Even with a 2015 Nissan Leaf, there is no need to miss out on camping. The Leaf’s cavernous boot provides ample space for a comfortable family camping trip. Balsam lake sits about 150 km North-East of Toronto in the Kawartha lakes region. We stopped for a hike half way through the drive at the Bill Fish forest center. The magical hike proved ample charging for the car (and crew) to make the remaining 90 km to Balsam Lake, especially as the speed limit is 80 km/hr on the remaining leg which stretches the Leaf’s range.
There are lots of campgrounds near Toronto, many can be easily reached in a first generation Leaf, or an old i3. Book an electric campsite and charge the car as you enjoy Balsam lake. About 50 km in, you will find the Bill Fish forestry center, and with it L2 charging. Who says charge stops need to be boring? Why not enjoy a hike through the forest while the leaf picks up enough electrons to make it to Balsam Lake?
After a lovely hike through the forest, which took about an hour, we had plenty of charge to make it to Balsam Lake. It helped that the roads ahead were mostly slower secondary roads, as discussed in this post, you go a lot further at 80 km/hr vs 100 km/hr. We did the same on the way back.
It helped that we had the adapter needed to plug the leaf into the TT-30, a 30 A 110V RV outlet which can charge the leaf 2-3 times faster than the 110V outlet (see this post). We put the 400L boot of the leaf to use and had no problems hauling a tent, dining tent, life-jackets, sleeping bags and all that gear one somehow must bring along for a weekend of nature.
Electric car adventures 