Waterfowl Lakes Campground

This NP campground along the Icefields Parkway between Lake Louise and Jasper is one of the few available or open this summer (2016). We were lucky to slip in to an open spot at 11:30am on a busy Friday in late July.

It's a gorgeous spot along the Bow River and the southern tip of Lower Waterfowls Lake. A footbridge over the river from the campground gives hikers perfect access to the trailhead for both Cirque Lake and Chephren Lake. Both are moderate hikes up to emerald waters at the base of rocky glaciers (5-6 km one way).

Our site was had a large clearing for the picnic table and fire ring. Several new restrooms (pit toilets) and kitchen wash areas with running water are located throughout the facility. Sites along the interior of the campground were pretty shady; ours along the exterior was private and sun-dappled.

Because everything is so close together along this set of Four National Parks the super highways (1 or 93) can get you pretty much anywhere you want to go ---along with everyone else--- in less than an hour.

No cell phone service in this area. Very affordable $16 US. Self-register, no reservations needed. 100 sites plus 10 in the tent area. Many would be fine for medium or smaller RVs--- under 30 feet.

Beautiful! Dry camping, but water and dump station available. Easy water access for kayaking/canoeing. Quiet with spectacular views all around. No cell phone service but ranger with radio drove through daily and staff with radios nearby in case of emergency. Just as beautiful as Lake Louise but without all the people. Would love to stay again!

We parked our R-POD in the RV section of the campground where the road is wider making parking easier. Our site was near a water spigot, so all we had to do to fill up was run a hose to the camper. Others with similar equipment parked in campsites off the narrower inside streets -- more power to them. The campsites were good-sized, wooded and had easy access to pit toilets. The pit toilets and washing up areas were spotless and smell-less, perhaps reflecting the cool weather and certainly the excellent maintenance. From all reports there are flush toilets somewhere in the campgrounds, but they weren't near us. The only negatives in infrastructure are the potholes.

The location is near some beautiful scenery. There two hikes to nearby lakes from the campgrounds proved more challenging then expected. Though shortish, they go through deep woods where water & mud collect around dense roots. So beware. We found the campsite quiet enough, especially when compared to some of the commercial sites through Utah and Wyoming that are just off interstates and near railroad tracks. All-in-all, we highly recommend the campground.

There is no cellphone or wi-fi service except in Lake Louise, a twenty minute drive.

This is a popular campground so you are often lucky to get a spot. There were no spots available in the RV section when we arrived just after noon but we got a great spot in the small camper section that easily fit our small trailer. All sites were full by 3pm. The sites are trees which meant we didn’t get any direct sunlight for our solar panel. Plenty of clean pit toilets throughout the campground and water spigots. Dump station at the entrance. Day hikes leaving from the campground and in the vicinity. No cell service.

A large first-come, first-serve campground on the Icefields Hwy. Cost July 2022 was $23 CDN.
The CG is in thick forest along the Bow River. The sites seem well-spaced and the trees and vegetation help with a little privacy, but also block sun for solar, and limit the views. The roads are deeply potholed. Toilets are well-spaced throughout the CG, as are water spigots. Some of the sites are pretty uneven so you might have to spend time leveling your rig. There's firewood (extra fee). There's a path along the river, and a trailhead to Cirque Lake and Chephron Lake. There's an RV dump station near the entrance. No CG host. A ranger comes around to check registration, etc.
Overall a nice campground, though it's kind of far from Lake Louise and Jasper.

We camped here 8/20/22.

There are 116 sites and after arriving at 11:00 on a Saturday, 75% of the sites were available at this FCFS campground, self pay.

There are pit toilets, flush toilets (across from site 27), sink washing area, warming shelters, and dump station. Generator hours, sites are somewhat level, table and fire pit.The waterfront and riverfront sites are nice but people will walk between you and the water on the perimeter trail. There was some highway noise.

Big rigs, be sure you turn left once you pass the pay station. We went right, missing the warning sign for rigs over 30' and it was very tight with narrow roads! The roads left are wider, specially the perimeter road and the sites are more private. Most sites are somewhat narrow, but many are long enough for big rigs. Tall rigs be aware of the overhead branches.

There are hikes across the bridge over river from the campground. We went to Cirque Lake and it was beautiful, but the trail was terrible with exposed roots nearly the entire way.

We had orginally planned on staying here because it was first come and first serve and it had 110 sites. When we got there we were glad we had an alternative.This camp ground was to dark for us. Most of the sites were heavily shaded,. You couldn't see any of the surrroundling beauty of the rockies. The road was a dust bowl in the eveing with all of those people looking for the first come first serve site at night. There were some sites were along the edge of the water.