Calgary camping.....

[914 mike]

We are heading to Calgary this summer and hope to go to the Calgary Folk Music Festival July 22-26. There will be a couple of families in Westfalias. We were hopeing for some recomendations for places to stay while attending the festival. Near by campsites, etc...The Festival is located in Prince Island Park, downtown.
Also recomendations for microbrew facilites and places to eat would be appreciated....
Anything else that you can think of that would be worth checking out....its our first time in Calgary...

Thanks!
_________________
Mike
84 Westy
2.2 Suby
In a world full of ponies it's a thoroughbred horse....
Can ≠ Should

[Perales]

Calgary is < 1 1/2 hours from Banff. You will be really close to the mountains, might as well take advantage.
_________________
-- 1987 Westfalia automatic (Captain Vino)

[Carleton]

I slept on some neighborhood streets in Calgary in my pickup with no problems. Normal stealth camping rules would apply. Otherwise, the mountains aren't too far and are worth a visit.
_________________
'87 Vanagon Wolfsburg Weekender

[914 mike]

Oh, we plan on checking out Banff and Jasper. On the way up from the states we are going to do Glacier NP as well. Will be 15+ day trip. Just going to take root in Calgary for a few days for the festival and soaking up another one of Canada's great cities....
_________________
Mike
84 Westy
2.2 Suby
In a world full of ponies it's a thoroughbred horse....
Can ≠ Should

[Perales]

[914 mike]

LOL!
We did Montreal 3 years ago...loved it.

Victoria last year. Also very nice...

Calgary is near our destination of Banff and Jasper and they have a good music festival so we will trying for the 'Trifecta'...
_________________
Mike
84 Westy
2.2 Suby
In a world full of ponies it's a thoroughbred horse....
Can ≠ Should

[syncro2x]

The closest camping that isn't a field with hundreds of RV's is out highway 66 just west of Bragg Creek. It is in the foothills/ front ranges of the Rockies and quite beautiful with hiking, mtn biking, fishing, etc. Between 30-45 minutes to the west edge of town, another 30 downtown to the folk fest. lCampgrounds include McLean Creek, Gooseberry, Elbow Falls, Beaver Flats, Paddy's Flat etc. Think if you goggle Kananaskis Country Camping you should find the government web page that lists these campgrounds and a few others. They can fill up weekends if the weather is nice being so close to Calgary. For $10 you can reserve on line.

[syncro2x]

I googled Kananaskis camping, once you get the web page, it's the Elbow Valley you want. Also of interest in the area is Drumheller, about 90 minutes NE of town, has the Badlands and Tyrell Museum. If you have children and they like dinosaurs this should do the trick.

[bjrogers86auto]

On our trip last summer we stopped at Wyndham-Carseland PP southeast of Calgary. It's a self registration park with a canteen near the entrance. It's basic but not a bad spot.

The museum is a great stop...very crowded though.

Speaking of "Great Canadian Cities" don't forget the poor cousins in the east if you ever decide to go this way....having visited every major city in Canada I have to say we rank pretty high...toot toot!

Brian.

[Westy-Life]

Yeah that is a really unfortunate place for a Folk fest, mainly in my eyes because there is no way to camp near by. The other thing to think about (and I may take a beating on this) is Calgary's folk fest is nowhere near as good as Edmonton's. I know allot of Calgarians that skip the Cowtown one and go to Edmonton for theirs.

Now if you want some crazy fun go to the Calgary Stampede, just remember to bring your drinking boots!

Camping suggestions have been made in previous reply's and those are some good ones so I won't repeat.

If you guys have any mechanical issues while passing through here just PM me and I will definitely offer up my garage and tools.

Cheers!
Dave
_________________
86 Westfalia with 03' TDI Auto trans

[spitsnrovers]

Good to hear you and the gang are coming to the Calgary Folk Festival. True, Prince's Island is in downtown Calgary with no camping nearby, but there are several campgrounds just on the edge of the city. Some have already been mentioned.

There is also one just on the west side of the city on Highway #1 (TransCanada Hiway).

Sorry I just sold my acreage that plenty of parking space. But PM me and we'll get together. As for breweries, I'd suggest Big Rock Brewery with a variety of styles of beers for all tastes.
_________________
'88 VW Westfalia
'75 Triumph Spitfire 1500

[Westy-Life]

Oh yeah good call on the breweries! Don't forget The Wild Rose brewery, every Friday at 4pm they open a cask ale...rumor has it that it only lasts 2 hours.
http://www.wildrosebrewery.com/

Dave
_________________
86 Westfalia with 03' TDI Auto trans

[914 mike]

Sweet! Thanks so much for the tips on camping and brew......

The location of the Festival downtown is posing a challenge for sure. We are even looking into rental properties downtown (tips in this regard would also be greatly appreciated).

Will definitly look into Edmonton's festival.....festivals are a great draw for us when we are out traveling.....

thanks you again...
_________________
Mike
84 Westy
2.2 Suby
In a world full of ponies it's a thoroughbred horse....
Can ≠ Should

[brianu]

Hey look, other people from Calgary here.. crazy...

If you are looking at renting don't rule out grabbing a room at the SAIT (Polytechnic Institute) Residence tower. Just north of prince's island park and near some of the the trendy areas.. Not sure of any restrictions look at the website: http://sait.ca/pages/studentservices/housing/index.shtml

Other than that, I would aim for the camping that has been suggested above.

Lots of drinking to be had: check out BottleScrew Bill's http://www.bottlescrewbill.com/ for beers from around the world.

check out: http://beeradvocate.com/beerfly/city/54

B
_________________
1985 Vanagon GL Westfalia - Bronze Beige Metallic - Engine: 1990 Subaru EJ22 - GoWesty Syncro liftkit - Poptop Struts - 135AH of house batteries