TenOC
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Hopefully next year with the coronavirus vaccine the Canadian - US border will be open for travel. If so, we are planning a trip in early June to see the Canadian Rockies. We like to boondocks or dry camp and sightsee mother nature and hike. The tourist traps in a town have no interest to us. So the crowded campgrounds in the towns of Banff or Lake Louise are less than desirable for us. We had wanted to camp at Kicking Horse campground, but it does not open until a couple weeks after our trip .
We have narrowed our selection to two options, camp at Lake Louise trailer park campground or dry camp at the Icefield parking lot. The advantage of Lake Louise is that it is somewhat centrally located for day trips both north and south. In addition we will have electricity and can make reservations. The disadvantage as I understand it you're very close to your neighbor; however, with the virus there may be some distance between the campsites if they only operate at about 50%.
The advantage of the Icefield parking lot is less crowds. We are self-contained with a generator and can dry camp for about a week. The disadvantage is that it is somewhat north of Lake Louise which makes travel to the southern part of the National Park a longer distance.
Your thoughts and comments and other options are very welcome. Thank you.
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agesilaus
North Florida
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We camped at Banff in the big state cg: Tunnel Mountain Trailer Court Campground. Is the Icefields cg open again they were closed for renovations.
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BB_TX
McKinney, Texas
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Haven’t stayed at any of them, but there are several campgrounds along the Icefields parkway between Banff and Jasper.
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BobsYourUncle
Calgary Alberta Canada
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If you look at Tunnel Mountain Trailer Court in Banff you will find that the way they have it set up is so the RVs are end to end rather than side by side. Basically parallel parking from the access roads.
There are many individual sites for bigger RVs but also a lot where 2 units are end to end, but share the same pedestal for hookups.
I have stayed there many times, it is actually quite nice.
You get the feeling of distance from your neighbor because you are not looking out the window at their site.
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TenOC
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BobsYourUncle wrote:If you look at Tunnel Mountain Trailer Court in Banff you will find that the way they have it set up is so the RVs are end to end rather than side by side. Basically parallel parking from the access roads.
I saw that and was worried about "Parallel Parking" a 36 foot 5er
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agesilaus
North Florida
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One thing to know about Banff, bring lots of money...heh. But I get the impression that the exchange rate is much better than when we were up there. Yeah it's 1.30 Canadian to the dollar, but that may change when the open the border
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PartyOf Five
Wheaton, IL
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The icefields parking lot is a hidden treasure, as far as we're concerned. We thought about spending a night but decided to continue to Jasper, but not before having dinner there and taking advantage of the various facilities available.
Although the building shuts down, there are plenty of fellow campers and so no concern with safety, and it's a big parking lot. You do have to be mindful of animals like bears when it comes to food being out. If you have plans to go into Jasper or see Athabaska Falls, this is a good halfway point.
It seems like you're thinking to commute back and forth after setting up camp somewhere- I would set a 30 minutes max 1 way, and am thinking Lake Louise to the Icefields is about 2 hours (plan extra time for slow traffic cuttings, and mountain driving). DM if we can help further, or you want pics.
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pianotuna
Regina, SK, Canada
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TenOC,
The last time I was at the Ice Fields the parking lot was jamb packed.
Spaces at the Lake Louise campground are not cheek by jowl. It is bear protected by an electric fence.
Lake Louise does have an overflow campground down the road towards Banff on the south side. There are no services. It is not free.
There are two gas stations at Lake Louise. The Petrocan is, in my experience ALWAYS cheaper for fuel. If you are going farther west, fill to the gills as fuel costs much more in B.C.
There is a shuttle bus from the town of Lake Louise up to the Chalet and lake. I think it make stop at the campground--but I can't remember for sure.
Banff is a tourist trap with prices that reflect that. I much prefer Lake Louise.
Where will you be coming from?
* This post was
edited 11/29/20 12:56pm by pianotuna *
Regards, Don
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Crowe
Merrimack, NH
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I would stay where I will waste less time traveling to where I want to be.
I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be Douglas Adams
RV-less for now but our spirits are still on the open road.
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TenOC
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Crowe wrote:I would stay where I will waste less time traveling to where I want to be.
But I expect that the drive is very scenic so not a waste of time.
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