Spray Lakes West sits on the reservoir 16 km south of Canmore on Hwy 742, unserviced pads at the water with a hand launch for a canoe. You cannot reserve it, and that is the thing to settle before you go looking at vans. Either you are willing to arrive early enough to take a first-come pad, or you hold Bow River east of town as the night that is actually yours. Bring drinking water either way.
As of August 2026, Alberta Parks has the campground open mid-May through mid-September. Buy a Kananaskis Conservation Pass at the Canmore Nordic Centre Day Lodge on your way out of town. Cell service is not typically available on Hwy 742, so check highway conditions while you still have a signal.
Goat Creek Day Use is the trailhead for the maintained route up to Ha Ling's saddle, where Canmore reads as a street grid on the valley floor. It is a morning, and the reservoir is a short drive back down.
Grassi Lakes is two turquoise ponds in a hanging bowl above town, with a waterfall alongside the interpretive stairs. It is day use at Canmore Nordic Centre Provincial Park, designated trails only, so the night still happens at Spray Lakes West or Bow River.
Keep south on 742 and the road reaches the Kananaskis Lakes, which is a later night rather than this one. The surface is gravel and washboard the whole way, a poor match for a long trailer, so if you need more beds or extra length, Canmore RV rentals is the page for that.
Bow Valley Provincial Park
Bow River Campground is the reservable night next to town, groceries a short drive off and the Bow running beside the loop. Alberta Parks puts it about 5 km east of Canmore on Hwy 1, power and water, bookable up to 90 days ahead on Shop.AlbertaParks.ca as of August 2026. Water services run mid-May to mid-September. The hand pump is not safe to drink, so carry jugs in the shoulder season.
Arriving with nothing booked puts Three Sisters in play, first come and unserviced, 12 km east on Hwy 1 at Dead Man's Flats. The name is the skyline, not a hike. As of August 2026 Alberta Parks had a black-bear warning posted in that campground, so use the food lockers. Willow Rock and Bow Valley Campground sit farther east, north of Hwy 1 off Hwy 1X, for when the closer loops are full.
Banff is a day trip west on Hwy 1. That overnight lives on the Banff campervan page.