Astotin Lake Campground — Hotel in Alberta

I would have given this campground a five-star rating except for the following two things: the generator policy, and lack of control of noisy campers at night. This is a truly beautiful campground and well run by the park staff, as are all national park campgrounds. However, during the most enjoyable times at the campground, between 9 and 11 a.m. and between 5 and 7 p.m., we had to listen to the sound of a next door neighbour's generator going for a total of 6 hours during our two day camping trip here. Most campers go to places like this to enjoy the beautiful scenery and noises of nature, which are truly remarkable here as it is a birders paradise. But for 6 hours over two days we had to instead listen to the sound of the generator of the huge RV just opposite us. My suggestion to Parks Canada is that if you have to allow generators, put it on the onus of the owners and have a window of between 2 and 4 p.m. when there are fewer people in the campground hence less people will be bothered, and put it on the generator owners to stay around if it's that important to them to have their power. Another option is to ban them from non hook up areas so that the people with large RVs who want to use them can go to where electrical hookups are so that the quiet campers who enjoy nature do not have to put up with them. I have talked to countless campers who find generators very annoying. Why should the people who want to enjoy nature have to pay the price for other people's luxury who are more interested in their microwaves and TVs operating than being in nature? Secondly, this is the third time we have been here and have had noisy campers around late at night. I would suggest that staff need to walk around the campground, not drive, as people just quiet down when the staff drive around at night and then continue their parties afterwards. And the phone number on the pamphlets should clearly indicate that you can phone this number if there are noise issues or problems with other campers. Put it clearly on the pamphlet so people have an outlet and don't have to deal with other people's noise. These issues are very disheartening for people who want to enjoy the beauty of nature, and are a common problem not only in this campground, but others. It has certainly taken the joy out of camping on a number of occasions for...

As it was out first time visiting the walk-in tenting campsite, we didn't really know what to expect. I really have mixed feelings about it. The walk-in tenting is perfect for first time campers, or a small family with children camping for the first time because amenities are close and clean. There is a cooking shelter with picnic tables and stove free for public use, as well as multiple bathrooms and showers. That being said, if you are a seasoned camper, I do not believe it would be as enjoyable.

There is no privacy between spots. You are right next to surrounding campers, nearly bumping tents. You are sitting within 15 feet of each others campfires. Close enough to listen to everyone's conversations. As it is a walk-in spot, you need to park your car in the lot below and carry all of your belongings to the site and then all of your food back down to your car at the end of the night.

Astotin Lake has a very busy day parking lot right across the street from the tents, which you can hear over the course of the day and well into the night.

You need to pay for your fire permit which is not included with your booking online, but most of the wood is soaked through. The wood you get directly in the walk-in tenting area is slightly covered on top, but generally open to the elements. If you walk a bit further down to the parking lot, there is more wood but it's completely uncovered and also wet.

The trails are nice around the lake, a lot of great views. Be prepared to bring a lot of bug spray as the park is quite swampy, so expect a lot of mosquitoes at dusk and dawn. Watching Bison wandering around was also really neat as it was my first time seeing them. Despite that, I don't think I would return to camp and a day trip would be too far for...

Had reserved two nights at this campground, we left after one for the following reasons: Non-stop construction noise. We were in one of the walk-in tenting spaces, and the noise of construction equipment & vehicles was non-stop from 7:00am until we left at 4:00pm. Our toddler was woken up early, and unable to have her afternoon nap from the noise, the growling of machines and endless beeping of reversing vehicles. Not what you go camping for - if I wanted to hear all that, I would have stayed in the city. Bright lights from the amenities. I find it odd that at the walk-in tenting spots, you park your car, hike 200 meters will all of your stuff away from the parking lot, only to set up a tent next to a public washroom (with bright outside LED lighting that never turns off) and next to a kitchen cooking shelter (with its own bright light that never turns off). At night, it never really gets dark from these, and again, defeats the purpose of going camping. Soaking wet firewood. The campground supplies endless firewood if you purchase a permit, which is nice. However, the firewood is exposed to the elements and not enclosed - therefore, it is soaking wet. All of it is soaking wet throughout, making it nearly impossible to start a fire, or keep one going. Bring your own stove, do not expect to be able to use your firepit & wet firewood reliably. (Again, without a fire, why go camping?) Proximity to a beach & playground is nice, but without peace & quiet, dark nights, and fire, what's the point? It would make a better day trip than a camping location. Will never return...