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RV Banff Calgary Tips

RV Banff Calgary Tips - We only RVed in two places (three counting a mall in Calgary) on our trip. The two RV campgrounds we used while in Banff were Tunnel Mountain and then the other one was one that was on the Columbia Icefields Parkway.

To be quite honest, I didn't find any of the RV campgrounds to be ideal. Tunnel Mountain, just outside of the city of Banff and well within Banff National Park, had beautiful views of the stunning mountains, but none of the water. Same thing with the other places. I searched all around for an RV campground by a lake with mountains in the background - much like we had when we RVed in Alaska where we RVed in a fiord (Seward) or at Ninilichik State Park which was full of bald and golden eagles, looked across the 30 mile wide body of water that is the Cook Sound and which had masses of snow-capped peaks in the background.

The full hookup at Tunnel Mountain was nice. They had cabins with showers that we never used since we were in the RV. There is also a dump station there at the entrance/exit. I think they have a three day pass too that is a little cheaper than paying by the day. But be careful... since you then have to backtrack a lot since it is at one side of the park.

If it is two of you and you don't take long showers or use a lot of electricity, you probably won't need full hookups. We ended up sticking to Tunnel Mountain except the day we went to the Columbia Icefields and then we stopped at Mosquito Creek. We didn't get to Yoho or Kootenay at all or even into Jasper other than Columbia because of the Tunnel Mountain campground which kept us kind of constrained to it. We were also a bit short on time and traveling with my parents who were staying in a hotel in Banff and who had a minivan. So we traveled with them by hooking up with them in Banff or at our campground for three of the four days we were there.

Lake Louise doesn't really have any facilities. I think there might have been a gas station, a very tiny little two story "mall" and perhaps a restaurant. Banff, on the other hand, is a beautiful little town with restaurants, stores, a food court and it was also easy for us to drive in from Tunnel Mountain and park two blocks away from the main street.

If you walk around beautiful Lake Louise, make sure you have lots of film (or room on your digital) and fresh batteries. We walked all the way to the other end and my digital camera battery decided that it was done. So we don't have any photos of that, much to my chagrin.

The sites at Two Jack Lake seemed okay. I don't remember how many were by the river, but I thought it was only a few. Keep in mind that that was available sites versus all sites. Two Jack has two campgrounds and I don't remember if we saw both or not, but what I did see was not the dramatic views we wanted. It was more like a forest with a rustling river in the background that you might be able to see if you were in the right site and facing the right direction. But please call them to make sure.

Tunnel Mountain would NOT be a good choice for water views. Two Jack would if you are willing to walk a bit, but as far as I know, you won't see the lake from your RV. I would also call to see what the typical availability is at the time you are going. The camp grounds are first come, first serve, if I remember correctly. You cannot book in advance.

There were other campgrounds in Banff that were by creeks - like the second one we used named Mosquito Creek. But at that one, for instance, there was only the one spot (or maybe two or three) that were actually by the creek. The rest were in the woods. Lake Louise's RV campground is in ... you guessed it, the woods and not by the lake at all. (Note: once we got to Lake Louise, we understood why. It is a pristine jewel of a lake which would be ruined by a large campground abutting it.)

We really tried to get a good answer to where to RV overnight in Banff or Jasper before we went. We poured over all of the generous literature and maps that we got before going, called six or seven phone numbers in Banff, etc., but no one could give us a straight answer on where were the best RV campgrounds.

Note: there is a great RV campgrounds map of Banff here: http://www.canadianrockies.net/maps/bnp.pdf.

When I look at this map, Two Jack Lake looks like the best place to RV in Banff, but I don't remember why we didn't go there. Oh, wait a minute, now I remember. We drove through there with the RV. But there too, the RV sites were in the forest or next to a river (for a few of them), but not actually overlooking the lake. Some of the others might have worked if we had been there in the summer rather than in May when many were closed. So in the end, we decided the best views were the ones from Tunnel Mountain. And also remember that we were able to park at the Mall in Calgary overnight for free for four days after getting permission (very easy) from the security desk at the front enterance. This is good to know as a backup since Calgary doesn't have any good RV campgrounds in the city.

A few other tips...

We used Go West Campers (www.gowestcampers.com). They were really wonderful in every possible way. The only thing not included in the rental package we got (semi-hidden charges) were the toilet paper ($5 or $10) which dissolves in the RV tanks easily and the clean-up charges at the end (I forget how much, but figure it will take you 45 minutes or so in all). They also arranged for us to take a cab to the airport though I think we paid for it, of course.

The Columbia Icefields Parkway - the spine of Banff and Jasper - was excellent for driving the RV. We didn't have any problems at all. It's a nice wide two lane road in either direction with a grassy median for a good chunk of it. It tapers to one lane in either direction on the way to Jasper, but even then, we didn't have any problems with the RV.

File: NSengupta_1967_2004_0530_Banff.jpg

File: NSengupta_1968_2004_0530_Banff.jpg