Jasper National Park
The town of Jasper, which is right in the heart of Jasper National Park, is the farthest north and west we’ll go on this journey. Locals call Jasper the biggest jewel in the crown that is the Canadian Rockies. We can’t help but agree.
After four days of dry camping, we were also happy for a bit of civilization. Jasper brought solid cell signal, hot showers, a laundromat, and a grocery store. We settled in and had our first dinner out at the Jasper Brew Pub while getting acquainted with our new hometown.
We spent our first full day in Jasper meandering along Maligne Road, stopping at Maligne Canyon and canoeing on Maligne Lake. I think we all felt it was the greatest single day adventure we’ve had so far on this trip.
The wildlife viewing was almost comically easy. At one point I said to Eli that it felt like we were on a Disney Ride: Drive a few kilometers, see an elk…up ahead, a bear! Then…nesting bald eagles! Rams! It was so fun and fantastic to see so many animals along the way.
Maligne Lake is a beautiful spot and the weather was especially good for us to enjoy it. There was very little wind, which made for good canoeing, as well as good visibility, which made for Eli and me continually saying to one another, “Can you believe how ridiculously beautiful this place is?” The kids were reasonably motivated to paddle and we had a solid hour of fun on the lake.
Our second day, the kids and I found another beautiful, but quieter, spot called Pyramid Lake. I ‘read the room’ so to speak and skipped the hiking component of the day in favor of a picnic and giving the kids a little freedom to explore a small island accessible by a bridge.
That afternoon, we all donned our finest neoprene wet suits and tossed ourselves into the Athabasca River to go Whitewater Rafting. Eli and I are both fans, but it was the kids’ first experience with it.
Don’t worry: Nothing too crazy, just a class two rated as suitable for kids six and up. She didn’t have to call a single “get down!” or “hold on!” the whole ride.
Ray was the only taker on going for an optional swim in the glacial fed river. Ben opted for the bounciest seat in the house. Our guide, Gwen, was enthusiastic and adorable and everyone had a great experience.
The verdict: a total hit. Check out Ben’s expression in the photo below when we swamped the boat.
Our last day in Jasper, we hit up a local spot for cinnamon rolls and other goodies and then doubled back south on the Icefields Parkway to check out two waterfall spots that we had skipped on our drive with the trailer.
Sumwapta Falls was a short and sweet lookout, but Athabasca Falls was really beautiful, powerful, and interesting to explore. It was also extra fun that our starting point for the rapids trip the day before was just below the falls. Ben was happy to revisit the memories of his whitewater navigating talents from the day before.
After those two stops, the kids asked for mercy from their parent’s fervent love of the outdoors. So, we dropped them back at camp to cuddle up with their electronic devices while Toby, Eli and I ventured out to do a short hike through the Valley of the Five Lakes. It was a really nice outing made nicer but having it be only the enthusiastic hikers of our group in attendance.
We said farewell and “hope to see you soon” to Jasper and then officially began the return trip of this journey, traveling about four hours south to spend the next few days in the town of Banff.
Honorable mentions:
I finally got with the program and bought color-changing powder for our campfire. Checkout what happened when Ben added it to the fire one night. (Note: all s’more making must be completed before throwing color-change powder in the fire).
Honorable Mention II:
All along the Canada Highway One corridor between Lake Louise and Banff, there are these really cool wildlife crossing bridges. They were erected to protect both animals and wildlife along the highway. We read in an exhibit that they’ve counted nearly a million crossings since the bridges were erected. We didn’t see anybody cross, but we appreciated the architecture and thoughtfulness of it.
