In a Pickle in Canada

[bettye]

We are currently in Banff heading next to Jasper on Saturday, on our way to Alaska. We were unaware that this weekend is Canada Day, and have been told it would be a miracle for us to find a place to stay in Jasper Saturday and Sunday nights. There are five rigs traveling together. Any suggestions where one might stay? Walmarts are ok as well. Thanks.

[Grey_Mountain]

Orion: I can well understand why you ex-pat Brits wanna forget about the Fourth of July... 😉
I keep telling my British Bride that she has to put on a red coat and march down the center of the field behind our house while I hide behind trees and throw stuff at her.
Haven't convinced her that it it the thing to do though.

BM

[jnharley]

Try a big turnout where all will fit. We stayed in one in BC and not one other vehicle entered the turnout while we were there.

[Veebyes]

HA! We got caught by Canada Day on our first trip to Alaska. Wound up in a Fred Meyers carpark in an abandoned Prince George. Lesson learned.

Holed up in a Palmer, Alaska CG this time for July 4th letting the madness swirl around us.

[profdant139]

Someone mentioned Wilcox. Don't take a big rig in there -- very tight interior roads, small sites.

The Icefields parking lot is huge -- there might be room -- talk to a ranger, perhaps? Dry camping only, of course.

[jimbob3ca]

It is possible you might get lucky and get one campsite, but for your group, unlikely to get that many in Jasper. I would suggest staying on in Banff if you are already in a non-reservable campsite, which means you have it as long as you stay there. If you are in a reservable one, you will have to move on. If you must move on there is an overflow campsite that you could move to between Castle Junction and Lake Louise you could use to get through the weekend. If you do move on, I would also suggest finding a campsite along the Banff-Jasper highway, and spend a few days. The best bet is Waterfowl Lakes, about 35 miles north of Lake Louise, as it is all non-reservable, and it has a dump station as well. Be aware that some of the smaller campsites along the highway are older, so have narrow roads, smaller sites, and may be difficult for large rigs. Good Luck.

[Beverley_Ken]

We were in Jasper three years ago on Canada Day, no reservations. The parks directed all the overflow to an area on Hy16 east of Jasper, 500? acres of overflow, boondock camping, no specific sites. One set of pit toilets. It was only opened when necessary, all other campsites full, and it closed after the holiday. Sorry I can't remember the name.

Beverley and Ken

[Gruffy]

Do the gravel pit or my personal fav a burned out gas station. Lots of places to boondock.

[skipnchar]

You MAY get by using some ingenuity. It's been a few years now but on our last trip to Alaska we camped in an organized campground/RV park only 15 days out of the 60 we spent traveling to and from and while IN Alaska. The rest of the time we were in roadside pull outs, gravel pits, creek banks and lake shores. Wishing you luck / Skip

[Pipeman]

The Big Horn dam area is all dry camping. If you want it you have to bring it. It's a beautiful place but if you're not ready to dry camp then it's not for you. We'll be there after JULY 12TH but don't tell anybody!!!!!!The holiday weekend there will more than likely be very full and busy. Lots of noise and dust. Good luck.

[Orion]

Yes, I can remember being in California a few years ago and having to spend time in a truck stop as we had no idea that the Fourth of July was some kind of special day down there!

[hedge]

When you get to Saskatchewan River Crossing (between Banff and Jasper) head east. There's lots of random camping in the Nordegg area and campsites are usually not full either. I'd be surprised if you couldn't find somewhere to stay at the Bighorn dam, it's open for quadding and biking though so it can be noisy and busy. Not much for serviced sites though. It's a beautiful area, may favourite actually.

I believe whistlers in Jasper also has a few sites available on a FCFS basis. Good luck

[answerswillvary]

Moved from RV Parks to RVing in Canada for additional input.

[danager]

Try this site

[vic46]

burnmark wrote:
Go into Calgary or Red Deer for the weekend? Often, the cities head west to the mountains leaving a ghost town behind.

Not Red Deer. There are only 2 camp grounds and they will be fully reserved.

Go to Travel Alberta and have a look. There is a camp ground listing there by region that may get you off the hook. Note, these are provincial campgrounds only and finding 5 spots is going to be very difficult.