Jasper

Maligne Lake, the Jasper SkyTram and Miette Hot Springs

Spend your first Jasper day on Maligne Road. Drive past Medicine Lake, which drains underground and shrinks by autumn, to Maligne Lake for a boat cruise to Spirit Island, watching for moose and bears on the way back. Maligne Canyon is closed while fire-scarred slopes are made safe. Ride the Jasper SkyTram and visit Miette another day.

Start early on Maligne Road. Watch for moose and bears on the drive back in the late afternoon, then eat in town.

Day two goes up. Ride the Jasper SkyTram from Whistlers Road to the upper station and, if the weather is clear, take the steep path to the summit of Whistlers Mountain for a view over the Athabasca valley and, on a good day, Mount Robson to the west. Bring a warm layer even in July. In the afternoon, cycle or drive to Pyramid Lake, cross the footbridge to Pyramid Island and stay for sunset over the water.

On day three, drive about an hour east to the Miette Hot Springs turn-off and up the winding road to the pools, the hottest in the Rockies. Pair the soak with the short Sulphur Skyline trail if you are fit. Come back for a last dinner on Patricia Street and, if the sky is clear and moonless, head out of town with a blanket to see why the park is a dark sky preserve.

Brewpub dinners on Connaught Drive and mornings at the Bear's Paw

Jasper's restaurants serve hearty food for hikers. Alberta beef burgers and steaks dominate the menus on Connaught Drive and Patricia Street, with bison and elk too, the Jasper Brewing Company brews its own beer inside the national park, and mornings start with pastries and coffee at the Bear's Paw.

Jasper's food is hearty and plain, built for people who have hiked all day. The local institution is the Jasper Brewing Company, which brews its own beer in the national park and serves pub food in a busy room on Connaught Drive.

Breakfast is the meal to take seriously. Cafés open early for hikers heading to Maligne Lake, and the Bear's Paw Bakery has long been the place for big cinnamon buns and loaves for the trail. Order a packed lunch the night before if you are going out on the Parkway, where food stops are few.

For a special evening, Becker's on the Icefields Parkway just south of town has served French and Canadian cooking in its log dining room for decades, and the Fairmont at Lac Beauvert has several restaurants, from casual to formal. Budget travellers lean on pizza, the Dead Dog Bar and Grill for burgers, and the hotel lounges with their fireplaces.

Some restaurants closed after the 2024 fire and others moved or reopened, so check before you set your heart on a particular table.

Day trip from Jasper on the Icefields Parkway to the Athabasca Glacier

Drive the northern half of the Icefields Parkway as a day trip from Jasper. Leave early with a full tank and a packed lunch: Athabasca Falls, 30 minutes south, takes 20 minutes on its paths, and the road continues to the Athabasca Glacier at the Columbia Icefield. The full 230 km road runs on to Lake Louise.

The 230 km road from Jasper to Lake Louise is one of the great mountain drives in the world, and the northern half makes an easy day trip from town. Thirty minutes south, Athabasca Falls pours through a short, deep gorge carved in quartzite; the paths take 20 minutes. Highway 93A, the old parkway, offers a quieter detour on the west side of the river.

Further on, Sunwapta Falls drops into a twisting canyon a short walk from the car park, and the road climbs past waterfalls and glacier-hung peaks toward the Columbia Icefield, about 1.5 hours from town without stops. At the Icefield, a trail leads toward the toe of the Athabasca Glacier, with markers showing how far the ice has retreated over the past century. Do not walk onto the glacier itself; hidden crevasses have killed visitors. Guided tours in big-wheeled snow coaches drive out onto the ice and include the glass-floored Skywalk over the Sunwapta valley.

The Parkway is at its best from June to September. In winter it stays open but is ploughed less often, services close, and there is no mobile coverage, so carry chains, warm clothing and food. Weather at the Icefield is colder than in town, often by several degrees, so pack a jacket in August too. Turn back by late afternoon to watch for wildlife on the drive home.