Banff 2 Questions

[TenOC]

Planing a 2 to 3 week trip to greater Banff area for next spring. Will be in a 33 foot TT. Hookup are nice, but we do dry camp often.

1. What campground with the best scenic views?

2. Is mid to late May too early? We want to see the mountains with snow but do not want to be "trapped" in the TT due to bad weather.

[Uncle_Rj]

Unfortunately you can not use Google Earth Streetview to look at most of the sites in Tunnel Mountain any more. It used to be the best way to figure out which site you wanted and how it sat in comparison to the others around it. You can still get in to some of the sites and also on the periphery of the campground so you can look in and see if camping like that is your cup of tea or not. The trailer park and village 2 have nice views of the mountains (and your neighbors).

There are three different areas in Tunnel Mountain - the trailer park, village 1 and village 2.

Tunnel Mountain Trailer park (the main part of the campground for trailers) is basically just paved roads with pull offs to the side where you park. There are full hookups in all of it, but don't expect much in the way of privacy. No fires (even propane) are allowed. No Google Earth Streetview.

Village 2 is similar to the trailer park but it is not fully serviced and a few sites allow fires. No Google Earth Streetview.

Village 1 is more of a true "camping in the trees experience". Fires are allowed but there are no hookups. The sites are more "conventional" but smaller so be mindful of that if you are booking. You can still look at the sites in Streetview.

There can still be snow in Mid May. Usually, Sunshine Village ski hill is open until the Canadian May long weekend and a few people I know take the opportunity to camp and ski. Most of the snow in Banff is typically gone by then.

[2gypsies1]

There are 3 sections of Tunnel Mountain campgrounds and each one is different in looks. One has full hookups, one has electric, one is dry camping. Here are some picture of a blog I just found:

http://rvagogo.blogspot.com/2013/08/rv-park-review-tunnel-mountain-village.html

You'll have to do search on all.

[TenOC]

canadi-anne wrote:
The best views in Banff are in the Tunnel Mountain Trailer Park right in Banff National Park. Amazing views, large sites, full hook ups.

I do not understand -- Large Sites but others say it is a "parking lot".

IDman wrote:

We stayed in Tunnel Mtn. Trailer Park once and it had a gangbuster view....BUT it was just like parallel parking along a road with someone else ahead, behind, and across from you.

Can someone give me more information. Pictures ??

[bradyk]

From someone living in the area all the above advice is good. Tunnel mountain is one of the better places if you are in a big unit and want full services at that time of year. Too much like a parking lot for us but you can't get too picky yet.
Weather is very up in the air at this time of year too. We could be like summer as we were this year or there could be campgrounds not even open May long due to them being full of snow especially the early part of May.
Try to go later if you can and there are more options that will be open to you. Early May can still be dicey around here and if all the Farmers Almanac and weather guys are correct we should have a cold a snowy winter so spring may be a little later than the last few.

[Kevinwa]

I agree, the views are amazing in tunnel mountain. We stayed in tunnel mountain village 2 in section B! That part of the campground was closed this year for reno's so I can't say what it will be like next year.

[PghBob]

Check Parks Canada for campground opening dates...http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/ab/banff/activ/camping.aspx

In 2016, Tunnel Mtn. opened May 20, while some others opened later. I believe Lake Louise Trailer CG is open most of the time.

We stayed at Tunnel Mtn. in the Summer of 2015 and the views were quite beautiful.

[stickdog]

We were there first week of May in 15 weather was beautiful, stayed at Tunnel Mountain easy walk into town.

[IDman]

We like Two Jack Lakeside CG which is north of Banff about ten minutes away. Of course, it is on Two Jack Lake with beautiful scenery.

Every place in the area has great scenery.

We stayed in Tunnel Mtn. Trailer Park once and it had a gangbuster view....BUT it was just like parallel parking along a road with someone else ahead, behind, and across from you.

[canadi-anne]

The best views in Banff are in the Tunnel Mountain Trailer Park right in Banff National Park. Amazing views, large sites, full hook ups.

[Mandalay_Parr]

Nice park in Canmore.

[GordonThree]

May was fine when I went in 2013... But I guess every year winter is different.

Expect ice on the lakes and snow on some of the trails. There was still plenty to do.