Bow Valley Campground
• Box 8585 | Canmore, AB | T1W 2P1
Average User Rating:
6.10/10
6.10/10
Recommended by:
66%
66%
Sort Reviews by:
"CAMPER BEWARE"
Mike
July 2010 — "We made the campsite reservations over the telephone.
We reserved 2 sites for 3 nights.
We had one tent on one site and 2 tents on the other site.
We were conveniently not notified of the extra $21.00 per night for 2 tents on the same site.
Also we were conveniently not infromed that the reservation fee was $10.00 per site. (not $10.00 per reservation!)
After we had set up our tents, the staff complained that we could not put our tents up on the bare spots covered in pine needles.
The staff member insisted that we needed to put up our tents on the coarse gravel where it is nearly impossible to pound in pegs. (ridiculous rule)
Trying to shower in the morning was an assinine process to say the least.
I drove to the shower house at 8:20 AM only to find out you needed tokens to operate the shower.
The tokens had to be purchased from the camp store.
I drive to the store and find out that it doesn't open till 9:00 AM.
I drive back to the campsite and wait till 9:00 and try again.
Tokens are $2.00 a piece. (If they really need the extra $2.00, then have the shower accept coins or have a vending machine on site that allows you to purchase the tokens before 9:00 AM)
Trains drive by hourly, interrupting the the camping experience and / or your sleep.
I have been camping in Canada and the US for the last 30 years and this is the worst campground experience I've encountered.
I certainly will never stay here again and recommend that others take this advice.
"
User Rating
1/10
1/10
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"Beautiful but cold…"
Randy
August 2008 — "The weather doesn’t always co-operate when we stay here. It is often rainy and cold. Being at the base of the tall trees, does not give you much sunshine! I guess that’s part of the challenge of camping in the mountains.
The campground itself is beautiful. We always opt to get a non-serviced site instead of the ones with partial or full services. If you get a site with services, you will be away from the river in a field with hardly any trees. The non-serviced sites are along the river, heavily treed and huge. Our site this year was at the end of a row which meant it was all forest past our site. Our girls walked a ways into the trees and found a dead tree that had broken off at about 15 feet high. They spent hours climbing it and playing games around it. There is a narrow walkway that goes along the river bank, but be warned it is not stroller friendly. As most provincial parks in Kananaskis, they have an amphitheatre where they have nightly shows about bugs, animals and the environment. The shows are geared towards kids and they truly enjoy the silly costumes and sometimes even learn something. We would definitely recommend this campground, but be ready for all types of weather!
"
User Rating
7.67/10
7.67/10
Bathroom Condition
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Staff Service
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Value for Money
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"A Great Place to Stay Near Calgary!"Denny
July 2008 — "We just spent the July long weekend at Bow Valley Campground and we had a great time. Last year we were hiking in the area and stumbled across the campground and thought it looked very beautiful. Unfortunately, when my wife called to inquire about reserving a site, we found out that the campground was booked all summer. So this year we started calling right when the reservation service opened (April 1st) and my wife finally got through on the third day of calling. We got the second last site available for that weekend!
Our site was quite nice - number A20. It overlooked the river and was right beside the outhouse - very convenient. We had to walk about 20 feet into the site and leave the truck at the bottom, but the site itself was a good size and completely treed. There is a nice path along the river, and although the river was high, we still found a place for our dog to do some swimming. The only drawback of this site is that the train goes by right across the river and is extremely loud, especially when it goes over the bridge. It runs all night, but seems to die down during the afternoon. I got used to it though.
The girls at the check in/store were very friendly and helpful. This store carries a wide variety of camping supplies, including food. The shower house was fairly clean and the showers were hot. They cost $2 for 5 minutes and only take loonies. The outhouse was clean and it had hand sanitizer in it, which was a nice touch. The best thing was that the campground is less than an hour from Calgary - something I appreciated because I forgot something at home and had to go back one morning. The round trip took less than two hours and I got to go home and shower!"
User Rating
8.75/10
8.75/10
Bathroom Condition
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Room Condition
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Staff Service
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Value for Money
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DescriptionOpen: Apr27-Oct8, 2007
Location InformationBox 8585
Canmore
AB
T1W 2P1
