Friday July 5th 2019, I awoke to find that the day was a washout for weather. Calgary was experiencing another torrential downpour. Oh Joy! So far this summer it has been nothing but rain! I guess I was going to get wet packing up our RV for the trip to Banff while hooking up the toad. Well I was right I did get wet, soaked actually. So wet that I had to change clothes prior to hitting the road, what an auspicious start to our weekend getaway.
Banff is a beautiful National Park 130Km west from Calgary along Hwy 1 the TransCanada Hwy. It will take you a short 1hr ½ drive to the park gates and beyond into the town site of Banff itself. Within the Banff Park there are 17 campsites with 12 of them being reservable. Our destination was not the town site of Banff but the Tunnel Mountain II Campground Located on Tunnel Mountain Road just off of Banff Avenue when taking the first Banff exit off of the TransCanada Hwy. This road climbs you up to the top of the ridge overlooking the Banff town site where at the top, past the hoodoo vantage point, is where you will find the Tunnel Mountain Campgrounds. There are three campgrounds in this area and all of them have different services to offer than the other. The campgrounds are:
- Tunnel Mountain I – Tenting / dry camping only with Fire pits
- Tunnel Mountain II – Electrical / With Bath houses & Fire Pits
- Tunnel Mountain Trailer court – Full Hookups – No Fire pits
The entrance to all of these campgrounds is located directly off of Tunnel Mountain road, with Tunnel Mountain II and the trailer court both sharing the same entrance. Once you arrive at the campground you are greeted by a nice check in Kiosk where you will be read the campers riot act and also be informed about the local wildlife and how to interact with it. You will also be given a map of the campground with directions to your site. As you enter Tunnel Mountain II, to the left of the check in Kiosk you will find the dump station. The Dump station is a nice modern facility with two lanes in which to dump and take on potable water as well as a place to dump your garbage and recyclables. There is no charge for registered guests.
As you drive through the campground you will notice that all of the roads are paved with nice big turn radiuses on all of the corners. You will also notice that all of the campsites are roadside campsites, no backing in here, just drive up and pull off the road at your site. You will find here that privacy is at a premium with most sites being right next to the other so being friendly with the neighbors is a requirement.
Well we drove around a bit to get the lay of the land until we found our site and pulled over. There was ample room for us to glide nicely into our spot. Once again, I think we found the best spot in the campground or at least the one with the most privacy, so we planted our flag and setup our gear.
I guess the only thing that can make a Banff experience less than stellar is the weather. With Banff being nestled in the Canadian Rockies weather can be somewhat unpredictable and relentless when it happens. It rained pretty much for the entire time we were there with a brief respite for a few hours Saturday afternoon and when we first arrived. It rained so hard that our campsite flooded, this had memories of Red Lodge playing through our heads ( Another rained out camping experience), but that is another story.
Views here are spectacular if you look to the south and take in the beauty of the mountains, but within the campground itself you will find a smattering of trees to break up the monotony of the line upon line of campsites Except along the edges of the campground. This is unfortunate but I suppose you are not here for the campsite but instead for the local surroundings, trails, and of course the Banff townsite itself.
A nice feature of these campsites is that they are serviced by local public transit. There is a good bus service between the campgrounds here on Tunnel Mountain, the Banff townsite, and the surrounding areas, like Lake Minnewanka. The bus stop can be found at the front gate to Tunnel Mtn II which can be a bit of a walk from your campsite as the Campgrounds of Tunnel Mtn are quite large. Tunnel Mtn Village where we stayed has 195 sites and 21 Yurts, whereas the Trailer court has 384 sites. So Walking is a defiant requirement here.
Banff is a Tourist destination, and a very popular one at that. People from all over Canada, the US and the world come here to marvel at the raw beauty of nature in all its glory. There are many trails in which to travel and explore at your own pace. Some of the most popular are Johnston Canyon, and Lake Minnewanka. Of course there is the Tunnel Mountain trail and the Hoodoos. Within the townsite of Banff you will find a great assortment of specialty shops and touristy shops, along with restaurants and a couple of fast food joints. If you travel up Sulfur Mountain you will find here a gondola ride to the top where the views on a clear day are beyond spectacular. Also in the area is the world famous hot springs, where you can relax in 105c waters and rest your weary bones if you have been traveling or hiking. Another great attraction is the Banff Springs Hotel. This hotel was built back in the late 1800’s by the CPR (Canadian Pacific Railway) and has been designated a national historic site. In 1926 the entire structure was burned to the ground in a horrific fire, but was again rebuilt in 1928 and brought back to its former and current splendor. According to legend the hotel is haunted, so if you spend a night here you may come across a guest from the afterworld.
Nature is another reason to visit Banff. Banff is the middle of a huge animal corridor through the Canadian Rockies so all manor of animal can be seen in or around the Banff Park and townsite. It is not uncommon to see Elk wondering the town of Banff or Bears in the parks or trails around the township. While we were in our campsite and walking about the campground, we came across some female elk foraging for food. They were incredibly calm and pretty much ignored us and the commotion they were causing.
Nuts & Bolts
Over all a trip to Banff is a fun excursion but be prepared to deal with crowds especially if you go there during the peak summer season. The campgrounds that are available to you to book are numerous but reservations are definitely required as all of the campsites fill up pretty quickly, so make sure that you plan your visit and make you reservation. The campsites that are the closest to the Banff Townsite are the Tunnel Mountain Campsites followed by the Two Jack and Johnston Canyon campgrounds. All of which are extremely popular. The only powered and full hookup sites are at the Tunnel Mountain II and Trailer court campgrounds. All the rest are dry camping experiences. For the most part you will find that travelling around the various campsites that large RV’s will have little issues in maneuvering around the campgrounds, but they will be restricted to the Tunnel Mountain campgrounds and maybe Johnston canyon. Johnston Canyon is under renovation at the time this article was published but I understand that they are fixing it up to accommodate larger rigs, and possibly adding Power sites to the campground. It will re-open for the 2020 season.
Traveling around Banff you will find that there is very limited parking for either cars or especially RV’s. Class B’s may be able to find parking but certainly anything over the size of a Class B will not find parking outside of your campsite. Using a toad or the public transit system is the way to get around Banff and see the sights. The Cost of a night in Banff will vary depending on which campground you end up at. But prices vary from $38.20 for full hookups at the Tunnel Mtn Trailer Court, $32.30 for a powered site at the Tunnel Mtn Village, and $21.50 for a rustic site at the other campgrounds in the area. If you want a fire and you have a fire pit in your campsite there is an additional Charge of $8.80 for a fire permit which gives you access to free firewood. The following link will take you to the campsite pricing sheet for the Banff area.
Reservations for the 2020 season will begin on January 8th, 2020 @ 8am MST, if you plan to go to Banff make sure you are ready to book on this date otherwise you may not get in or get a site that you like. Reservations can be made here:
Happy Trails
The Glampurs
Ps. When we arrived home Mother Nature tried to say sorry for all the rain she gave us on our weekend adventure, but she still looked pretty ominous.
