kristamillow

My husband and I are planning an RV trip to Alberta to see Banff, Lake Louise, Jasper, & Edmonton. We will be driving our 24 ft. RV and camping along the way. We are also open to staying in hotels if it's hard to find campgrounds in the area. We're from Colorado so we're used to hiking at high altitudes and want to take advantage of the beautiful scenery in the area. We would like to hear from RV'ers who have gone this route and have suggestions on campgrounds and sites to see. Thanks ahead of time for your help!

kgsneds

When will you be taking this trip? Advice will vary on the dates, as holidays, season etc. can greatly affect planning.

If you trip falls between very late June and early September, I'd strongly suggest booking campgrounds ASAP, especially if you are looking for a hookup. Bookings opened several weeks ago for 2016 and apparently all the campsites with hookups in Jasper NP have been booked for the whole summer.

With a 24 ft RV, you will need to ensure that you find sites that can fit your length. Not all campgrounds are set up for all lengths of RVs, so research on the Jasper and Banff NP websites to find out your options.

There are a variety of hotels in Jasper, Banff and Lake Louise. However, you will need to check to see if their parking lots can accommodate your RV. Many have quite limited parking, and there is usually not overnight RV parking in the townsites.

As to itinerary - unless you have family/friends there, I'd probably skip Edmonton. It's a long, boring drive from the mountains, and doesn't offer much that's unique. Not sure where you are coming from/going to, but we'd usually suggest a minimum of 4 nights in Banff/Lake Louise and 3 nights in Jasper. And try to give yourselves two shots at driving the Icefields Parkway - do, say, 1 night in Banff, then three nights in Jasper, then four nights in Banff or Lake Louise. You can also stay at one of the campgrounds along the Icefields Parkway, though most are first come, first serve.

If you are into hiking, you might enjoy staying in Lake Louise, either at the campground or at the hostel (there is a large overflow lot at the hostel). There's lots of great hiking in the area, though note that you'd need to drive to the trailheads, and parking up at both the Lake Louise and Moraine Lake lots can be full by 9am, especially for the latter where there are very few RV spots. Moraine Lake is probably best visited during the week, though you will need to find two other people to hike beyond the lake early July - end September because of bear safety/conservation group-of-4 restrictions.

The only other things to note in an RV is that you will not be able to drive to Edith Cavell Meadows, one of the popular hiking areas in Jasper NP. And it could be very tricky getting around the hairpin turns up to Takkakaw Falls.

kgsneds

One further note... dates of our summer holidays, which are when campgrounds & townsites will be be very busy


July 1-3 (July 1 is the holiday), July 30-Aug 1 (Aug 1 is the holiday) and Labor Day.

justineparis

I second above advice.. and most especially the advise to skip Edmonton ( why do you want to go there??)

We drove a 24 ft Class C for years from the island ( Vancouver Island) to Calgary usually .. doing a loop through Lake Louise Jasper , Banff , etc.. as well of course as a bunch of places in interior of BC..

We never had issues with the size of our 24 footer.. but we upgraded to a 30 footer and that did make it a bit more problematic for some places as we rarely made reservations except in Banff and Jasper.. where in summer it can be crazy busy.

kristamillow

We will probably go in the early fall after kids are in school to avoid the summer rush.