My family and I are planning on heading up to Banff and Jasper after visiting family in Northern Idaho. We were thinking of camping most nights and then staying at a hotel or B&B for a night or two along the way. I have a 2 year old daughter and am a little concerned about how cold it gets at night? Can anyone give any advice? And any recommendations on nice, quiet campgrounds would be greatly appreciated! We'll be there early July (only staying Sunday to Fri - no Fri or Sat night stay) and are reservations recommended???

Help!

Here's a link to the Banff campsites, most do not take reservations and are on a first come basis:

http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/ab/banff/v...t9b_E.asp#camp

For those that do reservations (3 of the 13), here's a link to make a reservation:

http://www.pccamping.ca/parkscanada/en/

Do you know how crowded it gets on the weekdays? Should we make a reservation or just try the non-reservable ones?? I don't want to get up there and not have a place to stay.

I haven't camped in Banff NP, so can't give you any advice that way. However, since you mentioned you'll be there early July, you should be aware that July 1st (Wed) is a national holiday and I would expect that a number of people may be taking Thurs and Fri off and having a mini, mid-week/end vacation.

I'm one of those people who needs to know that I have place to sleep at night, so I always make reservations if I can, but that's me.

with the holiday on july 1, if i was going anytime between june 26-july 5, i'd be more comfortable with a reservation. you don't say what type of camping. if you want a site with power and water, people sometime line up in the mornings to get those sites on weekends. mid week, your gamble. if you are tent camping, i wouldn't be as concerned.
for tent camping, i like snaring river campground in jasper (just pit toilets but large sites, quite and by a river).
in banff, tunnel mountain has nice tent sites.
trains run through both parks day and night. if you are a light sleeper, you might want to bring along some earplugs. millions of kids camp there...yours won't freeze. just bring several blankets so you and add or remove as needed.

In Banff you can also try Johnston Canyon. There should be a Parks Canada website where you can make reservations. I know the government of Alberta has just established a website to reserve camping spots. I have not camped in this area for several years but the old rule is leave early find a spot early in the summer. As for the cold if you are tenting a smaller tent holds body heat easier and a warm sleeping bag and an extra blanket will do the trick.

the change in the provincial campgrounds will not affect the reservation system in banff and jasper national parks.

On a side note, the newly launched Alberta provincial park reservation system is pretty cool. You pick the campsite and it shows you a map with any amenities (e.g. bathroom, water taps) and which sites are open or already reserved. You can click on the individual sites and view 360 degree photos of them.

https://reserve.albertaparks.ca/crrs/public/index.htm

If you are indeed going the first weekend in July you absolutely must make a reservation. Most of the major camping destinations sell out for that weekend months in advance and the first come camp sites will likely be gone by Wed July 1st for the rest of the week. If you arriving Sunday July 5th then your chances are better as most people will leave that day.

As long as you have a sleeping bag for your daughter she should be fine. We made up flannelette "liners" for our sleeping bags which could be used on their own or to increase the insulation and it worked great for our kids when they were that age (and still works great for we "adults" too). Regarding reservations: as others have said, if you are tent camping or are willing to "dry camp" it (vacancy) will be less of a problem than if you want full power/water/sewer hookups. If the latter then "Yes", make a reservation, esp. that first week of July.

Thanks for all of your replies!! We were originally going to be there over the 1st of July, but luckily one of our books mentioned that it was a holiday so we're going the 5th-10th instead. We will be just tent camping, so no hook-ups required and we just got our daughter her own sleeping bag, which she is so extremely excited about! Thanks for the recommendations about campgrounds - I had head Snaring River was great!

Has anyone stayed in Lake Louise?? Any recommendations of a reasonably priced hotel (we'll only be there 1 night and would rather not set up the camping gear again!)

I guess it depends on your definition of "reasonably priced". Probably the best price is the Lake Louise Hostel which is very nice and I recommend having stayed there numerous times. They have family rooms, but not sure what the chances of there being any vacancy at this point. You can always contact them and find out: http://www.hihostels.ca/pm/en/lakelo...?sortcode=2.22

good reviews for the lake louise hostel although it is not cheap in comparisons to other hostels. if you decide to stay in banff, one moderately priced motel i like is the bow view lodge.