Best Free Camping Secret 3.5 Hours From Calgary | Camp Fires, Cliff Jumping, and Star Gazing

Although not the largest or, by any means, busiest city in Canada, it's always nice to escape the hustle and bustle of Calgary and spend some time in the mountains. In fact, being so close to the mountains is own of Calgary's selling points! For five years now my friends and I have been doing our annual August long-weekend camping trip, where we pack up our SUV, bring the snacks, sleeping bags, bathing suits, and drinks and make the 3 ish hour trip down to Fernie together. Just outside of Fernie, BC is my favourite place to soak up the sun, spend some time with my friends, and camp for FREE if you can find one of the spots.

Silver Springs.

The night sky from our camp site

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Getting There

About 3.5 hours from Calgary, set your GPS to Elko, BC, a town just outside of Fernie. Along the way, you can stop at attractions like:

Frank Slide

The World's Biggest Truck

The Town of Fernie

Turn off the highway onto Bate Ave when you get to Fernie, then take a right on to Main Street. At the fork where mainstream splits into two, take a slight left onto Alexander Ave which will turn in to Cascade Street. The first left off Cascade street will be sharp onto Lodgepole River Road where you will take a small bridge across Elk River. This is a logging road that will go for a long ways into the bush/hills following the train tracks and the river. On the right hand side will be small grass roads leading to singular camping areas. When you see a spot, set up camp and get to having fun!

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Things to Do

The reason why we love this site so much is because it provides a great opportunity to unplug with those close to you and spend time in nature. But, don't forget to download the music playlist you want before you go because cell service will be spotty at best. Here's a list of some of our favourite activities:

1. Take a night walk

After we set up camp, crack a few drinks, and sit by the fire, we love to take a midnight walk

up the service roads. The higher you go, the better you can see the stars! Especially on August long weekend, the nights are warm and it's a really nice way to soak up the silence of the forest.

Our most recent camp site

2. Put out the fire and admire the stars

The city has so much light pollution. Whenever you take a trip out to the mountains it's so nice to admire the sheer volume of stars in the night sky that you miss at home. As you can see from the picture, which granted is a little blurry and doesn't come close to doing justice because of the capabilities of my phone camera, there's still a ton of stars that are visible.

3. Go Cliff Jumping

This is the whole reason we come here. During the day, we pack a cooler bag with snacks and make the trek up the mountain to the swimming hole. This hike is actually a hike on it's own, and you can continue up to another lake nestled in the mountain side, however, most people stop at the first lake and set up camp on the rock cliffs. During the hot August day, this place gets packed with people coming to jump off the cliffs (ranging in height from 5, to 20, to 50 ft.) Soak up the sun, take a dip, and don't forget your drinks, sunscreen, bug spray, towel, and a floaty tube for the water.

Cliff jumping at the lake

If you choose to check it out, don't share it too publicly. We don't want our secret hideaway getting too popular.