Welcome to part II of the Canadian Rockies blog post (see Banff guide here), Guide to Jasper edition! On day five, post breakfast we gassed up the car and got straight on the Icefields Parkway enroute Jasper. Before we got started, we made sure that we used our trusty Google Maps to download the region as an offline map because the entire route up north is notorious for no cell phone service. True enough, 5 minutes on the parkway and we had no service. We also managed to get a physical map at the tourist center, which may seem very 2007 of us, but came in very very handy.
How to Explore Jasper National Park
We spent the entire first day driving and stopping along many many MANY of the scenic spots. The first one being Bow River. It’s great to be able to not only stretch your legs but of course, really go down different trails and pathways. Two of my favourites along the way have to be Goats and Glaciers and the Sunwapta Falls. With the gorgeous and hauntingly beautiful backdrop of the Canadian Rockies in the background mixed with the music of waterfalls and lakes it’s an out of this world experience.
Where to Stay in Jasper National Park
No guide to Jasper National Park would be complete without the perfect accommodation recommendation. You have two very different ways of how to stay in Jasper National Park. We chose to stay the Glacier View Lodge which is about an hour away from the actual core downtown area of the town of Jasper. I absolutely LOVED staying here…they have an incredible view of the glacier where you can sip your morning coffee. This hotel stay also allowed us to drive up to Jasper the next day, do all the activities and then drive back to Banff directly from the hotel after breakfast the next day. It cuts down the journey perfectly without becoming very long especially when you are pressed for time.
An alternative is to book a hotel in the town of Jasper and stay the two nights in the town to explore the National Park. In my own research, the best place to stay would be Fairmont Jasper (even though it is very $$$$), because the rest of the hotels appeared to not hold many benefits.
Things to Do in Jasper National Park
We basically had 2 full days in Jasper National Park which worked out perfectly for us. Here are the main things we did in my guide to Jasper National Park and would 100% recommend for any first timer to do as well!
Jasper Skytram
This was my ABSOLUTE favourite part of Jasper. You can book the tickets online on the Jasper Skytram website which come to around $52 and give you the most amazing views of the park giving you a chance to see the rivers and marvel at the color of the lakes above it all.
Glacier Skywalk
Since we were staying the Glacier View Lodge, this was perfect for us. The buses for the entrance point to the Skywalk leave directly from the hotel/Jasper Tourism building. Once actually on the Skywalk, you can take as long as you want and there are buses to take you back every 15 minutes. Also, be warned of the absolutely INSANE winds when you are on the Skywalk!
Maligne Lake and Medicine Lake
You actually spot Medicine Lake as you drive up to Maligne Lake. You can also take a cruise up Maligne which takes you to Spirit Island. We actually didn’t end up doing this because the weather was very gloomy, cloudy and rainy but I have only heard good things about it!
Where to Eat in Jasper
The town of Jasper is full of many different types of places to eat! You can get anything from Tim Hortons, KFC, chain restaurants like Earls and even bars and pubs. This will also be the closest place from Banff that you can get a Timmies cup!
And that wraps up the Canadian Rockies part of our Alberta trip! Hands down one of the most scenic destinations that have to be on everyone’s bucket list. I can’t wait to come back here very soon!
