Nelson City Campground

Nelson City Campground was perfect for us on our camping trip since it was right in town. We had lovey views of the surrounding mountains and trees around. The campsites were quite small and there was not much privacy— it looked like different groups of people were sharing a campsite but they were actually two separate ones. Our campsite was also right beside an apartment building parking lot and again, not much privacy. I think they would benefit from adding some hedges or plants around to create a barrier. The location was PERFECT. We walked to the beach and enjoyed swimming around by the lake. We also walked into town to grab something to eat. The location was fantastic.

Do not bother. It is really a parking lot located on a slope. Crowded. Small lots. Difficult access. Total lack of privacy. Facilities outdated. Homeless ppl take showers here but wouldn't be able to if staff would not provide them the access pin number.

Great location only a short walk into town & a lovely view of the mountains. Campsite was nice bathrooms were clean but the experience was somewhat ruined but our interaction with the gentleman on shift. He was very disinterested in doing his job at all. There was no hello on arrival, no friendly interaction at all. I would of received a better experience without him here at all to be honest. Just pop a sign on the water tap to confirm it’s good for drinking

We arrived at dark, I did find the camp host wandering around and he was friendly and helpful. Could not find him again with questions. The site was “18ft” long they say, looked smaller. Was not suitable in my opinion for our larger tent. The site was so narrow and the side was right where people would drive. Could not see any where to park a vehicle after unloading. We did not stay. Might have been suitable for a tiny back packing or bike packing tent/set up.

Don’t wast your money at this campground. It will just ruin your experience of camping at Nelson. It’s not safe and not clean, as homeless people can just show up to camp and trash the site. My family and I booked the site for 3 nights and had a high hope to use this campsite as a base to explore Nelson. It turned out we left after the second night because a few homeless people showed up and camped near our site. They were talking loudly with each other until 1-2 AM. A man was listening to a radio until 5 AM while talking to himself loudly. They had a dog and the dog was barking a few times throughout the night. Next day, we talked to the staff. Staff couldn’t do much and only said he would talk to his manager. We asked for refund on the last night, but staff said he couldn’t refund us. At that point, we just wanted to take our kids and left the place. It was the worst camping experience, as I didn’t feel safe for me and my kids. In addition, the whole family didn’t get a good rest. I wouldn’t recommend this campsite at all due to the security of this campground.

Our tenting site was behind another site that had an RV. There was no vehicle access to our site and it is very weird to have to walk through another person's site to get to ours and it was gravel. The campground itself is in the trees so there is decent shade. The main building at the office has laundry and a communal kitchen. The washrooms have pins to enter into, the stalls are a little small.

The area was clean and well managed, the office always had somebody in it during the non-quiet hours. The on-site host was quite a comedian. We enjoyed our stay,

The staff was talking loud super early in the morning. The crows are silent compared to them ( although, good god, why are the crows so loud at dawn? are they trained? ) . Just park in the wall Mart for free instead. The stay made us regret comming to Nelson as a whole.

Nope. No. Nyet. Nein. How many ways can I say no? We made reservations for two tent sites during our motorcycle trip across Canada. We are veterans of the tent camping at primitive sites / truck stop / RV park scene, so I'd offer that our standards are pretty reasonable and based in years of experience. We rolled in after putting in about 500 miles. Immediately upon approaching the site, we began having those weird gut feelings telling us something wasn't quite right. The site itself is built into a hillside and the retaining walls outlining the park are covered in graffiti. As soon as I put my kickstand down, I got a weird stare down from some sketchy tweeker who I couldn't tell if he was eyeballing my equipment or challenging me to a dance off. The tent sites here are akin to a homeless camp. Cramped, dirty, and full of some people of questionable intent. The RV portion is little more than a gravel parking lot that is nut to butt as far as spacing goes. A fellow motorcyclist from Australia approached us and told us that we'd be best served to move on. He pointed out the sketchy tweeker and his entourage of turds, stating that they were confrontational, rude, and frankly of questionable moral character. In all fairness, Nelson has kind of a hippie artist vibe to it, so I wasn't all that shocked that the campsite embraced that ethos. The staff at the campsite were completely professional and I felt that the attendant wasn't all that shocked that we decided to move on. He even offered up multiple other options in the area. Let me be clear. There is no way I would stay at this campsite with 5 grown men, let alone with my family or kids. If you are completely self contained in a van or RV with a way of securing your property, you'll probably be ok, but you'll be rolling the dice. Bring a knife and your best parachute pants. The chances of a dance off or knife fight breaking out are good.

Not sure why this place has such poor reviews. My husband, dog, and I stayed here 2 nights over labour day weekend 2020 and we had a great time. It's called City of Nelson Campground, so yes, you are right in the city. Short walking distance to a TON of restaurants and assorted shops. Excellent dog beach within walking distance (~15 minutes or so). Check in was easy, the employees were very nice. Fellow campers were awesome. This place had a great vibe. Showers and bathrooms available, water pressure and temperature was great. A bit of road and train noise, but that's a sacrifice you make to be in such an awesome location. 100% would come here again!

good, close to town,very nice bathroom and pavillion. bad, there are no sites,you are just crammed in everywhere.rv,s have ext cords laying on ground everywhere.we were bicycling selkirk loop , why anyone with a rv or car would want to stay there is beyond us.nelson was the most overated town on the loop.bums and kids begging for money all over town. kaslo and city campground much nicer.