Free Camping in Canada: Van Life Challenges and Rising Costs
- Ryan Clark
- Dec 3, 2025
- 2 min read
Some of you may be wondering why this year felt so quiet, with no new posts, pictures, free campsites or journeys being shared. Truth is, I’ve been waiting to do this update for too long, and now here we are, December 2025.
I’m going to leave the web page up and hope that at least I can help someone else live their dreams. Please feel free to continue to share it with friends; it’s still not going anywhere.
If it ever does get taken down, there would still be my map of the free camping spots on Google Maps as the remnants of my dream that will be there for people to follow.
My dream will still be there…
My footprints to follow in…
The Van Life Struggles
At the end of last summer, my van — the vessel that carried me to my campsites — began to have issues: flickering dash, fading headlights, and eventually a dead battery. I hoped to fix it, but like many Canadians, I’ve felt the weight of rising costs and a struggling economy. The irony of building a page to help people travel affordably is that it has now become unaffordable for me.
Friends and family tried to help, but the van sits idle, uninsured, and likely scrap. Each year I’ve poured hours and money into working on and maintaining my vehicles (thank you Damian, Kyle, Lindsay and YouTube) as well as driving around the Great Lakes finding free campsites, editing photos, writing, learning SEO, buying a cheap little drone that drew some blood, learning how to use a MacBook (thank you for the donation Sylvia) and paying to host this site, all to share a dream. This year, it just didn’t happen.
Small Blessings Along the Way
I did find small blessings — a small work trip north up by the Spanish River with some great swimming, and a beautiful friend who brought me to Jamaica and Newfoundland (Western Brook Pond is mind blowing). But mostly, I missed the solitude and recharge that my sleeping under the stars has always given me.
Looking Ahead With Gratitude and Hope
I’m not writing off a camping trip with my new dog around the Great Lakes next year, even though it seems so far away for now. I’ll need to put on my thinking cap and big-boy pants to make it happen. For now, all I can ask is that you stay tuned, maybe send a prayer, and know how deeply grateful I am for the small audience who has walked this path with me. Every bit of support — whether words, likes, shares, whatever… or even just reading this post — keeps the dream alive.
If you’d like to help carry the spirit forward, please explore and share my free camping page; I’ll be grateful forever.
