Heart Haven RV Family Campground (formerly Big Tent)

I got a real problem with campgrounds like this, that post on their website on the side extra fees like a tax of another $5 more on pets. I have a 5 lb yorkie, I’m not paying an extra $5. Your obviously not pet friendly! Go play on the freeway folks.

Probably the cleanest and best campsites I've been to in a while! I was here a few years ago and it's a night and day difference with the new owners. Thank you!

It's a great campground right by the river. Also, walking distance to Rathtrevor Beach and coffee shops.

Staff is great. Best campground in Oceanside.

New owners are very busy cleaning and maintaining the sites and washrooms. Very good experience

We really enjoyed our 7 nights at Heart Haven. The hosts get 5 stars, friendly and helpful, they obviously care about their park. Park cleanliness gets a 5 as does the location along the Englishman River. Services need an upgrade and the new owners have indicated that improvements are in the works. Presently shared 15 amp service maxes out far less than 15 amps and the water hookup locations leave much to be desired. The 30 amp full hookup sites delivered the service albiet somewhat inconveniently ie: uphill to the sewer and a water outlet so low as to be hard to hook up to. That said we would stay here again in a heartbeat.

Amazing place to camp! We've been coming here every summer over the past 4-5 years and it keeps getting better. The owners are great. Very kind and dedicated to making the campground comfortable and clean.

Glad to be back.
We have been coming here for more than 40 years and returned for the first time since COVID.
Lots of improvements and positive changes. Tammy and Perry are great.
We had our 1st family reunion here in years and they were so accommodating and bent over backwards to make sure we enjoyed ourselves. The place is clean and very well kept.
A great place for group gatherings

We really enjoyed our stay. First time going and will go back. Our spot backed into the river so we could fall asleep with the sound. The set up was a little odd. Electrical at the front of the spot and water at the back. Bring an extension cord! Everyone working there was great and they were very accommodating.

What a difference! Very friendly & helpful new owners with many upgrades & reasonably priced. Beautiful spot by the river!

The owners are just lovely. The grounds are clean. Reasonably priced. They accommodated my 2 barking chihauhaus. Clean washrooms and showers, right on the river, close to town.we have loved our stay

Not great for tenters. Being right on a highway and at a bridge makes this campground VERY noisy if you can't get a spot at the far end. Sites are very close together and not treed so there is no privacy. It was very dusty and mostly bare ground but this may be because there was very little rain this summer. Bathrooms were very clean but the showers are very short for the cost and to add more money you have to leave the shower stall which can make for uncomfortable streaking if you don't plan properly!

Just booked a site, the reception girl was super friendly and super helpful. Only RV park that has a realperson talking to you.

Shared 15a power and water amongst the lower sites had breakers tripping all weekend long…. For over $50 a night this was one of the most expensive sites we had stayed at this year. When paying that much we expect to have my own 30A service and water if not full hookups altogether. Although our site was a decent size most of the sites along the river bank are stuffed in like sardines. The bathrooms offer 2 stalls only for the men and the women and with probably 200 registered guests for the long weekend there were lineups and lack of toilet paper and cleanliness all weekend long. They definitely appear to have been recently renovated but if you are taller than 5’6” you are easily looking over the wall into the neighbouring stall. This was the only place we could get into for the long weekend as our other options fell through but we will not be coming back.

A wonderful site by the river! Huge trees surround the site with a trail for getting down to the river. All help to muffle the sound of the nearby road. Excellent improvements by the new owners. The washrooms have a beautiful decor and extremely clean. Hosts, Tammy and Perry, are friendly, warm and helpful. I'd give it a five star if the sites were a little more private and we couldn't hear the highway as much.

We booked 3 sites but had to cancel & the host was very sweet & only charged me 1 night for 1 site instead 1 night on all 3 sites…I was very appreciative! Will book again!

The camp hosts are absolutely amazing. I highly recommend this place. I would stay again with my family.

Beautiful tenting spots by the river. A bit tight but the grounds are clean with lots of new improvements. The Hosts of Heart Haven are hardworking and friendly. Great spot if you are coming with a large group.

Don't judge this place on the old reviews. The new owners have hugely improved this place. It's a very well-kept, clean campground. I would definitely stay again.

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 and age of use.

Awesome area, super close to all amenities and activities. Great/friendly hosts. Will be returning

We had a lovely weekend at Heart Haven. The new owners are working very hard to make the campground a going concern again and are incredibly responsive to any issues. The new washrooms are beautiful and were kept very clean over the long weekend. If you have a unit over 20 feet be careful what spot you book. Some would not be easy to get in and out of especially if you are a bit later to arrive. If you are expecting to run things like your microwave make sure you are at a 30 amp site. They are still working on some of the power sharing issues they inherited. The pool is not operational at this time.

This campground is definitely a must see. The new owners have made everything SO nice. From the well kept grounds to the updated and sparkly clean bathrooms, there's nothing the hosts wouldn't do to make sure everyone had an amazing time on this busy May long weekend.

Lovely site on Englishman River. New owners who are friendly and so accommodating, working hard to make a stellar experience. We felt like family members the second we arrived. Enjoyed a peaceful Easter Weekend with a cozy fire, they helped stoak, as well as power for this time of year. Wifi for us was no issue, no need for cable. Easy bike ride or walk to anything. Thanks Tammy, we will return for sure

Was a nice experience to meet the brand new owners of this well-located facility. They show rare friendliness and enthusiasm and are already taking on ambitious projects to re-furbish the long-established business.

Quick stop here for 1 night of my Island road trip. We got site #54 right beside the river, nobody around us and hook up for water and hydro.

No garbage cans except one overflowing bin near the entrance. Never saw the proprietors in the four days that we were there checking out the conditions of the site. Difficult to find them even to check in.

Super time consuming and frustrating experience to choose this as our campground, plan out local activities and hikes as well as selecting sites and communicating with family members regarding travel and making all these choices based on the website information.

I was about to complete the online reservation for 4 separate families after tons of time researching and communicating with other parties when I decided to call and confirm that the pool and rec activities will be open as the website states they will be to find out that:

NO Pool will not open, NO Rec Activities will not open or be available and ON TOP OF THAT ALL WASHROOMS WILL REMAIN CLOSED AND DUE TO THIS NO TENTERS ARE WELCOME. Why not update website info or at the very least add one tiny blurb asking campers to call for most current and up to date information in regards to Covid.

That is an entire morning of my life gone that I will never get back and now I have to contact each of the other families to relay the misleading and disappointing information.

I made a reservation online for the long weekend. After I booked it said I have to call in to give my credit card information. When I called the guy on the phone was very rude. He couldn't find my booking and told me to call back in half an hour. When I called he said the site I booked was no longer available and argumentatively told me to pick another site after looking online and call him back. I told him I don't mind which site I have, just book me in one that is available and he refused. He then told me I HAD to pay for three nights even if I am only staying two even though I had only booked two nights online. I went online to check for another site and the site I originally booked WAS in fact available and the website let me book for two nights instead of the three he insisted on. I then decided the last thing I want to do is call this angry man back the THIRD time (actually fifth time because the first two there was no answer).

I have taken my business elsewhere and would recommend others do so as well.

Good location. Nice place. Pool was great when not locked. Needs to address electric issue, Several sites share one power box, tends to keep experienced RVers away. This place could be a gold mine.

Love this camp ground, I've been going there for a while now with my family. We know the owner he's a great guy.

Decent prices.
Sand pit with toys, basket ball hoop, tether ball, volleyball net, outdoor pool, washrooms with plumbing.

Water and electricity at most sites.

Two of us stayed at this campground two years ago for Canada Day weekend and had a good enough time to look into staying here again this year. We completed the online form and then phoned to the complete the payment. The man who answered the phone was really rude and frankly, uncomfortable. I said it would be three adults and he wanted our exact ages (two of us are mid-late twenties and are the one's paying for the trip) but he still seemed apprehensive to allow our reso until I said one of our dads will be joining us. He was also annoyed that we did not include we would have two tents even though the booking site does not ask for this. After this phone call we decided not to complete our reservation and booked elsewhere.

Nice to be by the river. Nice and close to everything in parksville. The sites aren't that private and the bathrooms are old but the showers are free and warm. We even took advantage of the pool on a hot day.

Close to Rathtrevor Beach Provincial Park. Pool, riverside sports to camp in, but limited hookups, more promised next year.

Was not even given the chance to book sites and stay at Big Tent therefore I am reviewing based on customer service. I called last night to book 3 sites for our families for the long weekend and spoke with a man on the phone (assuming it was the owner). He was very rude and would hardly let me finish a sentence. He asked me if I had a dog, I told him we would be bringing our small dog. I explained our dog was nice and timid. He asked me if my dog was a pit bull, I told him no it is a Boston terrier. He then tried to convince me to leave my dog behind, and I said I am not leaving my dog at home for 3 days and we do not have anyone else to care for him. He then rudely said well you can kennel it. That is when I told him that I would find another campsite.
IF YOU DON'T WANT DOGS AT YOUR CAMPGROUND THEN INDICATE ON YOUR WEBSITE NO PETS ALLOWED.

It's not my first choice.
I was told when booking there was a sani-station. NO THERE'S NOT.
Sites are close together. It's more like an open field then camp sites.
15amp power. Trailer went out when people started showing up and plugging in.
On a good note. The river was nice to have and play area for kids.
If they put some care into area it would be much better.
When I asked about sani-station owner says he's upgrading in fall 2018. So hope he sticks with that. He's owned the place long enough to know it's a plus to have. And shouldn't tell people he has one and also take off website saying he has sani-dump.

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 would stay again.