best Jasper camground help

[83trekker]

Iv edone some searching but places are booking up fast and some help< looking for a good campground with firepit electricty if possible , and some privacy. cam back from yellowstone and with my 27ft 5th wheel it was awful like camping in a refugee camp, so please help thanks!

[Johndeere4955]

With the way Jasper books up so fast online I would gladly pay the extra couple of bucks and phone it in. The rest of August is booked up solid online and last year even late September we were lucky to find a spot. Jasper is awesome.

A national park pass in the US costs around 85 dollars I believe...I will find out in September. But the quality of camping in a Canadian National park by my experience so far is better than the US National parks I have visited. Its not a knock to our neighbors down south just an observation.

In the end though I have absolutely no problem with paying extra to camp in a National park, state park or provincial park. Its the only time I smile when giving my money to any government. Its nature at its finest and you can't beat it. Although some of the boondocking pics down south in other parts of this forum look incredible. It sure beats some of the privately owned parking lots (so called "campgrounds") that I have stayed in over the last 20 years of camping.

Come to Canada...we're awesome!

[FLY_4_FUN]

Jasper isn't cheap, but god it is an amazing place to spend time. We will be there for a week in Aug and I booked our full hook-up site in Whistlers seconds after the system opened up in April. Its a huge campground, with plenty of places to walk, bike, hike etc. Yes the park pass is costly but its a tax that only those staying have to pay. If you stay past six days its cheaper to buy the yearly one. The fire permit works well also, and if we camp with a group we just split the cost. Its like the Disney of camping....an experience you will never forget in an unspoiled setting that hasn't changed much in 40 years. We pay more than most campgrounds so our kids and their kids will get to experience it for their lifetime. Yes I like Jasper and I hope all who visit spend a sunny afternoon enjoying all it has to offer.

Daryll

[83trekker]

well i got into Wabasso no electricty but no big deal 97 for for nights with res fees not bad sucks i gotta pay 20 every day to be in the park though. i do like the firewood fee, yellowstone i was paying 16 for 2 crappy little bundles of a wood night. thanks all.

[GordonThree]

Vacations are expensive, even if you eliminate the motel room expense.

I like the National Park's fire permit approach - free wood, all you can carry, for about $9 a night. Good deal if you ask me.

[Stefan]

nickel and diming????? tell you what, take out 300 + million people in the USA but keep same land area and tell me if things are not a little more money? costs are spread around with less people. As for coming back, don't worry aobut it.... we are not..

[Veebyes]

Mik68, I share your feelings regarding daily costs & nickle & diming at Canadas National Parks. Doubt if we will be back anytime soon.

[Mik68]

Apologies for the rant on the cost of staying in Canada's NP's, especially as the OP didn't ask about cost, it's just that I feel really burnt and disappointed by the experience. Sure I could have also avoided the booking fee each night and risked a first come first served site, but not with 3 kids asking "are we there yet". And to top it off when I arrived in Banff all the designated RV parking was full by 10am so I found a parking lot over the bridge and out of town, only a few cars parked, I took up 8 spots and got a $55.00 fine. No where did it say 'NO' RV parking' as it did in other parking lots. That puts my 2 nights stay over $100 a night. A bigger ouch! Not happy.:(

[Mik68]

I booked jasper only 2 days prior to my arrival 2 days ago and got a full service site at the Whistler CG, must of got lucky! Or maybe it's because I phoned up and paid the $13.50 booking fee, because when I checked online ($11.00 booking fee) there was nothing available for my 30' TT, only rustic sites, which where still available apon my arrival. Also be aware that you will have to pay another $19.60 if you have more than 3 people, slightly cheaper for 2 and I think $9.80 for 1 person for every night you stay in the national park. A fire will also cost another $8.80. It all adds up! And to top it off, I took my 5 y.o. Daughter to the toilet where I had purchased 2 latte's and it cost a quarter. I'm sure that's the French influence. If you've been to Paris you'll know what I mean. 🙂
My nights stay at jasper $77.70 ouch! Inc. Full serviced site $35.80. The only avoidable cost is the fire. The sad thing is I did it all again in Banff.
Now if you're staying more than 7 nights you can get a national park pass valid for one year for $136. If money isn't an issue, go for it, otherwise!
Go to the US it's a lot cheaper. Glacier NP for example.

[GordonThree]

I hit Whistlers on May 17 this year, which is the Saturday before Victoria day. They were swamped with rental RV's backed up almost the entire driveway. Their rustic loops were not very busy, all the weekenders were in the modern loops.

I returned to Whistlers about a month later, and had a reserved site in a modern loop. The rustic loops are definitely more "private", there was more trees and brush between sites, but not so much I couldn't hear the class A several sites down running its generator well past quiet hours. In that regards, the modern loop is better, no need for generators.

Wapati was closed in May and June, the road in was barricaded and from what I could see riding by on my bicycle, it appeared they were digging inside the campground with heavy equipment - maybe they had some utility damage to repair?

[Veebyes]

Went to Whistlers just after the May holiday weekend. No reservations. It was virtually deserted. Some loops not even open yet. The only full loop was the power loop.

[DirtyOil]

Just got back from a two week trip in Jasper Peachland and Banff, I tried to book a site with power at Whistlers back in April, ended up with a site at Wapati (no power) it too was booked in early April. At the time I booked there were only a few sites left at Wapiti, so, what I'm saying is ... if you haven't booked a few months ahead of time, your going have to be very lucky to find a site at either campground. We were lucky Banff was the end of our trip as we were leaving Jasper (on route to BC) the Icefield highway was closed due to forest fires in the Saskatchewan Crossing and Nordegg areas. We were able to take the David Thompson highway on our homeward route today... (still working on hot spots in the area)

[hedge]

I prefer Wapati, but I think most prefer Whistlers. I try get a site in the SE corner either against the creek or the river. Never stayed at Pocohontas or Wabasso. Good cell service at Wapati or Whistlers, it's only a couple km from town.

The power sites at Wapati look like a parking lot to me, I think the power sites in Whistlers are more like camp sites. Power isn't a requirement for us so don't know too much about it.

[83trekker]

ok power is not a must just a great benift if possible
is there cell service out there?

[burnmark]

Hard to get a power site in Jasper, but all of the campgrounds are beautiful. Even Whistler's has privacy despite how big it is. Very well laid out.
Wabasso, Wapiti are grat. Never stayed at Poca whatever it is..