How does the Parks Canada Discovery Pass work — and when is it worth it?
Kelly · Reviewed by Mark Kuijpers ·
The question
Do we need a Parks Canada Discovery Pass for Banff, Jasper and the Icefields Parkway, or are day passes smarter?
In short
The Discovery Pass is Parks Canada's annual pass: one pass gives twelve months of admission to the national parks, national historic sites and national marine conservation areas that Parks Canada manages and where admission is charged. For an RV trip through Western Canada that mainly means Banff, Jasper, Yoho and Kootenay, plus the Icefields Parkway that runs straight through them. Elsewhere in Canada too — Pacific Rim on Vancouver Island, Gros Morne in Newfoundland — the same pass applies.
What the Discovery Pass is — and why you need one in Banff anyway
The Discovery Pass is Parks Canada's annual pass: one pass gives twelve months of admission to the national parks, national historic sites and national marine conservation areas that Parks Canada manages and where admission is charged. For an RV trip through Western Canada that mainly means Banff, Jasper, Yoho and Kootenay, plus the Icefields Parkway that runs straight through them. Elsewhere in Canada too — Pacific Rim on Vancouver Island, Gros Morne in Newfoundland — the same pass applies.
Unlike many American parks, Banff and Jasper have no gate you only pass if you want to enter the park: the Trans-Canada Highway and the Parkway simply run through them. As soon as you stop — even for groceries in Banff town or a photo at a lake — you need a valid pass, displayed on your rear-view mirror. Only those who drive through without stopping do not need one.
Per vehicle, up to seven people: the family and group rule
The Discovery Pass comes as an individual pass and as a family or group pass. The second covers up to seven people arriving together in one vehicle — which is exactly an RV full. Whether that is two parents with three kids or a group of six friends: one pass per RV is enough. On top of that, children and youth aged seventeen and under get free admission at Parks Canada, so you never pay separately for them.
Note that it is about the vehicle you arrive in. Travelling with two RVs means two passes, and a hire car following the RV needs its own pass as well. And the pass belongs to its holder: it is not meant to be handed on to another family after your trip. What a pass costs is on parks.canada.ca — the rate is adjusted periodically, so we deliberately give no amounts here.
When it pays off: the one-week rule of thumb
The alternative is a day pass, bought per day at the gate or a visitor centre. Parks Canada's own rule of thumb is that the Discovery Pass becomes the better deal once you spend roughly a week or more in the parks. For both Kamptribe Canada routes — ten and fourteen days, most of it in Banff and Jasper — the annual pass is therefore the obvious choice.
The only doubt is on a short sprint of three or four park days, or when the parks are only a small part of a longer trip through British Columbia. In that case work it out with the current rates on parks.canada.ca and count the days on which you physically sleep or stop in a park: every night at a park campground is a day you need a valid pass.
What the pass does not cover
This is where many first trips go wrong: the Discovery Pass is an admission ticket, nothing more. It does not cover a campsite — you reserve and pay for that separately through the Parks Canada reservation service — nor a fire permit, a backcountry permit or paid parking. At Lake Louise paid parking applies at the lakeshore in summer, separate from your pass, and that car park is rarely an option for an RV anyway.
The Parks Canada shuttle to Lake Louise and Moraine Lake — the only way to still reach Moraine Lake, since the road is closed to private vehicles — is also reserved and paid for separately. The same goes for the Banff Gondola, the hot springs, the glacier buses on the Columbia Icefield and other commercial attractions. Count that in your budget: the pass is the cheap part of a day at Lake Louise.
Buying, collecting and hanging it up
You can order the pass online in advance at parks.canada.ca; it is then sent by post, so allow delivery time to the Netherlands or Belgium and order weeks ahead. Easier for most RV families: buy it on arrival at the Banff east gate just past Canmore (coming from Calgary) or at the visitor centre of the first park you enter. It takes a few minutes and avoids any hassle with the post.
Fill in the pass, hang it on the rear-view mirror and leave it there until the end of the trip. Put on your list: buy the pass on the first park day, keep the receipt with the RV papers, and ask your rental company whether a pass already comes with the RV — it sometimes does, but do not count on it. At a check in a car park or campground the pass on the mirror is the first thing they look for.
How the pass fits your Canada route
In practice you hardly touch the pass after the day you buy it. For the loop out of Calgary you buy it at the gate near Canmore and use it for the full ten days. For the trip from Vancouver to Calgary you only need it once you enter the park at Jasper — the coast and Whistler are outside Parks Canada — but from that moment on, every day.
Then look at the bigger picture: the pass is sorted, but campgrounds and shuttles are the parts you have to time months ahead. How that works and when to be ready is in our guide on reserving campgrounds in Banff and Jasper. And if you are also considering an American trip, our guide on the US park pass shows how the America the Beautiful pass plays the same game there.
By Kelly · reviewed by Mark Kuijpers