Stop #40: Tunnel Mountain Trailer Court, Banff, Canada
- Denisse Storti
- Jul 2, 2024
- 6 min read
Updated: Jul 3, 2024
We made it to Canada! While RVing, this detour was not entirely planned. Banff had been on our list, but while we had not ruled out visiting Canada on the RV, we hadn't discussed getting there during this leg of our journey. While searching for campgrounds in Montana Paul decided to check out availability at Banff and found an opening in mid May - calendar looked booked beyond that. So we snagged it and planned the rest of our trip around that. We travel with our passports so we were prepared to cross the border and we didn't have any future reservations at that time that we'd loose or have to move around. Again... this is why we don't plan way in advance. Winging it allows for unexpected adventures like this.
We drove from West Yellowstone, in a blizzard mind you, and made one overnight stop at Lewis and Clark RV Park in Shelby, Montana. Early the next morning we continued onwards to the Canadian border. Crossing the border was relatively easy. There was a bit of a line but thankfully not as long as the line for commercial vehicles. We noticed some folks behind the big commercial trucks because they had not noticed that there were separate lanes ahead for non-commercial entries. So remember to stay towards the left if doing this or you'll be in line for a looong while before noticing. Once we reached the booth we were asked for our passports which thankfully we had remembered to bring in the car - getting in the RV would've been tricky. The officer asked a few questions about our visit and then off we went. That was easy, eh?!
We booked at Tunnel Mountain Trailer Court which is located within Banff National Park. This section of the Tunnel Mountain campground offers full hookups and beautiful spacious sites with lots of surrounding trees. Fire pits are not provided or allowed on this section but we were still more than happy with our choice - they are provided at another section of the campground but w/o full hookups. We had a beautiful wooded area behind our RV where the kids set up a 'hang out' with hammocks and stumps for side tables. It's a large campground which was great for cycling around. We lucked out with amazing weather during most of our stay which was perfect for relaxing on the hammocks with a book. This might be the most we've enjoyed a camping site to date.
Once we did our set up, we headed to Banff village for dinner. It's a lovely village with tons of restaurant options and shops. After walking around for a while we chose to give Hello Sunshine a try. It reminded us of our favorite sushi restaurant in Miami Beach and when given the option the kids always vote for sushi. Our meal was great, as was the service. As we left the village we noticed the park along the river and decided to stop so the kids could play a bit at the playground. We parked on the other side of the river and walked from there over the bridge to the park. The views from this location were pretty neat which made us even more excited about exploring the more popular sights within the park like Lake Louise. The cool thing about visiting Banff is that once you enter the park you don't need to leave it as all the attractions, including the village, are within.
Since we sort of booked this Canadian detour on a whim, we didn't do too much research about Banff ahead of time. We had an idea about the top sights to visit based on posts we'd seen but that was about it. On the day we started our drive to Lake Louise (Banff is huge so some sights are 40+ mins away) I got on the internet to search top hikes to do in the area. When doing so I came across info regarding when to expect the lake to be thawed out and realized then that it was very likely that we would encounter a frozen lake even though it was mid May. Quite the bummer to say the least as when we thought of Banff the images that first came to mind were the stunning turquoise lakes of the region. Since it wasn't yet 'super busy season' we were able to park at one of the lots not too far from the lake - the first few lots were full so we can't imagine how this place gets in the summer.
Lake Louise had started the thawing process but it was still mostly covered in ice. Nonetheless, its a gorgeous location. We walked around the lake a bit, sat to take in the mountain views, let the kids walk on the ice where it looked thick enough, and took plenty of pictures. We would've loved to visit the nearby Lake Morraine as well, but the road was closed as that one is in even higher elevation and still had a lot of snow.
On the way back we stopped at Banff Upper Hot Springs. We put on our bathing suits in the car and grabbed our towels, excited to relax at the hot springs but our excitement quickly dissipated when we saw a very crowded pool. While the pool does have some nice views, it looks very much like a regular pool than a hot spring. Considering the cost, we decided to return to the car and save our dollars for another experience. Crowded pools and hot tubs are just not our jam.
Then came the night of the giant geomagnetic storm for which we were at the perfect location to watch the aurora borealis. Never in a million years did we think we'd see the northern lights while RVing! The sun was setting very late during that time of year so this meant staying up till midnight to catch the lights at their peak. Once the sun set, we started to see white streaks on the sky so I knew a spectacular show awaited. They did indeed peak betwen 12:30a-1:30p with greens and violets interlaced with white which were not as visible to the naked eye but more so via the camera lens. Thankfully, I had read about this a few years ago when a girl I follow shared this important bit of info after seeing the lights in Iceland. Without knowing this, I would've missed out on this beauty. The kids and Paul fell asleep so I watched from the comfort of my bed as I was tad afraid of bears or any other creatures that would surely be waiting for me outside the RV. lol
Mother's Day was upon us and when given the choice, I always opt for spending the day in nature. We set out to Johnston Canyon which ended up being a lovely hike along with the many other people that had the same awesome idea. It was crowded, but we moved along the walkway at a good pace. We only walked to the lower falls and though the catwalk was sometimes suspended pretty high up in the air we all felt safe throughout. I sometimes have issues with heights but having a railing made a difference for me in this scenario. The lower falls were not super impressive but the creek views along the way made up for it. The extra 1.5mi to the upper falls is probably worth it but the kids were hungry so we made our way back. We didn't try these out, but there is a cafe, an ice cream stand, and restrooms for visitors.
There was one more opportunity to see a lake in Banff and that was the nearby Lake Minnewanka. We purchased the group cruise but you can also rent kayaks, canoes, and motorboats, or go out with a fishing guide when in season. Thankfully, the lake had just thawed enough for cruises to start operating on the day we visited - perfect timing! The cruise was very entertaining, no spoilers but will only say a 'lake monster' is a part of the history of the lake, however we did find it to be a bit pricey. We finally got our Banff lake moment with the turqouise water against the mountain backdrop. Probably not as stunning as Lake Louise or Lake Morraine in the summer but beggars can't be choosers. FYI, Lake Minnewanka also has a small cafe and restrooms for visitors.
Besides doing the touristy thing and stopping for pics at the Banff sign that was it for our Canadian adventures. On the way back to the US we completely forgot about the no fruits/vegetables rule when re-entering. It's not as top of mind when you are traveling with your house. lol We realized this when seeing the sign as we approached the officer booth so it was too late to do anything about it. We declared our food and had to pull to the side for an inspection. The officer was very nice but did end up taking some of our stuff (unfortunately our favs: avocadoes,kiwis, and mangoes included). We asked if we could eat them but they denied our request as it would be too time consuming if they agreed to that for everyone. Haha Oh well. Lesson learned.
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