So many people go to Banff, but don’t venture north to Jasper National Park. For this reason, Jasper offers a respite from all the crowds, a laid-back vibe, and more chances to see wildlife. We chose to spend three nights here.
That said, some visitors find Jasper too rustic. The town is about half the size of Banff, so there are fewer restaurants and hotels. Additionally, wildfires in 2024 burned about a third of the town, and some sites, such as Mt. Edith Cavell and Maligne Canyon, remain closed.
Maligne Lake
The largest lake in the Canadian Rockies is Maligne Lake, located in Jasper National Park. If you go, plan to spend a good half-day or full day. Because the Icefield Parkway travels up the western side of the Maligne Range and Endless Chain Ridge, you have to drive all the way into Jasper. From there, you backtrack for about 29 miles along the eastern side of the range to reach the lake.
Because of the weather, Maligne Lake didn’t show its full blue-green colors when we first arrived. We sat on benches along the Mary Schaffer shoreline trail and ate the sandwiches we had picked up in downtown Jasper. Then, we walked along the Moose Lake Trail before lining up for our boat tour.
The best way to experience Maligne Lake is to take the 90-minute narrated boat cruise to Spirit Island. Boat tours began in the 1920’s when Curly Phillips (who ran Fred Brewster’s Maligne Camp) purchased motorized boats to take visitors to Spirit Island. Today, Pursuit operates the boat tours, as well as canoe rentals.
Maligne Lake stretches 13 miles, so you don’t really get a feel for it unless you take a boat tour. Plus, the water becomes more turquoise blue as you near Coronet Glacier at the other end. Our guide explained that Spirit Island, a much smaller version of Pyramid Island, is sacred to the Stoney Nakoda First Nation. Because of that, visitors aren’t allowed to walk onto it. The boat docked, and we spent about 15 to 20 minutes walking the nearby shoreline trails for great views of Spirit Island.
You don’t have to take the cruise to Spirit Island. You can rent canoes or kayaks. Just know that it’s a little over 8 miles (one way), and there are no roads or hiking trails to this part of Maligne Lake.
The road to and from Maligne Lake goes right by Medicine Lake. Although the 4-mile-long lake was about 75% full when we visited, it will nearly disappear by fall as the waters empty into the limestone caves below. Every spring, Medicine Lake refills as meltwater from the Maligne Range accumulates, and the process begins again.
Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge
On my first visit to Jasper, our tour group stayed at the Jasper Park Lodge, operated by Canadian Pacific Railways. I remember staying in a cabin with a separate living room and bedroom. As a college student, I loved having the pull-out couch in a separate room from my parents! The 700-acre hotel grounds offered walking trails, a swimming pool, and gorgeous lake views.
Since we planned this trip only six weeks in advance, the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge was fully booked. But that didn’t stop us from driving over there for dinner one evening. Even after the $100 million renovation earlier this year, the lodge still retained the charm that originally drew me in. The hotel staff was friendly and welcomed us for dinner even though we weren’t staying there. It’s still my favorite Fairmont hotel property in the Canadian Rockies.
An interesting side note: When I stayed there with my parents, college students from all over North America served us in the dining room. I was so impressed with Jasper that one of my friends and I considered applying for a job the next summer. I honestly don’t remember why we didn’t follow through.
Pyramid Lake
We stayed at Pyramid Lake Lodge, the only hotel on Pyramid Lake. Less than 4 miles from downtown Jasper, the glacier-fed lake sits at the base of Pyramid Mountain. Our accommodations included a free one-hour canoe rental, which we used on our last day. Other lake activities include fishing, paddleboarding, and swimming (although it’s a bit chilly). In winter, Pyramid Lake is a haven for ice skaters and hockey players.
After eating dinner at the onsite restaurant Aalto, we asked our server about nearby hikes for our three-night stay. She recommended the short walk to Pyramid Island. Less than a mile away from the lodge, a wooden bridge takes visitors to the small island dotted with pine trees. It’s a popular spot for weddings with bench seating and a gazebo.
The next morning, we walked the short loop around the island, then continued to the Overlook Loop. After passing the group of red Adirondack chairs, the skies opened up. Maybe we should have turned around, but we kept going, climbing over 220 feet to several lookouts along the trail. Through the rain and clouds, we looked out over Lake Edith (or maybe it was Lake Annette?) and the Athabasca River.
These overlooks are probably even more impressive on a clear day, but I’m still glad we hiked, despite the rain. The three-mile loop gave us a good workout, but we were glad to dry off back at the lodge before going into town for lunch.
Around Jasper
The 2024 wildfires destroyed about 30% of the town of Jasper, primarily in the residential areas. We saw many trailers around town and originally thought they were for workers rebuilding the town. Instead, we learned families who had lost everything were living in these trailers. You can see before-and-after pictures of Jasper from the newspaper article here.
Most stores in Jasper are T-shirt and souvenir shops along Connaught Drive, which faces the railroad tracks. We walked around and bought a few items. Jasper has a gondola, but since we had already done the one in Banff, we didn’t add it to our itinerary. We did consider the 40-mile trip to Miette Hot Springs, but the poor weather deterred us.
Instead, we checked out two nearby lakes – Edith and Annette. We had seen these lakes in the distance on the Overlook Loop we hiked earlier in the day. Both lakes have beach areas and are connected by walking paths. Despite the cloudy day, we could see clearly to the bottom of both lakes. In the distance, trees scorched by the 2024 wildfires stood.
In Conclusion
We stayed three nights with two full days in Jasper. In some respects, that may have been more time than we needed. I hadn’t done enough research to realize both Mt. Edith Cavell and Maligne Canyon were closed. However, the rainy weather day forced us to slow down and relax. I spent a good portion of that time reading a book by the electric fireplace in our room. To top it off, we had time to enjoy the complimentary canoe rental at Pyramid Lake.
Is Jasper worth it? Absolutely! First, if you’re going to see all the major spots on the Icefield Parkway, then you’re headed to Jasper anyway. I also think it’s neat just to experience Jasper’s more mellow atmosphere where you’re not constantly dealing with large crowds.
