Motorcycle Camping

[omnivore]

In the US perhaps possible. In Canada I would find this hard to beleive you would get away with this. In Canada the well wishes would be a boot to the *** and a call to the police.

This is treu. I had a bunch of people ask me if I felt "safe" while camping in the middle of nowhere in the mountains. My reply was that I felt much safer doing it there than I would here.

[ItIsWhatItIs]

I'm sorely tempted to get a mini-cibbers for a commuter, especially if you tour around on one. I snagged a test ride when Honda first offered them and was pleasantly surprised. Even thought it had obviously been beaten up (slipping clutch, broken mirror and God knows what else), it worked pretty well.

I own one. Depends on what you weigh. If you load the bike up with camping gear you will bog the bike down and will be struggling to keep it at a constant 100 kph. There is a propoganda forum supposedly dedicated the cbr125 where mods are done to try and boost up the performance. Don't buy into their BS advice and mods. If you could score a second hand cbr125 for around 1000 to 1200 and bought an athena kit for 500 put it on you would probably kick it up to a constant 110 - 120 kph. Without getting involved with disaster mods and propoganda forums the better route would be to find ninja 250 with their proven track record used or new.

[irenictiger]

Thanks for all the info! I was thinking of checking MEC for some camping gear. Also, I checked the sites for the Crown Land but having a little trouble reading the map. Seems like a few good places in the Muskoka region.

I'm also thinking of doing an East Coast trip this summer as well! Maybe we can get a small group venture going!

[ItIsWhatItIs]

This is treu. I had a bunch of people ask me if I felt "safe" while camping in the middle of nowhere in the mountains. My reply was that I felt much safer doing it there than I would here.

Boy oh boy, have you been to miami, florida? You better be packing a gun. Down in the US they are allowed to carry a concealed weapon. Unfortunately, Canadians don't get that luxury of safety. That aside, camping the blue ridge parkway would be something to pursue. The state parks are $12 a night. A far cry from the 40 dollars ontario will gouge out of you. Some of the elevations are 6000 + feet.

[omnivore]

There are areas that I was too, where I was warned by "country folk" not to dare camp near. Like Welch, West Virginia for example. I went there to get food and gas, and true to the warning I had received, it was like a gangbanger rap music video came to life. I headed north for a few hrs on Hwy 52 before I pitched my tent in the churchyard of a baptist church, with a beautiful river in it's back yard and mountain valley views surrounding.

Commmon sense, and your gut feelings can help you in finding suitable places. Although it is true, most camping spots are quite affordable down there. I stayed in a campground near Morgantown for $10, and another very very nice one, with lots of non-biking activities as well. It was Big Bone Lick State Park in Kentucky. Very well kept, swimming, museums, etc, and awesome riding roads for hrs all around it. It was $12 there, and the hot shower I so desperately needed was very welcome. It was very cold that night though. It got down to 2 degrees celsius that night. Every other night on my trip was warm and humid.

[rafiki911]

Thanks for all the info! I was thinking of checking MEC for some camping gear. Also, I checked the sites for the Crown Land but having a little trouble reading the map. Seems like a few good places in the Muskoka region.

I'm also thinking of doing an East Coast trip this summer as well! Maybe we can get a small group venture going!

If you need a light weight tent for a good price go to Tent City. I find that Mec tents although good are a bit over priced. I got an Eurika tent from Tent City for just over $100 and it's been the best tent I have owned or been in so far.

[twostroke]

make sure to get a good sleeping bag too. on my east coast trip last year i brought one that was too small. froze by butt off one night. bought a new sleeping bag the next day. it was too large as you can see from the picture. it eventuly slid off the back of my bike and covered my exhaust and melted the crap out of the sleeping bag.

By the87vette at 2010-08-06

[omnivore]

Mine never gets near my exhaust
:P

[Gummiente]

Since it'll be my first time camping with my bike, I probably won't venture too far out just yet. Maybe an hour or two outside of Toronto to start. I'm riding a Katana 600, no luggage yet but planning to buy saddle bags and maybe a tail bag/cargo net/tank bag and I'll have a 40-60L travel backpack. I'll also probably be going solo my first time out.

One or two hours out of TO won't get you much, but it's a start. One of your first priorities should be a visit to the Camping In Ontario website, where you'll find detailed information about most of the campsites in Ontario, searchable by region. This will give you a very good idea of what is available within your 1-2hr range. Next thing you should do is decide WHAT you want to do while camping and select a campground accordingly. If all you want to do is hang out by the campfire and get drunk evry night, you probably don't need to pay the extra cost to get into a place that has available amenities like canoeing, fishing, hiking, swimming, etc.

Once you've selected a few likely spots, the next step is to phone them and see if you can get a "feel" about each place. Mention that you'll be arriving solo on a motorcycle and, as much as it pains me to say this, tell them it is not one of those loud Harleys. Some campsites will select a spot for you that is known to be favoured by other motorcyclists that have stayed there, while others will suddenly get evasive about answering any more questions (a key sign that bikes are not welcome there). When you make your final choice and book a site, you will be doing so with a very good idea as to what you can expect when you get there... this can make a huge difference between a great time and a bad experience.

When you've selected a campsite and chosen whatever activity you want to do while staying there, THEN you go out and start buying all the kit you require. The basics are obvious (tent, sleeping bag, etc) but now you can add things specific to your trip, like a small one burner propane stove, camp cookset and collapsible water jug if you plan to make your own meals, for example. Make a list of everything you can think of that will be required and then see if it will all fit within your luggage space restrictions. I'm sure there'll be lots of input from everyone here to help you with whatever you come up with, so keep us in the loop as your trip planning progresses.

[Rotten_Ronnie]

As far as stoves go, there's an ultralight backpackers solution that you can make at home for around ten dollars all in.

google "pepsi can stove", particularly the videos.

If you can't make one yourself out of two pop cans, and a litre of methyl hydrate (de natured alcohol), and a cut up oven liner for a windscreen, then buy one off of ebay for ten bucks shipping included.

Any other suggestion is going to cost more and weigh more as well. It'll boil 500ml of water in under six minutes in the summertime on 1.5 ounces of alcohol. They're subject to wind and temperature, so the windscreen is a must as is a pot stand of some sort or a trivet.

I've also read some threads on making a bivy bag out of tyvek for under thirty dollars. Waterproof and breathable.

You could also eat all your meals on the road in restaurants, it'd add to the cost of the trip, but allow you to leave heavy food, gear and some water ration at home, as they say four litres per day for cooking and drinking.

[turbodish]

Thanks for all the info! I was thinking of checking MEC for some camping gear. Also, I checked the sites for the Crown Land but having a little trouble reading the map. Seems like a few good places in the Muskoka region.

I'm also thinking of doing an East Coast trip this summer as well! Maybe we can get a small group venture going!

There's quite a lot of drive-in Crown Land on either side of highway 35 south of Dorset. The online MNR Crown Land Atlas takes gives a fair bit of information once you figure out how to use it. You can also get paper maps of Crown Land from the MNR.

Another info alternative are the various camping forums. Just do a google search for camping ontario crown land forum . Also, join the advrider forum and ask in there, the subject comes up from time to time and the forum is motorcycle specific. http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=648509

[unL33T]

I have never had a bad experience yet doing it. Most christians I have found to be very welcoming. I have found that if I bump into anyone while packing up in a churchyard, they are more than anxious to hear where I have been, and where I am going. They always send me off with nothing but well wishes, and good advice. I have even had people in a small towns suggest the community centre to me as I was stopped asking for a nearby place to camp when I was riding in West Virginia. Laying in my tent , in a soccer field of a community centre, about 10 pm on a Wed night in AUg, en route to Indy fot the MotoGP, watching The Hangover on my laptop, and the sherriff brought me a coffee,LOL

I have had a priest tell me I cannot park in their lot unless I'm going to go to his church. I was just killing about 10 minutes because I was early for something. This was at like 6am in the middle of the week and the lot was empty. I even told him I would leave in 5 minutes and he literally told me to get off the property before he calls the police. I was polite and apologetic so I'm not sure why he was so ****** at me. Didn't help my thoughts about the church.

I camped in the park in my small town (Eden Mills). No fire or anything. It was literally just my car and a small 2 person tent. A cop showed up at 3am, acted like I had kidnapped my gf at first but, after making sure I didn't, told me to never do it again and left. At least I didn't get charged but it just added to my list of unpleasant experiences with cops.

I really like the idea of camping in random places but just always worry the same thing will happen again or I'll end up getting arrested or charged for something stupid (like trespassing or public drunkenness if I've been drinking as many people do when camping).

[irenictiger]

I have had a priest tell me I cannot park in their lot unless I'm going to go to his church. I was just killing about 10 minutes because I was early for something. This was at like 6am in the middle of the week and the lot was empty. I even told him I would leave in 5 minutes and he literally told me to get off the property before he calls the police. I was polite and apologetic so I'm not sure why he was so ****** at me. Didn't help my thoughts about the church.

I camped in the park in my small town (Eden Mills). No fire or anything. It was literally just my car and a small 2 person tent. A cop showed up at 3am, acted like I had kidnapped my gf at first but, after making sure I didn't, told me to never do it again and left. At least I didn't get charged but it just added to my list of unpleasant experiences with cops.

I really like the idea of camping in random places but just always worry the same thing will happen again or I'll end up getting arrested or charged for something stupid (like trespassing or public drunkenness if I've been drinking as many people do when camping).

dang that's one of my concerns now...although the Crown Land camping seems viable, i'm just wondering if anyone has every gotten any type of hassle while camping on Crown Land? is it even a possibility?

[turbodish]

dang that's one of my concerns now...although the Crown Land camping seems viable, i'm just wondering if anyone has every gotten any type of hassle while camping on Crown Land? is it even a possibility?

As long as it's not posted as being a no camping zone, there should be no issue. The Crown Land Atlas web site I pointed you to shows allowable activities for east of the Crown land zones. It will tell you outright if any given activity is prohibited. If it is not prohibited, it is allowed.

Even if it is posted as no camping, you'll probably have no issue if you're just low profile bivouacking for the night. The last time I was up through the Victoria Falls area, there were some new no camping signs, but plenty of unmolested campers along the forest road running east from Cooper Rd through Crown land to Victoria Falls and the private cottage lots beyond.

[Morrissey]

.....and I'll have a 40-60L travel backpack. I'll also probably be going solo my first time out.

I would suggest leaving the backpack at home and finding some other form of luggage if you want to travel any further than about 1hr. Every time I've headed out for a ride with someone wearing a back pack, they were pulling over and trying to bungy it to the bike after an hour. Even on a really well fitting pack the straps will pull on your shoulders and fatigue you. If you throw a set of saddle bags over the bike, you can strap a tent, air mattress, sleeping bag etc horizontally across the bike no problem. The bags will be directly under the parts that over hang the bike. This kind of set up has worked flawlessly for me in the past and unless you are traveling way over the speed limit will not affect your handling at all.

If you decide that bike camping is for you, you can always get a set up like mine! (upper left) Everything fits inside my bags except my tent. Tent goes across the back seat and gets bungied to the luggage supports. I put the sleeping bags, air mattress and air pillows in one side bag, and all the clothes in the other side bag. Top box is for tools, camera stuff and tilly hat!

[unL33T]

As long as it's not posted as being a no camping zone, there should be no issue. The Crown Land Atlas web site I pointed you to shows allowable activities for east of the Crown land zones. It will tell you outright if any given activity is prohibited. If it is not prohibited, it is allowed.

Even if it is posted as no camping, you'll probably have no issue if you're just low profile bivouacking for the night. The last time I was up through the Victoria Falls area, there were some new no camping signs, but plenty of unmolested campers along the forest road running east from Cooper Rd through Crown land to Victoria Falls and the private cottage lots beyond.

There were (and are) not any "No camping" signs in the park I was in. The cop said something about some law against camping in public parks. I have no idea if the park qualifies as Crown Land or not. This was OPP btw (if it makes any difference) as the town is way too small for any of their own officers.

Interestingly, this was the same park the cops told me to go drink in "because we can't see you there" once when they let me and a bud off after they caught us chillin' on the bridge splitting a 26er, lol.

I did camp there another time, with 3 other people, again with a car. That time we were loud and rowdy and had a roaring fire going all night and the only "hassle" we got was some guy came by at like 5am and was just like, "Oh, sorry. I'm just not used to seeing fires in the park when I come home from work so I just wanted to make sure someone was here keeping an eye on it." That was 3 years earlier though. Maybe something happened in between. :/

[turbodish]

There were (and are) not any "No camping" signs in the park I was in. The cop said something about some law against camping in public parks. I have no idea if the park qualifies as Crown Land or not. This was OPP btw (if it makes any difference) as the town is way too small for any of their own officers.

Municipal parks are not Crown Land. Setting up a tent in that little park in Eden Mills would be like setting up a tent in Toronto's Christie Pits or Brampton's downtown park. Few places I'm aware of tolerate people setting up tents for camping on their sports fields and municipal green spaces. OPP or not makes no difference. The OPP is just the municipal police force for Eden Mills and Rockwood areas.

Crown Land is a completely different thing. Camping is permitted on most Crown land. See the MNR web site. http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/Business...02_170045.html

Interestingly, this was the same park the cops told me to go drink in "because we can't see you there" once when they let me and a bud off after they caught us chillin' on the bridge splitting a 26er, lol.

That concrete arch bridge on the main road through Eden Mills? Ok, seems that someone's judgment isn't quite the best.

I did camp there another time, with 3 other people, again with a car. That time we were loud and rowdy and had a roaring fire going all night and the only "hassle" we got was some guy came by at like 5am and was just like, "Oh, sorry. I'm just not used to seeing fires in the park when I come home from work so I just wanted to make sure someone was here keeping an eye on it." That was 3 years earlier though. Maybe something happened in between. :/

Sure something happened. Someone saw you and complained. Why would you "camp" there when there are more private places along the old rail trail that runs along the river to the west of Eden Mills west of Wellington Road 29?

[unL33T]

Municipal parks are not Crown Land. Setting up a tent in that little park in Eden Mills would be like setting up a tent in Toronto's Christie Pits. Few places I'm aware of tolerate people setting up tents for camping on their sports fields. OPP or not makes no difference. The OPP is the municipal police force for Eden Mills and Rockwood areas.

Crown Land is a completely different thing. Camping is permitted on most Crown land. See the MNR web site. http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/Business...02_170045.html

I figured it wasn't the same thing but wasn't sure. You make a good point about the sports field. I was way in the back by the bushes near where people park.

That concrete arch bridge on the main road through Eden Mills? Ok, seems that someone's judgment isn't quite the best.

I agree. I was drunk.

Sure something happened. Someone complained. Why would you "camp" there when there are more private places along the old rail trail that runs along the river to the west of Eden Mills?

Because it was late and I didn't feel like messing around in the bushes or dragging my camping gear out there when I could just set up shop beside the car. Like I said, I had spent the night there before, caused much more of a ruckus, and had no problem. I figured two people with a car and a tiny tent wouldn't be much of an issue. Also, I asked the cop if anyone complained and he said no. He just pulled into the park to turn around and happened to spot my car.

[Rotten_Ronnie]

This thread is getting interesting!

Take the advice about the backpack. Unless you have a really comfortable one, they're just not worth it.

Get the soft saddle bags, look at oxford as top of the line, then get what you can afford and ask questions about how you can protect your fairings from rubs and you're off to the races.

Mec has some fully waterproof canoe and ditty bags that work really well strapped onto the bike. It's nice knowing you have an totally waterproof piece of gear that you can load up with all the toys when you get stuck in a downpour.

[RockerGuy]

This thread is getting interesting!

Take the advice about the backpack. Unless you have a really comfortable one, they're just not worth it.

Get the soft saddle bags, look at oxford as top of the line, then get what you can afford and ask questions about how you can protect your fairings from rubs and you're off to the races.

Mec has some fully waterproof canoe and ditty bags that work really well strapped onto the bike. It's nice knowing you have an totally waterproof piece of gear that you can load up with all the toys when you get stuck in a downpour.

Put everything in a giant garbage bag before u pack it in the saddle bag