Tunnel Mountain Village II Campground

Adjacent to the town of Banff, Tunnel Mountain offers 3 campgrounds in a row: Village 2, Trailer Court and Village 1. All have beautiful mountain views with some trees but little privacy from neighbours. Village 1 has no hook ups and is located farthest from the town of Banff. Next closest to Banff, Trailer Court by contrast has full hook ups (water, sewer & electric) and sites suitable for large rigs. Village 2 is closest to Banff and offers both electric and non-electric sites plus a large number of Otentiks (vinyl sided cabins). Village 2 is the only campground that remains open all winter.

Village 2 is a fairly open camping area with gorgeous mountain views on all sides. Sites are arranged on either side of wide, newly paved roads adjacent to a small gravel pad with a picnic table and the electrical post. Campers park their rigs directly on the ashphalt roadway adjacent to their gravel pad. The best sites are the rows along Tunnel Mountain Road because they offer the most unobstructed mountain views but are also the most exposed to the winds. The second row back is at a higher elevation, so the views there are also good but a spattering of spruce trees may partially block the mountains.

The campground has a dump station with fresh water fill and comfort stations with showers and flush toilets. There is also a public bus that stops directly in the campground and goes to the town of Banff. A train track is nearby and is in use - trains come through occasionally including at night but they were infrequent enough that they didn't really bother us. Cell signal in the campground was excellent.

Lots to do in the area: you can hike a portion of the Surprise Corner to Hoodoos trail. From the campground, it is approximately 4 km round trip with multiple scenic overlooks. In town there is lots of shopping, a museum, Cave and Basin National Historic Site and Banff Upper Springs. You can also ride a gondola to the top of Sulphur mountain – it’s pricey so if you are up for a challenge, hike to the top and you can ride the gondola down for free!

This campsite is close to town with local shuttle into Banff. Park along a road with table & electric. Unfortunately we got here in time for an early snowstorm- so far 6”!!! It’s been snowing for 2 days, they tell us this is unusual. Camping is also close to
The hot springs, grocery store, etc but far enough out of town for Mountain View’s. Bathrooms are spotless & there are wood stoves in the picnic shelters.

This is a very busy park. The staff does an amazing job accommodating everyone. We had a nice site with full hookups. There are many sites that are literally front bumper to back bumper, with no privacy.(You get a fire ring, though😁)We made our reservation 6 months in advance to get a nice site. No fire rings in hookup area.

There are several campgrounds out in the forest and/or on the banks of rivers in the Banff area, and I drove by a lot of them during my stay in the area and they looked fabulous. Tunnel Mountain Village 2 is not in the forest and it's not by a river -- but it is conveniently located to Banff town and the dozens of sites and activities located in the area, and it offers reservations and hook ups. As long as you know what you're getting, it's great. Several hundred sites more or less located side-by-side to accommodate the hordes of tourists visiting Banff.

A crowded urban feeling campground that still has amazing mountain views and the wildlife regularly meanders through. The grounds have lots of toilet facilities but only 1 shower house so the walk to the showers can be long especially given that the campground has fenced off some of the green space with no passages except via the roads.

If you are looking for a place to work as a digital nomad this is the best place to pick up cell service amongst Banff’s many park campgrounds. If you are looking for traditional camping in the woods pick pretty much any other campground in the park. We really enjoyed Two Jack Lakeside campground but nomads have to work so we stayed here at Village 2 for most weekdays while visiting Banff. We also got our reservation in January shortly after they became available.
Verizon 2-bar (through Telus), T-mobile 3-bar (through Bell). The WeBoost really helped shore up the signal to make this a great place to work.

Reading the detailed reviews and understanding the campground layout really paid off with our choice of sites. We have 50 amp power, a picnic table, and no fire pit. However, we have an up-close and personal view of Mt. Rundle right out our door with nothing blocking our view.

Daily visits from the lazy elk in our front 'yard' are common (along with all the moron tourists trying to get a selfie shot with said elk).

This campground is packed to the brim daily and turns over constantly. I would guess it is at least 40% rental RV's. This is great, as it is usually quiet during the day and any annoying neighbors quickly move on.

Located in the park, free bus service takes you into town and for $2 you can bus back. A nice trail just across from us goes down into town along the Bow River, Surprise Point and views of Bow falls. Pro Tip - take a hammock and hang it up by the river for an afternoon nap.

When entering the park, don't follow Google through downtown Banff. Take the easier route and exit Trans Canada at the Banff/Tunnel Mountain exit and come around the backside of Tunnel Mountain. Much less traffic during the busy summer months.

Using AT&T service (free roam in Canada for our plan) and web calling we are working with no issues. *our Verizon plan does not include Canadian roaming

Shower/Bathrooms are located around the park, with only one having showers. The showers are not consistently warm....so be ready for a cold dip halfway through. Otherwise, it is clean and easy to use (no time limit).

We see big piles of firewood for the taking, but with no fire ring, we are not using. If a fire is a must-have, don't pick this spot.

Views - spots in front and behind us also have views. But as you go down the line, there are more trees blocking the views.

We booked the day (and minute) reservations came open, which is a 6-month window for Canadian parks.

The Tunnel Mountain campgrounds, Village 1, 2, and the Trailer Park, are all next to one another and just a short walk to downtown Banff. Village II is a parallel parking type facility and asphalt for your parking pad, which is mostly level. This facility has electric only at the site (easy access) and showers/bathrooms nearby. The bathrooms were never clean as the kids working there would only run a wet mop over the tiles and never sweep beforehand, leaving a muddy mess to walk on. We parked here with a 40' Class A with a truck for a tow. The site was large enough for our coach but we had to park the truck at an angle to fit in the site. The sites are not outlined or clearly marked so it is a guessing game where your site begins and ends.

This was a cold week to stay here (12/24 thru 12/31/21) where the average temp was approximately -20F. I point this out because the restrooms were warm. The shower (which was located in another building) was not just warm but hot. The forest rangers were very helpful. While there was only electricity availoable at the sites - the dump station was open and you could get potable water at the station.

If i were to stay again in the winter I would choose b-70 because of its views.

Section B is pretty open. Not a lot of trees - but the views were great. One evening/morning were surprised by a visit from a herd of elk.

This site and the neighboring Trailer Park are within a fairly strenuous up and down hill walk to Banff but with good bus service.
The HUGE parks are well laid out, with many (specially those by the road) having amazing views..most with a ‘peak’ of the mountains.
Location location location is the plus here. Close to the highway for all the exploring.
Weekends are really busy and its a toss up as to whether you have quiet neighbors of not.
Restrooms are just ok.
The big downside is the HUGE overhead lights that are everywhere..it feels like being in a Walmart parking lot after dark. Not ideal to view what must be incredible night skies.
Our site (23 foot mh) was fairly level.
Wonderful dog walking and hikes right from the site and hoodoo viewing really close!

We couldn’t get the exact dates we wanted online, so we kinda winged it and when checking in they sorted us out (we are off season).

We did end up in the trailer court which is elec only on asphalt space with a simple park bench.
The showers were warm and free.

None of that matters because if you are hanging out at your trailer in Banff you are wasting the opportunity. It’s all about the town and park, and you just crash back in your trailer at night.