Skip to content

Ultimate Guide to Family Camping in Alberta

Tent camping in Cypress Hills

Whether you’re a seasoned camper or just starting out, we’re here to help! The Alberta Mamas founders are a mix of camping newbs, lovers, and meh’ers, but we all recognize the amazing opportunities getting out in nature as a family creates.

Find all our camping content on this page – from campground reviews and round-up lists, menus and meal hacks, and things to do, our ever-expanding content is here to help you get out and discover Alberta from your RV, tent or motorhome!

Finding a Campground & Reservations

Where do you want to go camping? Our queens of research always seems to find incredible spots for us to camp, and they’ve shared some of their top tips for finding and reserving a campsite in the following posts:

Still trying to figure out where to go in Alberta? Check out our guide to Alberta destinations!

Alberta Campgrounds

Writing On Stone Camping

From the close to 500 campgrounds Alberta Parks manages, the nearly 40 campgrounds from Parks Canada, the 300+ private, municipal, and county campgrounds, plus crown land, there is a ridiculous number of places to choose to camp in Alberta!

Obviously, we can’t review even a fraction of these, but we’re happy to share some of our favourite discoveries, and invite you to share your favourite campgrounds as well (please reach out to us about writing a post!).

If you have a specific destination in mind, take a look at our reviews and lists, or use our favourite resources to find campgrounds in Alberta.

Lists Across Alberta

Let’s start with the round ups! Not sure where you want to camp, or have a specific feature you’re looking for? These lists are a great place to start!

Edmonton Area

Kids sitting around a picnic bench at Rainbow Valley campground

There are a number of options to camp in and around Edmonton, including a few campgrounds with pools!

  • Just off the Whitemud in the river valley is Rainbow Valley Campground. It’s located between Rainbow Valley ski hill/driving range and the Snow Valley aerial park. If you’re using camping to save on accommodations while visiting Edmonton (one of our favourite money saving tips!), this is the perfect spot.
  • Devon River Valley Trail – Voyageur Park hosts a beautiful campground in the trees and lots of trails, bike paths, and a bike park to make you feel like you are way further from the city than you are! Great for a trial run weekend close to home, or a base while visiting the city but not getting too close.
  • Elk Island is a great destination for smaller RVs and tents. Read about our Play Date at Elk Island.
  • While this post focuses more on the museum, The Canadian Energy Museum & campground is close to town and the museum is pretty awesome!

Calgary Area

We have a few more posts in the works for Calgary, but the beauty of being in the city is a trip to Banff, Kananaskis, Drumheller, and much of central and southern Alberta are all within a couple hours drive.

Unless you are heading in from out of town and looking to camp instead of staying in a Calgary hotel, be sure to check the campground options below as well!

  • Calaway Park is a local amusement park with it’s own campground. It’s one of the closest campgrounds to the city, too.

Rocky Mountains

Trapper's tent in Rocky Mountain House National Historic Site

The stunning rocky mountains are the most obvious destination in Alberta! Kids love to visit Banff, and there’s nothing like checking out Canmore like a local (Albertans know it’s better than Banff!). Jasper and Hinton are popular options up north, too.

We’re of the opinion there are lots of options beyond Banff and Jasper. Here are a few campgrounds we’ve visited within the Rockies:

Southern Alberta

There is so much to explore in Southern Alberta, our posts haven’t even scratched the surface yet. There is plenty more information to come, but let’s get you started with a couple posts:

Central Alberta

Camping at Red Lodge Provincial Park

South of Edmonton, north of Calgary, Central Alberta is often a space folks in the big cities meet up for a weekend away. There are more lakes here than Southern Alberta, giving Calgarians access to water (Edmontonians can head in any direction).

  • Discovery Wildlife Park: Campground and Zoo is 15 minutes south of Red Deer, just off Highway 2. It’s a great mid-province reunion spot!
  • Sylvan Lake has been Alberta’s resort lake town since I was a kid! Definitely one of the most touristy towns outside of the mountains (I’d say it beats Drumheller!). But it’s worth the visit!
  • Red Lodge Provincial Park has the Little Red Deer River flowing through it with multiple sandy beaches and the opportunity to float the day away.
  • Stay in Rochon Sands Provincial Park on Buffalo Lake down Highway 21 near the quaint summer village of the same name.
  • Far from the touristy mountain spots and cramped campgrounds you typically find near urban areas; Black Nugget Lake Campground is a hidden gem that is perfect for families about an hour outside of Edmonton.
  • Pigeon Lake Provincial Park is a popular stop 15 minutes west of Highway 2 along Highway 11.
  • 45 minutes west of Edmonton on the south side of Highway 16, Wabamun Lake is a quaint summer village. The campground is well treed. The playgrounds aren’t the best, so you’ll want to head to the day use area or in to town.
  • Head to the northern foothills by Drayton Valley at RVing at Willey West Campground. This RV resort is an amazing combination of private, treed sites and big resort amenities.

Northern Alberta

Marten River - Lesser Slave Lake Provincial Park

Did you know that Alberta’s best lakes are north of Edmonton? We may be biased, but you’ve seriously got to check these places out!

  • Chip Lake is the giant lake north of Highway 16 when you’re heading west from Edmonton. The campground is on the other side of the lake – far enough away that you won’t hear the highway.
  • Long Lake Provincial Park is a large campground 15 minutes south of Boyle. The lake is large enough to allow motorized boats, and has a sandy bottom for swimmers.
  • North Buck Lake is on the other side of Boyle, 20 minutes north-east of town. It’s the perfect spot to get away from it all!
  • Tenting at Garner Lake Provincial Park 2 hours north east of Edmonton off Highway 28, Garner Lake is a small quiet family friendly campground with well-treed sites varying in privacy with some backing onto the trail leading to the beach.
  • Lesser Slave Lake is Alberta’s largest road-accessible lake surrounded by boreal forest and known for it’s fishing. It’s just minutes from the town of Slave Lake if you need anything from the store, too!

Camping Meals

Camping meal

Feeding everyone while camping is a huge topic with a wide range of opinions. Some stick to the same menu they have at home. Others will switch entirely to hotdogs. Some have meals that are exclusively for camping.

We’re usually closer to the “keep ’em fed” camp, trying to minimize the whining and get some nutrition into everyone to keep tempers level. When we try to get a bit more creative with meals, here are some ideas we turn to:

Activities to Do While Camping

Kids are much more go-go-go than parents, especially when camping. They’re hyped up by the new environment. We’re exhausted trying to keep everything organized (I know I’m not alone in this!).

These ideas will help keep the kids amused so you can have some time to chill and maybe even read a page of that book you brought!

Hiking

Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park

A popular, FREE activity available almost everywhere you camp, hiking gets you outdoors, into the woods (usually), and calming down. These are a few of our favourite hikes:

Fishing

There are plenty of spots to fish all over the province. Anyone 16 and over must have a fishing license, with the exception of the free fishing weekend in July (other regulations and limits still apply).

We love taking the kids fishing because talking scares the fish away!

Winter Camping

Dress for the weather, grab a small tent or insulated trailer, and go camp with nature all to yourself!

Just a few more things to say about camping, we promise!

Can you make this article better?

We’re always looking to improve! Have you noticed a spelling or information error, know of something we left out, or would like to share anything else, reach out to us!