Cow Lake Campground

We were just there July 31 till today Aug 02. I'll start with the one thing that is positive for this campground: the lake is great with nice clear water, temp is good for swimming and playing in. Now to the negatives: generators, noise, exhaust, people who party past quiet time posted, and lack of adequate water supply. That's the summary, following is the details for those who care to read. What I found disappointing was the set up of the camp ground. The open sites are located on 2 big open fields. Most of the campers are RVs. There's no power hook ups, so most of them have generators. It's a hot weekend, so many of them had generators running for long time, it's noisy and smelled of exhaust. We were hoping to be able to have a quiet camping weekend, instead it was noisy, smelly, the area full of trucks and RVs instead of nature. I would recommend the campground to either put in power lines, or to segregate tents from RVs so that people in tents can have some peace and quiet. I would recommend the campground set strict limit on the decibels that the generators could run at, instead of a vague "camp ground friendly" that is very subjective. There is only 1 for the whole campground. When we needed to fill up, there were 3 RVs lined up in front of us, so the wait was long for everyone. To save time, I decided to try what seemed to "hand pump". After 20 pumps, no water came out. I asked the camp attendance about it and they said that it's not connect to a well! Please put a sign on something that doesn't work or just take it out. I would recommend for additional water stations. Another issue is noise. We had 2 groups of people beside us. The group to our right was up till 4 am the first night, not too loud but we can still hear them. So, I had to talk to them. The group to our left was laughing and drinking till late the second night, so my husband had to go talk to them at 11:30. The quiet hour posted is 11pm. Please have camp attendance monitor and enforce quiet hours! In summary, if you camp to enjoy quiet and nature, this place is not for you. Day use for the beach could be good option should you want to enjoy the lake.

Used the day use area only. Can come there without camping. About 10 min or less from rocky. We swam at boat launch area. It is nucer than the actual swim area. Beach larger and cleaner. Swim area had some garbage aling shore. Parking is close. Close outhouse. Depth of beach area is great. Few small rocks entering lake then all sand no weeds. Water clean and warm. Very nice! Most agreed nicer than crimson and less busy. Windy that day so a few waves which was fun. It gradually slopes and gets deeper si can swim easy. but lots of shore area for young ones. Sand on beach fine and compact. Not so great to dig but great to play with cars trucks etc. We will go back for sure.

We came here on Canada Day to use the day use area because we hoped to hangout and go to the lake as were at a campground about 20 minutes away that does not have lake access. We had three dogs with us and upon entry the lady at the front office said “the area left of the beach is where dogs can swim off the dock, and you just have to them leashed at all times, and they can’t go on the sand” and we were like, okay no problem at all. The dogs are very well behaved, not an issue to leash them. When we got in and parked, we walked over to the grass with the dogs on leash to scope out where we could put some chairs, as we were discussing where we could go, a guy drove up on his ATV vehicle or whatever it was and began yelling at us, no warning, just the rudest person you’ve ever met in your life, saying “you can’t have dogs here, can’t you read? There are signs, you need to leave” (btw the signs say dogs must be leashed and no dog son beach), and we were obviously taken aback, and I asked, “oh sorry, where can we go with them then?” And he says, “nowhere, your campsite. This isn’t for dogs, it’s for him a beings”. So the opposite of what the lady at the front said. And he proceeded to yell at us, and walked away. Then we were like okay, and started to discuss what other lake we could go to, and make a plan for approximately 2 minutes, when he drives back up in a fury and screams at us, “what did you not understand, you need to get out”. We explained that we were leaving and we were taking one minute make a plan and go, and he’s like, “fine, I’ll just stand right here till you go”. This is honestly one of the worst experiences I’ve ever had in my life. All he needed to do was politely explain the situation, although if that’s the case, they need to tell you that upon entry and not give you different rules based on different people. We were just trying to have a calm day off with our family and pets and instead we got yelled at for 10 minutes for no reason. You really need to work on your professionalism when running a business and treating people with respect. We were nothing but polite to you until you started screaming at us. Will not recommend you to anyone, and will NEVER be back, with or without our dog. Thanks for being irrationally angry unprovoked. Literally cannot express how unpleasant this man and experience was. Update based on owners review: We had shade, and thought we would have water access, so the dogs would have been comfortable. Also, you were told incorrect information. We had about 5 witness that came up to us as we left saying that the guy was out of line and they couldn’t believe him. So you can choose to believe whatever helps you get by. And still does not negate the fact that the girl at the front gate said we could go in and gave us incorrect information apparently. Whole thing could have been avoided?

I just went to have supper with a friend who has been camped there for 6 weeks. She loves it. And many of her family members and friends have gone up and camped at various times over the summer. It is a very popular place. I like how well treed the lots are..creating shade in the extreme heat we've had and a goodly degree of privacy between sites as well.

Nice Campground. Compare to Alberta Park, its price is way cheaper, but their amenities are not that bad. However, slow fresh water pump and Sanidump are not great.

The campsites in the trees are beautiful but anything up top feels a bit like you're in an overflow area. The staff were nice and helpful, and were very friendly. The grounds were kept very clean and well maintained. My only complaint is that this place seems to really dislike dogs. They have to be leashed at all times (understandable), not allowed on the beach (ok) but not allowed to swim if you are away from the beach. Come on! I understand the reasons for not wanting dogs on the beach but perhaps have an area somewhere that they can go? I know there is limited waterfront but many people have dogs in their family and just want to take them out for a bit of fun. Other than that it was an overall good experience.

Booking opens today at 9am and I have been calling but keep getting the automated message that the customer I am calling is not available. They are responding to email but just keep telling me I have to call to book Got through!! very nice people

Good: Overall, really nice campground. (4 / 5) Bad: (-1) The bathrooms were definitely lacking. Showers facility did the trick, but all drains and outhouse toilets smelt sooo bad. Didnt look like any chemical was used to control odors.. Almost unbearable odor. Considered lettin my kids go in the woods... If you arent bringing a trailer with your own bathroom, this may be a sore spot. Otherwise, really nice sites, green space and beach. Beach would be even better if they cleaned up goose droppings every couple days.