How to spend 2 nights in Jasper, Canada

Jasper in Alberta was the third overnight stop on our Canadian fly-drive. The drive between Lake Louise and Jasper is around 3 hours so it really needs breaking up, which is exactly what we did.

What to do

Icefields Parkway

Okay so this isn’t actually a ‘stop’ on the way to Jasper but the name of the road itself. It is known for being an incredibly scenic route with the potential to see lots of wildlife, and it didn’t disappoint. On our travels we saw 2 grizzly bears and 2 black bears as well which was so cool! It was really lovely to see them plodding along in the forest alongside the road just doing their thing. There is a huge emphasis in Canada to keep bears wild, and they even have bear-proof bins so they have to hunt for their food and don’t become domesticated. They are beautiful creatures though, and every time you catch so much as a glimpse of them its a magical moment.

Bow Lake

Our first stop on the journey was just a little lay-by at the shores of Bow Lake. It made for a beautiful picture, with the snow capped mountains perfectly mirrored in the water below. We found so many little places on the side of the road like this which many people don’t bother to stop at. Unfortunately, we had a time constraint so we didn’t get to see many of them but all the ones they drove past looked beautiful.

Saskatchewan River Crossing

This was basically just a glorified petrol station with a ‘trading post’ style gift shop, cafe/restaurant and plenty of picnic benches to sit on. Here we had our picnic lunch, stretched our legs and had a peruse around the gift shop before continuing our journey.

Columbia Icefield

The reason that the Icefields Parkway road is called such is because of the Columbia Icefield and associated glaciers that are found alongside it. We actually got the opportunity to go on to one of these glaciers by embarking on an Ice Explorer Tour on the Athabasca Glacier, one of the largest non-polar ice fields in the world. Ice Explorers (of which there are only 24 of in the world) are the only vehicle that is any good on the ice – with their huge tires its not hard to see how!

It was a fantastic experience to actually set foot on a glacier and learn all about it, however it was pretty shocking to see and hear how much it has melted over a short space of time – the glacier will most likely be gone by 2100. The people at the Columbia Icefield Discovery Centre hugely emphasise stewardship of the glacier, it is clear they are trying their hardest to protect it and mitigate their effects on the glacier. It was an incredible and probably once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, I’m so glad I got to experience it.

The second part of the experience was the Columbia Icefield Skywalk. The main event here is the glass platform that sticks out 280m high above the valley floor. There are also interactive displays, audio commentary systems and roving interpretive guides along the walk which are there to educate you. If I’m honest, I didn’t find the audio guide very interesting or gripping to listen to, but that’s just me. You can’t buy the Ice Explorer Tour on it’s own so if you’re there and have time you may as well go on the Skywalk too!

Maligne Lake Scenic Drive

I decided to lump these places in together because the best way to see them is to make a day trip out of it. Maligne Lake Road which is the main road you use to access these places is a very pretty road in itself, and there is a huge potential to spot wildlife along it. This is the order we did the drive, but it is just as good if you do it in reverse.

• Maligne Lake

Maligne Lake is a rather large lake – at around 22.5km in diameter it was probably a bit big to walk all the way round in one day! However, there are plenty of signposted walks for people to do that incorporate some spectacular lakeside scenery and woodland. We decided to undertake the Mary Schaffer Loop which was about 3.2km long. There is little to no elevation which meant it was probably the easiest walk around, but that didn’t mean that the views were bad at all. The boathouse also makes for a very cute photo of the lake, and you can hire kayaks / canoes here but it was quite expensive so we decided against it.

• Medicine Lake

This is probably the weirdest lake I’ve ever been to – it disappears every year! This is due to a unique underground drainage system which means that the level of the lake fluctuates greatly within the seasons. Nobody knows for sure where all this water goes, so it certainly makes the lake intriguing.

There is definitely something peaceful about Medicine Lake, probably due to the fact there are far less tourists! It was a lovely place to have a spot of lunch (picnic, of course) and relax. We even spotted 2 black bear cubs which were adorable!

• Maligne Canyon

This canyon in some places is carves 50m deep – that shows just how powerful the water that flows through this area is. Maligne Canyon is said to be a great place for photography as there are some spectacular falls and other water features. We didn’t spend super long here because we had recently been to Johnston Canyon in Banff and felt this was quite similar so wanted to spend our time elsewhere.

• Annette Lake

This was the last of the lakes we saw on this scenic drive and whilst it may not be the prettiest or biggest one we saw, there was something special about it… you could swim in it! This doesn’t sound revolutionary but when you consider that the vast majority of the lakes in this area are glacier-fed, that significantly narrows down where you can go for a dip. The lake is said to get up to a whole 18C on a sunny day, but the day we went it was about 12C in the water – but we went in anyway!! We may have looked crazy to everyone else around but it was certainly refreshing after a long, hot day.

Patricia Lake

This lake was the perfect place to start the day, and even better because we got to all go kayaking together. It was yet another beautiful lake, and getting to experience that actually in the water was a nice and slightly different experience to going for a hike or even a larger boat trip. It was also a great way to get active before the long drive ahead.

Where to eat

The Inn Grill

After spending a long time deciding where to go to dinner, we decided to give this restaurant a go – and I’m so glad we did. I think the dish of the evening was the rich mans poutine that mum ordered which consisted of fries, goats cheese, red wine gravy and sliced steak on top. Poutine is a big thing in Canada (you can even get it in McDonalds!) and, as a chip and gravy lover, this was heaven…

Loulous

This was our place of choice for breakfast in the main street in Jasper. It was an odd place as it served breakfast and… pizza – bit of an out-there combo but it seemed like a good place to go and try. Us girls had pancakes with maple syrup which were okay but didn’t really fill us up nor did they look particularly appetising. Dad had a fry-up of sorts which again he said was okay but there was just something missing. Loulous was probably one of the cheaper places to have breakfast at in Jasper, but I would seriously consider paying a little more on a nice place if I were to come again.

Jasper Pizza Place

Despite its name, this place doesn’t JUST do pizzas… it also offers pasta, burgers and other mains. After a long day exploring we were ravenous so we went somewhere that wasn’t too expensive and had big portions – Jasper Pizza Place fit the bill. The food wasn’t at the ‘most incredible thing I’ve ever eaten’ stage but it was certainly tasty.

Papa George’s

This breakfast was a much better one than the morning before, we had pancakes again but these were super fluffy and with the strawberries as well it made them even tastier! There was a lot more to choose from as well like breakfast burritos and french toast, I wanted to try it all…

Where to stay

Marmot Lodge

We stayed at this hotel for 2 nights, and it definitely had everything we needed and more! There was a heated indoor pool, sauna, and an indoor and outdoor Jacuzzi for guests to use, and the rooms were adequate enough with a mini fridge which was really useful. I can’t fault this place at all 🙂

So that was an outline of our time in Jasper – Canada is the best! Are there any places that we missed out on that you could recommend for future travellers? Please comment these below!

Happy travelling!

Zoe and David x

Written by Zoe