Jarvis Bay is the night, 4 km north of Sylvan Lake on Highway 20, a powered loop in the trees. Book that site before you book the van. Alberta Parks gives the sites no lake access of their own, which matters less than it sounds, because the swimming and the paddling happen off the public beach at Lakeshore Drive and you drive back to camp at night.
Visit Sylvan Lake puts the town 20 km west of Red Deer on Highway 11 or Highway 11A. In July the beach fills and the campground fills with it, which is the whole argument for getting Jarvis on the calendar early. If it is gone, Lions Campground is in Red Deer itself on Riverside Drive, first come, one night midweek and two on a weekend.
Dry Island Buffalo Jump drops off the prairie into the Red Deer River coulees, a 50-metre cliff standing over a grass-topped island. The valley is day use only. Look from the rim, then drive back to Jarvis for the night.
Crimson Lake and Rocky Mountain House
Crimson Lake is the west-country night. Highway 11 runs out of Red Deer through Rocky Mountain House to a beach and a boat launch in foothills spruce, with a boardwalk along the shore. Alberta Parks places the park 14 km west of town on Highway 11, then 6 km north on Highway 756.
It is also the one that keeps going after the lake season ends. In winter, several 15-amp sites stay first come, first served, with no water and no showers, as of August 2026.
If you need more beds or a longer rig than a van, RV rentals in Alberta covers that. A Banff overnight is on campervan rentals in Banff, Jasper is on the Jasper campervan page, and the other Alberta starting cities sit on campervan rentals in Alberta.