Jasper National Park, most famous for its stunning nature landscape and wildlife, is the northern sibling of Banff and the largest national park in the heart of Canadian Rockies, and with the nature beauty of majestic mountain peaks, vast evergreen forests, sparkling teal lakes, thousands of hiking trails and home to variety of wildlife, it is basically any landscape lover’s dream place and a heaven of nature wildness attracting visitors from all around the world.
This is my first trip in mid August of 2022 to Jasper National Park, an exciting exploration beyond I could image. Although it is a short trip of only 3 days, and the nature beauty of Jasper National Park is enduring in my memory filled with spectacular views of Athabasca Falls, Spirit Island on Malign Lake and surprises of watching lovely bears along the scenic drive from Jasper to Malign Lake.
Based upon my trip to Jasper in the Summer, this blog focus on top attractions during my trip.
Tips
How to get there
By rental car, drive from Calgary
By Bus, SunDog Transportation and Tours offers daily Jasper - Edmonton connector shuttle service
Drive from Banff or Lake Louise after visiting Banff National Park
Where to stay
Jasper, a small town with accommodations and restaurants close to National Park
Resort Escapes Near the Town of Jasper
Cabins and Bungalows Outside of Jasper
Things to do in Summer
Hiking & Scenic site viewing
Canoeing & Water Sports
Wildlife Viewing
What to bring for photography
Full frame camera
lenses:
wide angle lens for landscape
telephoto lens for wildlife
other accessories: ,
polarizing filters and neutral density filters
tripod & remote control for long exposure
extra charged battery
Athabasca Falls
Athabasca Falls, the spectacular waterfalls in Jasper National Park with the incredible mountain views and turquoise waters, is located 30 minutes south of Jasper. It is easily accessible from either Banff or Lake Louise and just off of the Icefields Parkway, a 232 km double-lane highway that connects Lake Louise to Jasper, and the parkway itself features over 100 glaciers, waterfalls, and views of the Canadian Rocky Mountains.
The best time to Athabasca Falls is in Spring or Summer. Hiking and scenic viewing are most popular activities. The photography of Athabasca Falls is an exciting experience upon the roaring falls of one of top nature landscape spots in the National Park, and luckily I got a chance to capture the stunning view of rainbow forming upon roaring Athabasca Falls !
Tips
The best time to visit Athabasca Falls is Spring or Summer
How to get there
from Jasper, travel south on Highway 93 and 32 km just off 93A
signs on the highway marking to Athabasca Falls
Things to do
easy hiking on Athabasca Falls trail & scenic viewing
photography of the spectacular views
chance to see rainbow over the Fall on a sunny day
near by hiking trails
The scenic drive to Maligne Lake
Maligne Lake can easily be reached from Jasper town by car along a beautiful scenic road that winds past massive mountains, turquoise lakes, and mile after mile of conifer forests. The watching wildlife like Bears in close range makes this unforgettable scenic drive an exciting adventure!
The road basically follows the flow of the Athabasca River, a glacial river which has its origins in the Columbia Icefield. Along the way, we passed broad plains dotted with countless lakes in stunning shades of turquoise and aquamarine.
The Medicine Lake & Black Bear
From the Maligne Canyon, the road continues past gorgeous forests and stunning panoramas of the mountains. The next stop is arguably one of the highlights of this drive: Medicine Lake.
This fascinating lake is the subject of local Indian folklore due to a unique characteristic, however, unlike a "vanishing lake" as heard early, this Summer, the Medicine Lake stunning views with abundant turquoise blue water.
While enjoying the beautiful Lake view of the Medicine Lake, a black bear looming in the woods close to the road along the lake, what a lucky day I felt.
(Bear photo will be uploaded from Sony mirrorless camera, sign up to get free live Bear Video)
Maligne Lake and Spirit Island
From the scenic drive, the road more or less follows the shores of the lake, offering amazing vistas of the lake and the mountains. We soon reached Maligne Lake and the views were simply phenomenal. The lake was a brilliant turquoise whilst in the distance, imposing snow-capped peaks and glaciers could be seen.
Maligne Lake is the largest glacially-fed lake in the Canadian Rockies and is surrounded by stunning mountain views. Maligne Lake is located 47 kilometres (30 miles) outside of the Jasper townsite.
Some of the most scenic trails in the Canadian Rockies can be found in this area such as the 44km Skyline Trail (that ends in Jasper) or the Opal Hills or Bald Hills trails which can easily be done in a day. There’s a visitor centre and a restaurant as well as a pier from which Maligne Lake boat tour take visitors to most photographed place in the Canadian Rockies: Spirit Island.
Tips
The best time to visit Maligne Lake is from mid June to Sep
Start early in the morning from Jasper to get enough time for boating to Spirit island
Things to do
Scenic Viewing
Hiking
Canoeing in Lakes
Photography
Watch and video live wildlife on the way
More Wildlife Viewing on the Scenic Drive back to Jasper
On the scenic drive back to Jasper from Maligne Lake in the afternoon, following crowds in front on the roadside, surprisingly, a brown bear mom following by two adorable baby bears are in the bushes right off road searching and chewing berries, what a vivid lovely view!
(Bear photo will be uploaded from Sony mirrorless camera, sign up to get free live Bear Video)
Tips
Watch and photography wildlife inside car in safe distance
To use telephoto lens, adjust aperture & shutter speed to get clear photo and video
Attractions on the back to Calgary
From Jasper town drive back to Calgary, the route through highway 11 after Columbia Icefield Parkway is about 528km and a few stunning landscape spots are worth for site viewing and photography, and before heading out, it is recommended to fill up the gas and get some food on the way.
Stutfield Glacier Viewpoint
On the Icefields Parkway as driving along. one of the easiest to spot thespectacular view is the Stutfield Glacier, and turn right into a large parking area to stop the car, and the stunning Glacier is across the river and on the mountains on the other side
Tangle Creek Falls
After back on the Icefields Parkway, soon comes to Tangle Creek Falls, which is a pretty impressive multi-tiered waterfall, which is one of the many gorgeous possible stops along the Icefields Parkway, and the waterfall has a 35 m drop split between multiple layers. Each tier splits into lots of smaller streams which seem to be in a tangle.
Columbia Icefield & The Athabasca Glacier
The Columbia Icefield, one of most famous spots, is the largest ice field in North America's Rocky Mountains and it is located between south end of Jasper National Park and Banff National Park, and exploring the Icefield and visiting the Skywalk are most popular activities. Because of warming climate, the Athabasca Glacier has been receding or melting, especially due to hot weather this 2022 Summer the shrinking glacier has left a moonscape of rocky moraines in its wake.
Cline River
after passing Columbia Icefield on 93A and taking highway 11 to go out from Jasper National Park, the beautiful scenic views along Cline River draw my attention to stop and take photos.
Cattle farm View near Alhambra
After driving out of the Park approximately 120 km, passing by cattle farms near Alhambra cattle farm views under Sunset are stunning!
This first time trip to Jasper National Park is purely nature beauty exploring full of exciting surprises!
Tips
make reservation early for lodging & car rental
get prepared for photography and hiking
best time in Summer for exploring wildlife & water activities
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