Getting out of town in Jasper is refreshing – especially when you’re glamping. Last month, we had the experience of staying at Pocahontas campground. The rustic feel and private sites, combined with camping in an RV makes it feel like you’re roughing it, without actually having to ‘rough it’.
Where to Stay
Pocahontas Campground, in Jasper National Park, is our top choice for ‘camping it’ in Jasper National Park. Compared to other campgrounds in the area, you actually feel like you’re camping, with private sites. Keeping in mind the sites are a bit smaller than the pull through sites over at Whistler, it provides a bit more of a challenge backing an RV into.
The payoff for the smaller campsite is the campground with tree cover, shade and lots of trails and things to explore for the kids at the campground, really making you feel like you’ve headed into the wilderness. Though the sites are unserviced, there are two times daily when generators can be used to charge up an RV battery.
What to Do while You’re ‘Glamping’ in Jasper
You don’t have to go far from Pocahontas campground for things to see and do. On the same road that brings you into the campground, you can drive up to the Miette Hot Springs, and get entry to the pools for around thirty bucks for the whole family. If you forgot your swimsuits at home (we did), you can even rent swimsuits there, on the cheap.
After you’ve finished bathing in the hot spring pools, you can take a short walk up the mountain to explore the ‘Source of the Springs’ Trail. It’s a short, thirty minute, stroller-friendly, walk with the kids that brings you not only to the source of the hot springs, but that comes with the fun of being able to see where the hot springs buildings were located in the past. It’s a cool, abandoned kind of landscape that provided plenty to see on the way up the trail.
Heading into town, the Jasper Skytram is one of those ‘must do’ things if you’ve never been. The trek up the mountain in the Skytram is popular, so book it ahead of time online and lessen the wait. A bit of a splurge, at $100 for the entire family, the view is going to leave you breathless.
Driving west of Jasper, there’s a great park area in the rest top at the British Columbia border that’s worth the thirty-minute drive from town. A trail around a lake filled with lily pads, with wildlife, plants and boards to inspire your adventures as you head further west is a fun way to spend the afternoon, and explore yet another trail – but one that doesn’t disappoint, as you loop around the easy trail.
With so much to see and do in Jasper, it’s a place that you’re going to want to visit over and over again. Camping, or ‘glamping’ makes it affordable, especially during the summer months when the hotel rates skyrocket!
This feature is a part of a series that we’re working on to encourage families to get outside. We’ve teamed up with Go RV to explore four campgrounds in Alberta. To make it easier for your family to get out there and discover a new Alberta campground, Go RV is giving one reader the chance to win a week long RV rental to see what the RV Experience is all about.
