inforzatti

Itinerary in the Rockies

Hi Folks.

My name is Tiago. I’m from Brazil and I’m going to Calgary in July. My wife is there, studying English since April, and we decided to rent a RV to make a trip in the Rockies for 8 days.

First, reading something in the internet we decided to go to Banff, Lake Louise, Jasper and back to Calgary. However, we don’t have much information and decided to ask here about other possible itineraries.

We heard that Waterton could be a better option than Jasper in summer, so we should have to go to the south, instead of north. What do you think?

I will be very glad to receive any information about the Rockies and other possible things to do. Could you help me about that?


Thanks a lot.

Tiago.

kgsneds

Have you rented the RV?

If not, I would consider your options before making any non-refundable bookings. The Rockies - including Waterton - are going to be VERY busy this summer so you may have a hard time find any kind of accommodation at this point, including RV campsites.

First, be aware that there is really no free or random camping in the Rockies (or most of Canada). You must camp in designated parks or private campgrounds - it is not permitted to stop overnight on the side of the road/parking lots/pull overs etc.

In the national parks, any campsite with a full hook up has been long since booked. Other bookable campgrounds are heavily booked, and often sold out for weekends and holidays. The only option are first-come, first serve campgrounds - that requires arriving early and being very flexible. Not ideal when you are on vacation - and even those may fill up on weekends/holidays.

Also worth noting that RVing here is a choice of style - it's not going to save you money or offer more flexibility. In fact, it can have limitations -- campsites, and also there is very, very limited RV parking at many of the main attractions & in the townsites, so you could find yourself having a lot of trouble finding parking.

Before renting an RV, I would search to see if you can even find a campsite. At this point, I think your best best is to go for fixed accommodation - probably cheaper and easier to find. Book ASAP and don't book plane tickets until you have a place to stay.

General idea is to go Banff/Lake Louise, Japser than back to Banff/Lake Louise/Canmore. Start with Jasper and do it ASAP. There's no good alternative for Jasper and many places have been booked solid for months. Try private home accommodations (like B&Bs) - stayinjasper.com

For Banff/Lake Louise, all legal accommodation is listed at www.banfflakelouise.com Expect $300+ for hotel rooms, possibly cheaper for B&Bs and cheaper for hostels. Canmore is an option, though at this point, for July, it's going to be as pricey.

As to Waterton - it's worth visiting, but not instead of Jasper/Banff/Lake Louise. Also, it's much smaller, so at this point, finding any place to stay in July could be a massive challenge. There are only a handful of hotels and a couple of campgrounds in the entire park.

inforzatti

Hello.
firs of anything, thanks to your answer.
About the RV, yes, i have rented it already in Canadream. Otherwise, i MUST stay 15 days in Canada (calgary), so, i just dont have any option. I'll stay (i've booked an Airbnb) about 6 days in Calgary. After, we will travel with the RV.
About the places, i have found campsite for the RV in the Canada Park Reservation Service in Banff, but not to Jasper or Watertoon. In this case, i think its a nice idea, right?
Do you think i can find other campsites (private) in Watertoon and Jasper? The private campsites are good?
Please note that i have the plane tickets and probably i wont go to Canada soon again. So, even if its crowded, you have to thing like a tourist.

kgsneds

There are no private campsites in Jasper or Waterton NPs - all campgrounds in the national parks are run by Parks Canada.

I would look ASAP to see if you can book campsites. Otherwise you will have to go first-come, first-serve. Jasper will be the hardest - there aren't really any good options anywhere near Jasper. The closest campgrounds outside the park will be equally crowded and will be a long drive to any of the places you'd want to see.

Waterton will be even harder - very few (2, 3?) campgrounds in the entire park and they're not big. Beyond that, it's a fairly long drive to private or provincial campsites outside the park.

I am not saying don't come, but I think you need to have a clear picture of the challenges you are facing. You really should have been planning & booking back in January/February. We also usually suggest getting accommodation (including campgsites) before booking plane tickets.

You can make it work, but you need to start looking ASAP for campground options and try to book whatever you can find. At this point, the longer you wait, the higher your chances of having no real options.

You might consider something in Mt. Robson Provincial Park if Jasper is all booked up. If you are going to consider first-come, first serve, try to do those during the week - i.e. arriving M, T or W and staying for several nights.

So look on the Jasper, Banff and Waterton NP websites to see what you can book. If you can find places to stay, book. You may also want to consider provincial campgrounds in the Kananaskis area.

inforzatti

Nice. Thanks again.

I found the site Albertaparks.ca and found some provincial campgrounds in the Kanaskis area.

About Jasper, we decided to dont go. Really hard to find anything now.

So, we will do this itinerary:

1. Calgary (07/10) to "Waterton" (staying in Beauvais Lake - about 50km from waterton). There is still vacancy there. So we can go tho waterton and come back driving in the same day, just to know the landscapes and do some trekking.

2. Beuvais Lake to Banff, at 07/12 (already booked in the government site for 3 days in Frontcountry Camping).

3. Banff to Rocky Mountain House, at 15/07 (Twin Lakes). There is still vacancy there. So we dont go to Jasper but we can know part of the nice road.

4. Rocky Mountain House to Calgary - 07/17, finishing the trip.

Considering the options that i have, what do you think?

Best Regards.

ChandiniR

Hi, I have written a detailed trip report of Canadian Rockies, see if it helps!
https://chandiniramesh.com/2016/11/2...s-a-road-trip/

kgsneds

I think you've done a good job considering how late you are booking.

My one suggestion would be for the end of the trip. Rocky Moutain House is a long drive from Banff. I know there are quite a few provincial campgrounds on Hwy 11 between the park gates and Nordegg. Have you looking into those?

They'd be much closer, prettier and from there you could drive back to Calgary via the parkway. Faster and much nicer than Hwy 11 and the QE2.