Banff National Park is located 120km (70 miles) west of Calgary in the province of Alberta amidst the Canadian Rockies.
It is Canada’s first national park. It was established in 1885 and today is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The beautiful Lake Louise area,
as well as the town of Banff (pop. 7500), 
Banff National Park covers over 6600 square kilometres and has over 1600 km (1000 miles) of hiking trails. The park also has over 2,450 campsites ranging from backwoods tent sites to fully serviced RV sites.
It is difficult to do an all-encompassing review of a park of this size. It can be a thousand different experiences to a thousand different people. With that acknowledged, I will relay our experience in the hopes that some of the information may be useful.
Site Review:
There are several campground areas within Banff National park.
RV campground areas with services:
- Tunnel Mountain Trailer Court campground (full service)
- Tunnel Mountain Village II campground (full service)
- Lake Louise campground (electricity but is restricted to hard-sided units only -no pop-ups or tents).
Comparing Tunnel Trailer Court and Tunnel Village II:
- The Tunnel Mountain Trailer Court campground and Tunnel Mountain Village II campground are right beside each other.
- Tunnel Mountain Trailer Court campground is in a more treed area and campfires are NOT permitted.
- The Tunnel Mountain Village II campground is more open and campfires are permitted on some (though not all) sites.
- The sites at BOTH campgrounds are the type where you park on a paved /gravel driveway parallel to the campground road.
- Sites are small and there is very little privacy between sites.
Given the vast beauty of Banff National Park, these 2 campgrounds afford a less than awe-inspiring camping experience. We stayed at the Tunnel Mountain Trailer Court campground.
Access to Banff from Tunnel Mountain Campgrounds:
Tunnel Mountain Trailer Court campground and Tunnel Mountain Village II campground have easy access to the Tunnel Mountain Trail. This is a moderately easy trail of fewer than 6 km round trip that can take you right into the town of Banff.
Another easy way to access the town of Banff from the campgrounds is via Banff Transit (called Roam Public Transit Service). There is a bus stop conveniently located between the 2 campgrounds near the ranger information station. Service runs daily between 6:15 am and 11:30 pm. The adult fare is $2 per ride and for $5 you can get an unlimited day pass. The route that accesses the campgrounds is Route 2- the Tunnel Mountain Route.
Activities:
There are numerous activities in the area and are limited only by your imagination. They include ice walking tours on the Columbia Ice Fields, heli-hiking, boat tours- you name it. I am only going to highlight the activities that we chose to enjoy- but for more ideas and information go to www.travelalberta.com or www.banfflakelouise.com
Hiking:
With the rugged Rocky Mountains as a backdrop- the area just begs to be hiked.
Every level of hiking is available and guided tours can be arranged. We chose to not venture too far off the beaten path and opted for some easy to moderate walks along some well-travelled trails in the area immediately surrounding Banff.
We walked the Bow Falls Trail and the Bow River Trail.
Bow RiverTrail
From almost any point in downtown Banff, you can turn toward the river and access the paved walkway along the river’s north bank. Interpretive panels tell you about Banff’s nature and history.
Bow Falls
This trail starts at the south end of the Bow River Bridge and continues paralleling the Bow River for 1.2 km to the Bow Falls parking lot. You can return the way you came, or you can walk along the road through the Banff Springs Golf Course, or up along the side of the Waldhaus Restaurant and over an elevated trestle walkway to the Banff Springs Hotel.
Tunnel Mountain Trail
We also hiked the Tunnel Mountain Trail- viewpoint #4 “Surprise Lookout” will give you a nice view of the Banff Springs Hotel.
Banff:
Banff is a ski resort town. You will find an assortment of restaurants and shopping opportunities. We biked along the multi-purpose trail to take in the sights.
There is also the Banff Gondola which takes you to the top of Sulphur Mountain and affords some breathtaking views.
Lake Louise:
One of the most picturesque spots in all of Banff National Park is Lake Louise.
Lake Louise is about 60 km from the Tunnel Mountain campgrounds. We drove the motorhome there and arrived around 730 am. We backed into a parking spot near the path to the lake and while you can rent canoes there, we chose to unload our own kayaks and enjoy a paddle.
You can also hike around the lake, as well as browse the public areas of the Chateau Lake Louise. Altogether, we probably spent about 5 hours there. Our plan was to also visit Moraine Lake- which many claim is even more beautiful than Lake Louise. It was about a 10-minute drive away. So around 1 pm, we headed back to the motorhome.
To our great surprise, when we returned, the parking lot was now fully packed! There was a continuous train of trucks, motorhomes, and vehicles towing trailers making a steady loop around the parking lot. It was so tight in fact that we could not maneuver our 30ft motorhome out of the spot! We realized that in order to get out we would have to wait until one of the neighbouring vehicles moved- and that might be hours! We sat down to eat our lunch and ponder the situation quite helplessly.
Fortunately, within 45 minutes, the occupants of one of the vehicles returned. I got out to stop traffic and even with the car beside us gone it was still very tight and required numerous back-ups and pull-forwards to align the motorhome and safely exit. The whole experience was frazzling! I was in no mood to go through that again at Moraine Lake, so we just headed back to Banff.
Whitewater Rafting:
We went with a company called Hydra River Guides. They provided transportation from the Tunnel Mountain campgrounds for an extra cost of $20CAD pp. A bus picked us up and transported us to the Hydra River Base in Golden British Columbia. We took part in their “Classic” tour down the Kicking Horse River.
It was a perfect entry-level rafting trip, good for all ages and no previous experience is required. We went on the morning trip and a BBQ lunch was included. The tour duration was approximately 4 hours.
Calgary Stampede:
The Calgary Stampede is arguably one of Canada’s biggest annual events. The Calgary Stampede is a 10-day rodeo exhibition and festival that bills itself as the “Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth”. It takes place every July and attracts over a million visitors. Calgary is about 1.5 hours away from the Tunnel Mountain campgrounds.
The Stampede is a great day trip if you happen to be visiting the area at the same time. It is advisable to purchase your tickets in advance. Admission to the grounds can be purchased on the day but tickets to the rodeo and tickets to the chuckwagon races/evening show really should be purchased ahead of time to avoid disappointment.
Things to know about Banff National Park:
- Research the campgrounds at Banff National Park paying close attention to the amenities offered at each, as well as specific equipment restrictions. Tunnel Mountain Trailer Court Campground and Tunnel Mountain Village II are the only campgrounds that offer full hook-ups.
- If travelling in your motorhome to the various points of interest in the park, be mindful of how busy places like Lake Louise will be.
- This is bear country. We did not see any bears on our trip, but they are there and it is advisable to take precautions, especially when hiking. Bear bells and bear spray are recommended when on the trails.
- There is a park entry fee in addition to the camping fee. Banff National Park is one of 4 Rocky Mountain Parks in the immediate vicinity. Your entry pass purchased at any one of them is valid at all the other ones (Jasper National Park, Kootenay National Park, and Yoho National Park). A daily pass is around $20CAD- if you are planning on spending 7 or more days in the National parks, then an annual pass for around $136CAD is the better deal and can be used at all 27 of Canada’s National Parks.
IMO:
Banff National Park is stunning. The park is large and its proximity to Jasper National Park, Kootenay National Park and Yoho National Park not to mention various provincial parks in the vicinity make the entire area a natural wonderland to explore. I would definitely recommend it as an RV Place to Go to all who want to visit the Canadian Rockies. Its relatively close proximity to Calgary makes it an ideal place to use as a base for day trips, while at the same time you can get lost in the park’s natural beauty.
