Car camping is a hit in Subaru Forester
For many Canadians, going on vacation means crossing borders. This summer, consider exploring the vast beauty and wonder of our home and native land.
The Magdalen Islands — les Îles-de-la-Madeleine in French — are among our most precious hidden gems. Remote, exotic, and utterly beautiful, this tiny archipelago in the Gulf of St. Lawrence is a popular French Canadian destination but is virtually unknown outside of Quebec. You can even get there with your own car and, with a bit of ingenuity, camp out in it and take in the islands up close and on the slimmest of budgets.
Go in late August, as my daughter and I did, and the tour guides at La Salicorne will lead you in picking wild blueberries right off the windswept coastal sand dunes.
All summer there’s sea caving, kayaking, clam digging, some of the best kitesurfing you’ll find anywhere, and beaches so beautiful and remote you’ll believe, just for a moment, that you own the entire world.
The people are warm and welcoming and, despite easy assumptions to the contrary, for the most part they are bilingual. The restaurants are of a calibre you’d never think possible. And it’s so easy to catch a sunrise and sunset over the sea that you could see both on the same day, purely by accident.
It’s equal parts rustic and refined, luxurious and down to Earth — and you can reach it all in the comfort of your own car. If you would drive to Prince Edward Island, you can drive here and get off the ferry with your own wheels at the ready as you set off to explore.
Forester FTW
My daughter and I made this trip together in the 2016 Subaru Forester.
That was at the end of last summer. The 2017 Forester has since been announced and it’s on the horizon sporting an extensive suite of updates.
One of the hallmarks of the new edition is improved soundproofing, which is key because that would have been my primary complaint with the outgoing model.
While the 2016 Forester was already an IIHS Top Safety Pick+, the 2017 version comes with a significantly upgraded suite of safety features, including updated forward collision prevention technology and rear and side detection.
Standard partial zero-emissions equipment comes on all 2017 models fitted with the 2.5-litre naturally aspirated boxer engine, and the 2.0-litre direct-injected engine has available active torque vectoring. The new model also integrates a long list of styling updates.
What won’t change are the features that make the Forester a solid choice for families who like to be ready for anything.
Symmetrical all-wheel drive remains standard, as with all Subaru vehicles. And its cargo compartment holds a generous 2,115 litres with the second-row seats folded — which happens to be the perfect size to throw a double air mattress in the back and turn the wilderness into your personal bed and breakfast.
The freedom of the open road can be breathtaking, and there are few things better than a car that makes it easy to explore it.
Car camping 101
There are plenty of beautiful upscale hotels on the Îles-de-la-Madeleine, and if you have the budget to use them then you absolutely should.
But I believe firmly that choosing to camp played a major role in mak- ing this trip so special for us.
We fell asleep every night gazing up as the stars and awoke every morning to glorious sunrises. On our last evening there, my daughter slept peacefully as I sat in front of a campfire at Parc de Gros-Cap listening to the ocean waves while revellers sang French-Canadian folk songs in the distance.
However luxurious it may be, no hotel can ever deliver that kind of spontaneous magic.
But here’s the caveat: you would never want to camp in a tent on these islands. It gets far too windy. Even if you pegged everything down extremely well, you’d be buffeted around so much you’d never get any sleep.
If you don’t have an RV at your disposal, don’t let that stop you. Car camping does the job perfectly. Fold down the rear seats, throw an inflatable mattress in the back, and sleep right there under the stars.
After a couple of days in a row, I had this down to an art and could set up camp in the evenings in about five minutes.
Each morning I’d let some air out of the mattress and fold it in half on top of itself, bedding and all, and throw our suitcases and backpacks onto it. In the evenings I’d move the car seat and bags to the front seats — our cooler lived permanently in the passenger seat footwell — then fold the rear seats down, flip the mattress back over and reinflate it. It would take longer to check into a hotel and drag your bags inside.
And as a woman who routinely travels alone with a child, I have to confess that I find the ability to lock the car doors a significant advantage over a tent, though I’m fairly convinced that the Magdalen Islands are among the safest spots on Earth.
If you’re ready to give it a go, here are a few tips to make your first trip easier.
Pack bathroom toiletries, towels, and flip-flops in a completely separate bag to makes visits to the campground ablutions a more organized affair.
If you and/or your travel companion are sensitive to light, bring a few extra towels or sheets along to tuck into the side windows. A few safety pins could continue that covering around the back windows as well if you don’t mind risking small pulls in your roof upholstery.
Rather than one or two large suitcases, use smaller suitcases and backpacks. These are easier to rearrange and tuck into crevices.
A quality cooler that will hold its temperature for a couple of days will mean fewer visits to the grocery store, which leaves fewer chores and more time for exploring.
To help kids cope with long days in the car, bring along a car caddy. I picked up a soft-sided model that belts into the rear middle seat for less than $20. Once it’s stuffed with a water bottle, snacks, books, and games, my daughter stays occupied for hours.
Getting there
To drive to the Îles-de-la-Madeleine from Toronto, you’ll pass through Eastern Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick before arriving in Prince Edward Island. The dock is in the northeastern PEI town of Souris. The ferry crossing takes five hours (there’s not a lot to do on board, so bring a book and some activities for the kids). It leaves daily at 2 p.m. in the summer with some additional overnight crossings available. See traversierctma.ca for details.