Bow River Campground — Hotel in Alberta

If I could I would give them a zero star rating after the way we were treated. The hosts of this campsite were rude right off the bat. There's 6 of us that would like to go camping, me and my boyfriend have been here 100 times before but I guess this year it has changed. We pull up and there's red reserved signs everywhere so we spend a good 30-45 minutes calling parks Canada and bow valley park and look for a self fill out application like they use to have. She then tells us on the 3rd time calling that we have the right to be there if noone is in the stall that someone will come along and we pay them. So we start to un load all of our stuff out of the 3 cars (yes we know only 2 allowed, so we were gonna unpack the 3rd and go park it elsewhere ) and these man and woman walk up and say "looks like were gonna have a problem here" so my boyfriend asks politely what the problem is and he says "there's 3 cars" we explain we're unloading and parking elsewhere then she goes "there's 3 sleeping units on the grass and they have to be on the gravel pad didnt you read the sign on the picnic table(which I checked later and wasnt there) and the sign when you came in!?" In quiet a rude tone by that time I had enough and plain out told them that they didnt have to be rude and we understand. Then my boyfriend told them how we were trying to figure out how to call to pay for the site and they were like "its fully reserved" so my boyfriend was pleading with them telling what we were told by the parks Canada lady to which they told us we had to vacate the premises( which we were already doing) in 10 minutes or their calling the cops! and the woman was just getting madder and the man was telling her to be quiet and stop arguing with us. I have never been treated with such disrespect and I dont think they were expecting a bunch of 20-30 year olds to stand up for themselves and tell them they cant talk to us that way and that we would be reporting them(which we already did) and writting this review so noone else will get treated this way. Our on way to take our money elsewhere. Never...

The park was easy to find. It is located at the East Exit to Canmore on the Trans Canada Highway. There is pavement all the way including in the park. Signage is adequate. Check in was “On Line” and by reservation only. The rules are fairly basic. The interior roads are paved and in good condition. Our site, 57, was a gravel based back in that was just long enough for our Coach and Towed. Services (30 amp and water only) were to the left side. Distancing is poor for a Provincial Park. Some sites had a vegetation privacy barrier. Each site has a table and a fire pit. Our site was flat and even. Overall the park was reasonably well groomed. Be aware. There is traffic noise as the park is located right beside the highway. You may hear trains and helicopters as well.

There is NO park included wifi or cable TV. We did not find any OTA channels. Satellite might be difficult. We did not use the washrooms or showers but we checked and found them clean.

There are no restaurants or stores within easy walking distance but just a short drive away you can find food, shopping and convenience stores. We found this park to be an okay overnighter. We paid $39.00 per night plus a $11.43 reservation fee and one must have paid for a Kananaskis Conservation Pass at $15.00/day 0r $90.00 for the year ($65.43 for one night) and we feel we received poor value. We will look for other alternatives if in...

Sadly, we have decided to leave our campsite a day early because the traffic noise is unbearable. We can see why this campground was the only one in the area with availability a couple months ago. We are camped in site 42 which is a stone’s throw away from the #1 highway (one of the busiest stretches in all of Canada). Sounds of semi trucks, motorcycles, tour buses and general traffic echo through the mountains constantly at all hours, making for a less than enjoyable camping “oasis”. After spending way too long putting my 2 year old to bed in our trailer (the sound machine is no match for the highway noise), trying to have a conversation around the campfire at night was an exercise in patience and not the relaxing experience it should be, particularly at the hefty price they charge. It’s too bad because the sites themselves are well spaced and treed nicely. The proximity to Canmore is convenient and the surrounding views are lovely However, this campground is not conducive to a good nights rest or spending time at your campsite. While we were one of the closer ones to the road, the noise was still palpable when we took a walk to the furthest corner. No playground, no dump station and no real nice amenities besides water and power at the sites. Our advice is to avoid altogether or bring some good ear plugs and spend the majority of the...