There are several varieties of camping on the trail -
National Parks (Parcs Canada):
The Parks generally require that you camp in a formal campground - with a reservation and permit. This is the most restrictive part of the trail - but it's not as bad as it sounds. At least it keeps the overcrowding down at a few of the campgrounds. The Park campgrounds generally have tent pads, a food storage and cooking area with tables and an outhouse.
In those areas where there are no formal campgrounds, the National Parks permit "random" (read - stealth) camping. "Stealth" in this context does NOT mean "illegal" - it is specifically defined as camping off-trail, out-of-sight and away from formal campgrounds in order to avoid bear encounters and to minimize environmental damage.
For those areas where you "might" be random camping in a National Park, ask your reservation person to add those areas to your Park permit. It'll avoid hassles if you're camped in a Park and encounter a Warden. The Amiskwi River/Amiskwi Pass area comes immediately to mind but there are others.
Food storage - DO IT. It's an important part of bear management - and hiker safety. There was one campground where several people cooked at their tent site. It irritated those of us who knew better.
Food storage in the National Parks is generally a cable system that requires tying your food bag(s) to a steel cable and hoisting it out of reach of bears and other critters. Carrying a small carabiner would make this process a little easier.
A number of the Park campgrounds can get fairly crowded - specifically, Porcupine, and those along the Rockwall and along the Skyline Trail. But many of them were empty or nearly so.
Provincial Parks:
Some of the Provincial Parks have walk-in, unreserved, fee campgrounds (i.e. Mount Assiniboine and Akamina-Kishinena.) The fee for camping at these sites is generally $5 per person. Envelopes are provided at a fee station near the entrance of the campground. Two Provincial Parks require advance reservations - Peter Lougheed and Mount Robson. Peter Lougheed was $8 pp but with the addition of a service charge of $8, except at the car campgrounds around the Kanaskis Lakes which cost $20 in 2007. Some Provincial Parks are wilderness areas that allow free random camping (e.g. Height of the Rockies).
Like the National Park campgrounds, The Provincial Park campgrounds provide tables, outhouses, tent pads and food storage. The Provincial Parks are slowly converting to metal food storage lockers. There are still a few other systems - including at least one bear pole - and one storage platform.
National Forests and Wilderness Areas:
For these areas, random camping is pretty much the rule. There are some "campgrounds" mentioned in the guidebook, but most of them are nothing more than a flat spot with a water source, "maybe" a bear pole and "possibly" a hitch rack for horses. The guidebook indicates that some of these campgrounds require fees, but we found that to be not necessary. Specifically, there was no place or person to pay and no indication that it was required.
Waterton Town Campground:
This is a "town" campground rather than a NP or PP facility. If you intend to stay there, contact them directly. It does fill up early during tourist season.
Campground List:
The following links lead to lists of the various "possible" campgrounds (by guidebook segment) that you might find useful in planning a GDT hike. We won't tell you which ones are "best" because which ones you use depend entirely on the schedule and pace that "you" set for yourself. The source for these lists was the GDT guidebook. Click on the page to bring up the full size version.
The first five of those links apply to the guidebook route for the GDT. The last one applies to the North Boundary Trail (NBT) alternative route. If you intend to use the NBT route, you might want to check with the Canadian National Park system first. The NBT was closed in 2007, but will supposedly be open in 2008.
Also, there's little information in the guidebook about the NBT route. For information for section hikes and/or information on the North Boundary alternative route you might try the following books -
Created: Thurs, 1 Nov 2007
Revised: 1 Feb 2009
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