Monarch Campground

Small but nice campground in Yoho valley, right off Hwy1 and on the road to Takakkak Falls. Close to the historic village of Field and to Emerald Lake. This is a first-come, first-serve CG, an alternative if you don't have a reservation at Kicking Horse. In mixed forest, right at base of massive cliffs. Sites on one side of the loop have some good tree cover, and sites in the middle of the loop also have some tree cover. A few of the other sites are pretty exposed. There is a walk-in tent site area at the entrance end of the campground. No fires, no fire rings. Sites are generally fairly level and the spacing is ok. No tent pads. Some sites are large enough for large trailers. There are vault toilets at the CG entrance and another set of toilets in the middle of the loop; they really need to be updated. There is a sink at each of the toilet stations. There is also a cooking shelter and bear-proof storage boxes. Views of the mountains on either side of the valley are great. Price July 2022 was 18.75 CDN. As others have said, there is a lot of noise from the highway; it diminishes at night. Also the train tracks are on the other side of the highway and river, and trains pass frequently, but they don't blow horns. I'd stay again.

If you go up the road to the falls, it has some very tight switchbacks, so no trailers and longer vehicles are discouraged. Parking fills up during the day because people go to view the falls and there are also many trails out of that location. The road to Emerald Lake is ok but parking fills up quickly. There are also several trails out of the Emerald Lake area, including a loop trail around the lake.

"Primitive" campground as the Yoho Park describes it. No drinking water other than the dish sink outside the needed upgraded toilets. No fires allowed-no fire rings. Lots of highway and railroad noise. Tenters need to be sound sleepers. A few real nice somewhat secluded sites. Ok cell coverage-Bell/ATT LTE 2 bars. On the plus side-dump station just outside the campground with potable water. Some great hikes up the Yoho Valley road.

We stayed here during the 1st week of September when all the sites are on a first come, first serve basis. We arrived in early afternoon and got a great site (large and level, good solar)but by supper time, arrivals were being put in the overflow parking lot. We’d originally gone to Kicking Horse but they could only accommodate us for one night and site wasn’t very nice. We liked both this site and campground - plus it was $10/night less. The only drawback for us was that there are no fires allowed at Monarch.
The campground is fairly close to the road and during the day there was noticeable highway noise. At night, the noise from the trains was pretty eerie - screeching as they wind through the tunnels. In a motorhome it isn’t bad but it could be pretty loud in a tent.
The location was fantastic - close to a number of hiking trails in Yoho and an easy drive to Lake Louise and some hiking on Hwy 93.

Monarch is a small 44 site “overflow” type campground next to its big sister next door, Kicking Horse. Monarch is closer to the highway and the trains running alongside the cliffs on the opposite side of the valley. Kicking Horse is bigger, set back from the highway backing onto the Kicking Horse River, and has better amenities than Monarch. However, Kicking Horse costs ten dollars Canadian more per night. And it was still closed in the first week of June! However if you arrive when KH is open and has availability, choose that over Monarch for the extra $$!
Location of both is great for exploring nearby Takakkaw Falls and Emerald Lake. Have dinner or lunch at the charming Truffle Pig Bistro in Field. And you are only 20 minutes away from Lake Louise. A much quieter option than staying in the campgrounds there!