Jasper National Park

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Downtown Jasper

When we visited Jasper ten years ago, we stayed in a cabin outside the town. This time, we were very central and the big bonus of that is we got to appreciate some excellent restaurants right on our doorstep. I can heartily recommend Jasper Pizza Place, Olive Bistro, Raven Bistro and Syrah’s of Jasper – and there were several other places I’d like to have tried if we’d been there longer. So what did we do other than eat?

Jasper Town

Stroll along the main street, Connaught Drive (above), and I defy you not to be transfixed by the mountain views – but  trains and totem poles are available too.

Train on display
Railway at Jasper
Railway at Jasper
Two Brothers totem pole
Two Brothers totem pole
Two Brothers totem pole

Mina and Riley Lakes Loop

We followed this 9km trail right from downtown on our first morning, no need to even move the car. It was a beautiful, still day as you can see from the reflections – as we feasted on our picnics, the bugs feasted on us…

Mina and Riley Lakes Loop
Mina and Riley Lakes Loop
Mina and Riley Lakes Loop
Mina and Riley Lakes Loop
Mina and Riley Lakes Loop

Jasper Tramway

On our second day we took the tramway more than 1000 vertical metres (3280 feet) up Whistlers Mountain from where we hiked the (very steep) mile to the summit. The views are awesome, and Parks Canada has helpfully placed some beautiful red chairs just where you can admire Mount Edith Cavell. (These chairs are all over the country – the idea is to share them on social media).

Jasper Tramway
Whistlers Mountain
Start of the hike
View of Jasper
Red chairs
Whistlers Mountain
At the summit

Whistlers is named for the hoary marmots which live on the summit. We saw several of them as well as white-tailed ptarmigans and golden-mantled ground squirrels. One of the latter appears to be trying to eat a tissue!

Hoary marmot
Hoary marmot
White-tailed ptarmigan
White-tailed ptarmigan
White-tailed ptarmigan
Golden-mantled ground squirrel
Golden-mantled ground squirrel

After a reasonable lunch in the tramway’s top station, we headed back down the mountain for another hike on flatter terrain.

Valley of the Five Lakes

There were, indeed, five lakes on this trail! Third Lake had another set of red chairs, just right for enjoying the view. I think I have these lakes labelled right….

First Lake
Second Lake
Third Lake
Fourth Lake
Fifth Lake

Maligne Canyon and Lake

Our final day in Jasper was my birthday, which we celebrated in the worst weather of the whole trip. Our first stop was Maligne Canyon, a steep narrow gorge crossed by several bridges.

Maligne Canyon
Maligne Canyon

On to Maligne Lake, where we did a couple of short trails in a sleet-storm! This made the paths muddy and treacherous – you might spot that from the state of John’s left trouser leg. Yes, it was his turn to slip.

Near Maligne Lake
Maligne Lake
Maligne Lake

Maybe it was the cooler, wetter conditions that made this a good day for wildlife spotting. Deer in abundance, and twice – bears! Only one bear picture good enough to share though.

Maligne Lake Rd – bear
Maligne Lake Rd – deer
Maligne Lake Rd – deer
Maligne Lake Rd – deer
Maligne Lake Rd – deer

From Jasper, we headed back south to Lake Louise, our last stop in the Rockies.

Alberta, Canada ,

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  2. Pingback: April Squares: Whistlers Summit – The Glasgow Gallivanter
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  7. Well, Anabel, a wet birthday is a lucky birthday, let’s just say that 😉
    I envy you. This was a beautiful place, in spite of th emany letdowns. I hope I’ll have a chance to visit, one day.

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  12. I love the totem pole, and your wonderful wildlife photos (so many deer!!!), but the mountains will be what always captures my heart!

    I’ve never been to Jasper, except passing through, sleeping on an overnight train, in the middle of the night. Someday I need to correct that omission!

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  14. I really like the totem pole, though I hope it was there for a nice reason and not just a case of “we took your land, now here’s a totem pole to make up for it.” I’m currently visiting my family in Ohio, and my boyfriend pointed out that he thought it was weird how many statues of Native Americans we have here, which sadly, are pretty much there for the reason stated above.

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  16. Looks like you’re on top of the world in those mountain pictures. The lakes are beautiful, too, and of course I love the wildlife. It’s always so exciting to spot someone out of the ordinary, although I’d probably be nervous seeing the bears!

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    • It felt like being on top of the world! We didn’t get close enough to the bears to be nervous. All the bears we saw just seemed to mind their own business and be oblivious to the people watching. I’m sure that would all change if we’d got any closer though!

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  17. Hi Anabel – what a delightful tour around Jasper with you … I’ve only seen in thick sleet … I hope to get clearer views on another visit … you’re both good at walking and hiking. Glad John didn’t damage himself – trousers are ok! Aren’t the red chairs fun to see … cheers Hilary

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  18. Oh my- bears! 🙂 🙂 Love the little marmosetty creatures too! John got some great captures- isn’t the scenery fantastic? You’ve done your bit for the tourist board. 🙂 🙂 Shame about the bugs- at least you’d escape them up high. And when your whole trip is a birthday present I guess one rainy day is acceptable 🙂

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  19. Great pictures and you will never get me on one of those cars way up…nope…wouldn’t happen. I would not be sitting there on the edge either but it is a good pic of both of you. You must have had some great walks there.

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  21. Great set of photos. That high totem pole could be in Glasgow city centre as it seems to have a traffic cone on top. Maybe that’s where they got the idea for our statues extra attire.

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  22. Wildlife on your birthday, what a treat! The weather might not have been cooperative, but I’m sure you turned your special day in a good one, based on the activities and the food in town. It is so nice to be able to walk everywhere from your lodging. Jasper seems to offer a lot of hiking opportunities and views. Right now, it reminds me a bit of Boulder, Colorado, but probably, less busy.

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  23. So beautiful! I’ve seen pictures of those red chairs here and there… now I know why! We were supposed to make it to that area earlier this year, but certain roadblocks changed our plans. I will definitely make sure we make that trip one year soon. I am amazed at the number of wildlife you saw – they must have been celebrating your birthday!

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  25. This is a quintessential Canadian post, Anabel. I love that you’ve captured everything from our variable weather to our varied wildlife and beautiful landscape. I hadn’t been aware of the red chairs. Was your visit to Jasper this year (making the chairs a Canada 150 promotion) or have they been around for awhile?

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    • Thank you! I thought the red chairs were special for this year’s anniversary but when I looked them up afterwards I found they’ve been around about 3 years. All the parks have them.

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  26. Thanks for taking me there, Anabel. 🙂 Canada! that’s one more country we need to see. This time, on our SolarEclipseRoadTrip, we came closest to Canada when we were in Grand Forks, ND. I think it was just 60 miles then to the Canadian border. But we had different plans. Well, there will be another time.
    Have a great week,
    Pit

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  27. Looks cold in your photos, as I#m sure it was. It was cold when we were there too, and the mountains were just beautiful. We had a hire car, a very upmarket Ford something or other but it had whistles and bells that my husband just loved – I think electronic windows were one thing he played with a lot (just shows you how long ago it was), but we never saw a bear although warned not to get out of the dar when touring. I was a tad disappointed as I’d love to have come face to face with a gri\zzley.

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    • It was certainly cold on the last day! We kept a safe distance from the bears – they were all black bears, as has been every bear we’ve ever seen. I’d like to see a grizzly too but definitely not too close…..

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  29. This post has totally made my feet itchy for a long, scenic, multi-day hike again. The Canadian Rockies is definitely on my list!
    Really stunning photos – especially the wildlife close-ups!

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  34. We were just planning next year’s Canada trip yesterday Anabel so this is a timely post. We’re not exactly sure of the logistics yet as we were planning to do the Rockies by train but are now thinking car hire as the train seems very expensive! You’ve captured some wonderful shots and obviously had more success with marmots than I did in the Swiss Alps!

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  35. Fantastic photos. Love all the wildlife ones especially and the totem poles. Its 12 years since my visit to Canada now and all my amazing wildlife sightings will stay with me forever. X

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