Tip: Get Food, Gas, Water, And Beer In Canmore

After our short stint exploring Yoho National Park, we continued on our way to Canmore to feed both human and vehicle. Along this route, I highly recommend stopping for gas at the Petro Canada in Lake Louise. Gas cost about 40 cents per liter cheaper here than elsewhere in the Banff area when we visited! We were also told the groceries were significantly cheaper in Canmore compared to in Banff and Jasper, so we made sure to stock up on food and beer.

Before leaving the town of Canmore, we visited Canmore Brewery (they brew an outstanding brown ale!) and used their free wifi to get some work done remotely.

Canmore Natural Spring Water

A very memorable stop on our way to Banff National Park was filling our water supply with the famous Canmore Natural Springs (this is the address). You can find this source of spring water spouting from a pipe near the corner of Highway 1A and Palliser Trail. Honestly we just found this water spot when searching for potable water on iOverlander and didn’t know what to expect. Upon arrival, we realized that some people have an almost religious dedication to this Canmore Natural Spring Water. There were several people filling up giant jugs to lug home, reporting they refused to drink any other water, and making claims to the healing properties of the water. Full disclosure: there are posted signs saying “water not tested for quality” and “may be subject to contamination” but we took the risk and filled up our jugs. The water truly tasted very clean and lacked that “tap water” taste! I can also say that we did not get sick after drinking it for a couple of days.

 

Banff Two Jack Lake Campground

Our first night of van camping in Banff National Park was finally upon us! We camped at the Two Jack Lake Main campground. Dinner preparation by the campfire in a campsite surrounded by trees is my favorite. We fire-roasted chicken wings and cooked up nutritious bowls of stir-fried noodles with veggies.

Two Jack Lake Main Campground is outfitted with fire pits, complementary firewood and potable water, and a kitchen shelter with running water. It does not have showers. Individual sites are unserviced but we found them clean.