Kicking Horse Campground Review

By Samantha Lemna | July 9, 2019

Only 2 hours West of Calgary Kicking Horse Campground is a fantastic base for exploring Yoho National Park’s incredible nature and the Kicking Horse Pass’ interesting history. This beautiful campground is the largest in the national park and has great facilities and activities.

Campsites at Kicking Horse Campground

There are a variety of campsites available in this campground. Some are very well treed and quite private while others are in an open grassy area. Some back onto another site perfect for sharing. The Kicking Horse River and a creek also pass through the campground so a few sites back onto these features as well.

There are 88 unserviced sites with reservations available from June 20 to October 14. There are some first-come-first-served sites as well. Each site has a fire pit and picnic table.

View of a campsite at Kicking Horse Campground. There are tall trees bordering the site with a fire pit. There is a tarp put up and chairs folded up.

Kicking Horse Campground Facilities

This campsite has full facilities including two bathroom complexes with flush toilets hot water and a dishwashing station. There is also a shower facility which underwent a renovation in 2019.

There is also a playground interpretive stage and several hiking trails. One is an interpretive walk on the history of the railroad.

There is also a sani-dump and close access to the town of Field where there is gas and limited groceries and supplies available.

Cost of Camping at Kicking Horse Campground

The campsite fee is $27.40 per night. The fire permit is $8.80 per day (you must also pay this to use the dump station).

You’ll need an entry pass to Parks Canada as well to camp at Kicking Horse Campground. A Parks Canada Discovery Pass is $67.70 for adults or $136.40 for a family (up to 7 people) which grants you access to Canada’s national parks and historic sites for 12 months from the date of purchase.

If you opt for daily admission to Yoho it is $9.80 per adult per day or $19.60 for a family per day.

Hiking trail to Yoho Lake on a rainy day with a view of the mountain range and forest in the distance.

Things to Do Near Kicking Horse Campground

Yoho National Park is full of great hiking biking and canoeing/kayaking for all levels. Kicking Horse Campground is a great base for exploring the park and its located near some of the most popular destinations such as Takakkawa Falls and Emerald Lake. You must reserve a seat on the Lake O’Hara bus ($14.70 for adults) if you want to hike in that area.

There are also guided hikes to Mt. Stephen Fossil Beds ($50 for adults need to be reserved in advance) and Walcott Quarry ($63 for adults need to be reserved in advance).

You’re also fairly close to Lake Louise and Banff if you’d like to explore the Alberta side of the Rockies.

The spiral tunnels are a great place to learn about the history of the area and the Canadian railroad industry too.

Overall Kicking Horse Campground is a well-located enjoyable place to camp. Yoho National Park is incredible and far less crowded than Banff Lake Louise and Jasper.