and it had a lovely beach. The kids play areas are so imaginative and our 10 year old boy really enjoyed making friends and playing on the apparatus, you could also see small children enjoy it all just as much. The bike trail was amazing and exactly what our boy enjoys! I can see that they have great vision for the park, I think it will be one of the best in the area once they have the time to add more shrubs etc. KUDOS this is well done so far and we can't wait to return!