You know those weekends where you’ve got a plan in mind – and everything turns around? This was one of those weekends. We were getting ready to head out to Rocky Mountain House to introduce the kids to one of our favourite spots, Crescent Falls – when we couldn’t find accommodations at a campground with space for our ‘glamper’. Just look at this kids glamping in comfort, there’s no way they were going to rough it in a tent for the weekend! And me, being third-trimester pregnant, let’s face it, there would be no tent camping after we’ve experienced glamping. 
Friends of ours were also heading out for the weekend, and mentioned that there were a handful of sites left at the campground they had booked, at Gregg Lake, in William A. Switzer Provincial Park. Always up for a new adventure, and thankful for friends that introduce us to new places that become old-favourites, we packed up the RV we were traveling in and headed out for the weekend, planning activities we knew would tire out the kids.
Gregg Lake Campground
The large camp sites at Gregg Lake Campground made it easy to back in the RV and the playground close by (in addition to one a little farther) made it simple for the kids to adventure and play. There were just enough trees in the campground to make it feel ‘campy’ but lots of open space for the kids to run between campsites. Bathrooms and a small store, with water and serviced sites, made the camping weekend comfortable.
At the campground, there were some great trails! We took a couple of these trails and ended up at a small beach area, with a boat launch and playground further down the road. The small beach area turned out to be the perfect place for five kids to get their feet (and pants) wet in the water, before heading back to camp and plan for the rest of the day.
What to do at William A. Switzer Provincial Park
On the way into Gregg Lake campground, there are a handful of campgrounds you’ll pass by – and each has different trails and beaches to explore. Kelley’s Bathtub, is one of the gems we discovered with the kids, where they spent hours playing in the sand and wading in the water.
Hiking trails, a great, enclosed area for the kids to practice their paddling skills and a loop that goes all the way around the lake make it a stop worth a picnic lunch if you’re camping in the area.
Backtracking into Hinton area, the Beaver Boardwalk was an entertaining weekend morning walk, with the kids trying to spot beavers and enjoying the wooden walkway trail that we embarked upon. The massive beaver dams and lookout points made for an interesting walk, as the kids asked everything they could think of about beavers.
Heading back to the campground, we spent a lot of time on the weekend on the water. At the small beach area, from a trail in the F loop (the campground is huge) we played at the shore, and later brought over the kayaks (don’t worry, you can access this by road) and paddled out to a small, swampy island in the middle of the lake. Violet was the first one to step on the island, and by family rules, she took ownership of it – her first island of the year.
At just under three hours from home, William A. Switzer Provincial Park isn’t one of the places that was on my radar for a weekend ‘glamping’ getaway – but I’m sure glad that we were introduced to it!
This feature is a part of a series that we’re working on to encourage families to get outside. We’ve teamed up with Go RV to explore four campgrounds in Alberta. To make it easier for your family to get out there and discover a new Alberta campground, Go RV is giving one reader the chance to win a week long RV rental to see what the RV Experience is all about.
