Free RV parking just behind the Home Hardware parking lot beside Save-on-Foods (= free wifi!). Ok full disclosure, this is an odd spot. We got there around 9PM on a Wednesday night in October and there were at least 30 other vans/campers/skoolies already parked and some looked like they hadn’t moved in a while. Here’s where it gets weird: there are signs lining the whole fence saying “Day Use Only. No Overnight Parking or Camping Permitted” BUUUUT on the sign directly across, it says “RV Parking Permitted”. Like the other 30 vehicles, we ignored the no overnight parking signs and stayed the night without being bothered. When we left in the morning, there were still 10-15 campers spread out around the lot so clearly it’s a pretty common place to stay. Another glaring thing to note is that the lot is adjacent to some train tracks which runs some pretty noisy trains. Still, it’s walking distance to bars and restaurants and has an amazing view of the mountains. When it comes to being close to Banff, free camping spots aren’t too common so the train noise and no parking signs are easy to ignore.

*OCTOBER 2019 UPDATE: This parking lot appears to be closed and has lots of No Trespassing signs. There were still a couple campers parked along the road but we were just there for the day so didn’t end up staying the night anyway. I’ve read on other sites that overnight parking is still allowed but you need to move by 9AM.