Calgary Area Parks

[joelashley]

After several months on the road this summer, and a couple more months to go hopefully, we are breaking the bank in the park fees department. In Nebraska we helped the situation by trying to stay in small cities' parks when we found them adequate to our coach size, and at least 30 amps for AC if it was hot (it usually was). But for the last 10 days or so we seem to be out $30-$40 a night, regardless of park amenities or quality, and the $40 one in Hardin, MT, was the biggest Good Sam turkey yet. Together with the cost of diesel, we will be paying off credit cards well into next year at this rate, esp. given all the $50 nights we've had to cough up earlier in the trip.

If we can scout out a potential city park ahead of time, with either the toad or by way of the internet, we sometimes can locate parks on our route that work well at very reasonable cost, or even no cost. However a lot of towns don't have info out there about their RV amenities, if any. And sometimes driving a big rig around a small town trying to locate a park that may or may not exist, or no longer exists, or has run down, is a headache in the making.

So we are soon to be heading south or southwest from Killam, Alberta, to see my cousin who lives in Calgary. The RV parks I've seen online around there are typical RV tourist hotspots with inflated rates for what they are, or for what little we really need. Even the govt. or municipal parks seem high compared to what they were when we were here some years ago, esp. into the National Parks to the west in the Rockies.

Can anyone suggest more reasonable accomodations, such as small town city parks circumfering Calgary that could handle a 37' diesel coach. Don't have to have water or sewer, but at least 20 amps would be helpful. We may spend a little time on the Banff Parkway to reminisce visits over the decades, but I'd like to revisit childhood fishing memories as well around Kamloops before heading back toward Missoula in a couple weeks. To avoid cutting all that short, due to fixed-income retiree funds drying up too soon, we need cheaper digs along the way.

We also took a rock in the windshield over in Saskatchewan last week, and no one has yet replied to my inquiries as to competent motor home windshield repair shops. So if you can offer a reference to one around Calgary, that would be helpful as well.

Thanks for any suggestions.

-Hafcanadian