Forestry camp life
Rooms, food, internet, and the rules that come with living at a remote logging or planting camp -- what to actually expect.
Forestry and logging camps range widely -- from a basic bunkhouse and cook trailer at a short-term planting camp, to a modern, semi-permanent camp with private rooms near a longer-running harvesting operation. Coastal and Interior BC operations, Northern Ontario and Quebec camps, and Maritime crews all have their own regional norms, so what to expect depends heavily on the specific employer or contractor.
Rooms and facilities
Tree-planting camps are often tent camps or basic bunkhouses set up fresh each season near the block being planted, with a communal cook trailer or kitchen tent. Longer-running logging camps tend to have more permanent bunkhouse or private-room buildings, a cookhouse, and sometimes a small gym or rec space. Mill work, by contrast, is almost always a normal commute rather than a camp posting.
Internet and connectivity
Cell service is unreliable to non-existent at many remote sites. Starlink satellite internet has become common at longer-running camps over the last few years and is a significant quality-of-life improvement over older, slower satellite connections -- but coverage and quality still depend on the specific camp, so don't assume it before confirming with your employer or contractor. Pages on this site are kept light for exactly this reason.
Downtime and recreation
Off-shift time at remote camps is mostly rest, meals, phone calls home when signal allows, and whatever recreation the camp has set up -- cards, a rec tent, or a small gym at longer-running sites. Isolation, bugs, weather, and close quarters with the same small crew for weeks at a time are a real part of the experience that first-timers underestimate.
Camp rules
Every camp has its own code of conduct around alcohol, drugs, quiet hours, and visitors -- policies vary more between forestry camps than in some other industrial camps, so confirm specifics with your own employer or contractor. Camp WiFi and devices are for personal use off-shift only -- company networks and equipment are never for personal browsing or gambling, on shift or off.
Frequently asked questions
What is a remote logging or planting camp actually like?
It ranges from a basic bunkhouse with shared facilities and a cook trailer, to a modern camp with private rooms and Starlink satellite internet, depending on how far the operation is from the nearest town and how established the employer is.
Is there internet in remote camps?
Cell service is often unreliable or absent at remote sites, but Starlink has become common at longer-running camps over the last few years and is a big quality-of-life improvement over older satellite internet. Coverage still depends on the specific camp -- don't assume it before confirming with your employer.
Are logging and planting camps dry?
Many are, particularly company-run camps, though it varies more than in oil sands camps -- some contractor-run tree-planting camps have a more relaxed policy. Confirm with your specific employer or contractor.
Related guides
Off-shift entertainment
Some workers use off-shift downtime for regulated online gambling. If you do, only use operators registered in your own province -- see the regulated options by province, or pick your province below.
Regulated online gambling in Canada is province by province. Only operators registered for your own province are ever shown -- pick your province below to see what's actually available to you.
Off-shift only. Never gamble on company networks or devices. Please play responsibly. Gambling should be entertainment, not income.