Have you heard of Willey West? I hadn’t before my Husband came home and asked if I wanted to take the family there for a RVing camping trip. I’m ALWAYS up for camping, especially now that the in-laws have a motorhome we can borrow. We left Friday evening last weekend, once the storm had calmed down!
Looking back at them just hanging out took me back to my childhood trips RVing with my grandparents. It made my heart so happy! But, I digress.
Back to the trip! This campground is close to Drayton Valley and sits right along the North Saskatchewan River. We took the route through Devon, turning at Calmar onto highway 39 and even in the motor home were there in just a little over an hour.
I knew this was going to be a weird weather weekend based on the storms that came through on Friday so we were prepared for rain but ended up with quite a bit of sunshine! Soon as we got there we checked out the river.
Because of the rain, there was a small waterfall in between those two hills – the kids loved it. There wasn’t the traditional beach but this was the boat launch and it had lots of room for them to get their toes wet. It actually reminded me a bit of the Accidental Beach in Edmonton. Sometimes they were dipping their feet in, otherwise, they were throwing rocks. I’m not sure why but they can do this for HOURS!
We were all set up on a group site with games and had brought our dog for the first time. Mama Kim suggested bringing a chair for him so he wasn’t on the ground getting dirty. He loved every minute and got all kinds of attention. He was so good! He’s a barker at home but out by the fire, hanging out with everyone he was a fantastically behaved pup!
My daughter actually made a comment about the bathrooms – they actually smelled pretty good. And it was Provincial Parks Day on Saturday so there were a bunch of fun activities by the playground. Which, speaking of, the park here is really great! A definite bonus with kids in tow! At one point we actually saw a deer enjoying the long grass along the hill too.
This was by far the most relaxing and enjoyable camping trip I’ve been on in a long time. We were RVing, so no tent set up. The kids made friends and had lots to do, and after they went to bed (SUPER LATE I might add) just relaxing around the fire was amazing. Listening to the river and just enjoying the fresh air.
I really like this campground and would definitely go again!
Looking for some other tried and true, AM approved camping spots? Check out all our Camping articles!
