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Old 11-23-2014, 06:49 PM   #3
Eskimo
Established Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Fort Saskatchewan
Posts: 10
M.O.C. #15804
From Glacier, head east to Browning, MT, then north to St. Mary. If the sky is clear, Chief Mountain will greet you as you make your way to Waterton Lakes park on the Alberta side. I recommend going this way as the border crossing is very quick and Waterton is a nice little resort town. http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/ab/waterton/index.aspx

If you can book online through Parks Canada's website, stay at the Waterton townsite campground. Every stall is great-lots of mountain views and plenty of deer wandering through the park. If you want a great excursion, head out of town to Red Rock Canyon (there are signs posted).

Leaving Waterton I recommend heading north to Calgary like Paul suggested. Plenty to do there if you don't mind a city of one million people.

Decent Zoo:

http://www.visitcalgary.com/things-t...FdSTfgodSnEAHQ

Heritage Park is a nice attraction as well: http://www.heritagepark.ca/

Banff is definitely the gem of Canadian Rockies, about a two hour drive from Calgary. The National Park campsite at Tunnel Mountain is quite nice. Banff is very touristy, but take a day to walk the town and check out all of the shops. There's a hot springs pool in town and you have to wander through the grounds and lobby of the famous Banff Springs Hotel.

http://www.fairmont.com/banff-springs/

Lots of history in Banff. It's a beautiful town.

http://www.banfflakelouise.com/

The Icefields Parkway, from Banff to Jasper is an incredible drive. Be sure to visit Lake Louise and stop at the Columbia Icefields.

http://www.brewster.ca/rocky-mountai...ier-adventure/

You can ride a large tire "bus" onto the glacier, or hike it if you choose. There are small campsites along the way between Lake Lousie and Jasper, but most people I know press on and do it in a day trip.

Jasper is a tourist town, also in the Rockies but far less busy than Banff.

http://www.jasper.travel/

Maligne Lake is a great stop in Japser.

http://www.malignelake.com/

Just east of Jasper is the Miette Hot Springs (a windy paved mountain road, so I'd recommend you park the trailer and take the truck if you go there.

http://mhresort.com/mhresort/welcome.html

Heading east for just over 4 hours you'll arrive in Alberta's capital of Edmonton. Slightly smaller than Calgary, at about 750K people, you`ll find lots to do there are well. "The Mall" is probably the biggest attraction, if you don't mind crowds:

http://www.wem.ca/

Calgary is a 3 hour drive from Edmonton, but as Paul mentioned, Drumheller is a great stop, a little out of the way, but worth the trip. Be sure to check out the dinosaur stuff and the "little church". If you're there at the right time of summer, the badlands of Drumheller serves as a backdrop to the Canadian Passion Play. If been there two different times for this annual show and it was amazing:

http://canadianpassionplay.com/

http://www.traveldrumheller.com/

With the exception of the areas around Waterton and Drumheller as well as the highway from Banff to Jasper, all highways are 4 lanes. Grades are reasonable, even for travel through the mountains. There is on long (up)hill between Banff and Jasper, but I think it's only around 7%. RV park fees are more expensive up here, but the US dollar is currently trading around 14% higher than the Canadian loonie, so you'll have a bit of an edge there. Prices at the National Parks are reasonable.

http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/voyage-travel/reserve.aspx

Fuel costs are higher here, so top off with diesel before leaving Montana! Actually, Alberta has the cheapest fuel prices in Canada. Prices are slightly lower in the Edmonton area than near Calgary.

Depending how you're heading back to the States, if by way of Montana, you could enter further east at the Coutts crossing and travel through the small city of Lethbridge. Before you arrive in Lethbridge, the town of Fort MacLeod has some history as well. Home to the North West Mounted Police (the old mounted police prior to the RCMP) if you can time it while they are performing, the musical ride is a great show:

http://nwmpmuseum.com/musicalride/

I think you'll find plenty to do in Alberta and great scenery. If it's not just camping you're looking for, there's lots of attractions. I'd be happy to share some photos if you want to send me you email address by private message.

Enjoy your trip!
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