Heart Haven RV Park — Local services in Parksville

We stayed here for the first time during the May long weekend. The campground was decent. Our site backed onto the river which was very cool, and was located beside the playground, also quite convienient as we have kids.

While we enjoyed our stay and would certainly go back, there were a few negatives that were worth noting:

Sites are very small and narrow (Not super uncommon for an RV park, but still enough to not get a perfect 5 star rating from me). By the time we put our trailer in, there was almost no room to park our truck. We also had a tent and another vehicle with us. We would have booked two sites, but when we called they said there would be plenty of room - there wasn't.

Website states there is a sani-dump on site, but we could not find it anywhere. (In all honesty I didn't ask anyone either, so this could just be a 'shame on me', but if they do have one it is very well hidden - signage would help!

We were beside a very loud group of campers. Normally I would not blame the campground for this one, but when we booked the site my wife asked what would be good, told them we had kids, etc. They picked this site for us. We later found out that this loud group of campers comes for that weekend every year, and that the caretakers knew they were there when we booked (they told us!) - they should have suggested a different site for us knowing this and knowing we had young kids.

The bathroom, specifically the shower. Wow. No words to explain how bad that one is. Looked like it had not been cleaned in decades - no exaggeration. The top edge of the shower enclosure was completely covered in dead bugs (literally dozens and dozens - no joke), and the cobwebs were taking over around the ceiling. No excuse for that at all. The entire bathroom was very dated and could use a reno, but I am okay with that - but cleanliness is a huge issue

Signage would be great. This doesn't bother me, more of a recommendation to the owners. The dumpster is obvious, but the recycling containers not so much. Cans/Bottles go in a standard black garbage can, I never would have guessed if someone had not been there when I dropped off. Cardboard and other recyclables go in an old trailer (at least I think other recyclables are to go in there - that's where I put mine)

All in all, the campground is far from perfect. If it were not for the location right along the river, I likely would have rated 2 stars. Yes, though, believe it or not I...

I would like to respond to a recent review by a fellow camper that I feel was completely unfair and inaccurate. We were and are presently camping across from this patron's site. We had no communication with them but were pretty shocked to see that they were having a fire in the evening. Private campground rules aside, surely by now most people are aware that there's a fire ban currently in effect that's province wide due to record wildfires. In any case there is a sign clearly visible at the office and in the lower camping area that states no fires are permitted. To be clear we were surprised but were not the people who complained to the office management. We did overhear how the matter was handled and it is in our opinion that the management were in no way belligerent or unreasonable. To the contrary. I am thankful that the owners/management are extremely friendly and respectful and give great care to their site and the patrons who come here expecting an enjoyable experience. We have been coming here every year for many years including under the previous name and ownership. Our interaction with the owners and management has always been positive and has become even more exceptional with the present owners in charge. They have worked incredibly hard to make this one of the nicest campgrounds we've...

Unfortunately, this campground is suffering from poor ratings under the old owners. I was desperate for a tent site for my family in the long weekend. All other places were either full, needed advanced reservation, or open to islanders only. One campground even had a ridiculous policy that on long weekends, you had to book the whole weekend!

To my surprise, this campground had several sites available! The only one in the 50 km shoreline. Booking was smooth, quick and easy. The staff who greeted me was super friendly, unlike the other reviews made me expect. The newly renovated showers and toilets were clean.

My daughter had a great time by the river and using the sand pit, and ball playing area.

I thought a basic tent site was over priced at almost $50, and maybe it was expected in a long weekend, but most other places were charging 30 or 35 bucks. I’m not interested in a pool or tennis courts, but for the price, I expected a bit more rainbows and butterflies.

Picnic tables were aplenty, but the cooking shelter was undersized considering the number of sites. Glad it wasn’t raining.

The lack of a dish washing area showed a bit of a lack of social/environmental responsibility.

Overall, I’d give it a 3 or 4 star, depending on purpose...