To reach the SkyTram's lower terminal, you drive a couple of miles south from Jasper townsite and…read moreturn off onto a side road that leads up to the parking area. The lot can fill up so you may end up parking on the road's shoulder. I think you can reserve tickets online, but we just did walk-up (as we were not sure when we'd arrive on our first day after the 4-hour drive). When we got there (a bit before 2 p.m. on a Sunday), they were selling tickets for a tram just before 4 p.m. They also want you to book a rough return time. We opted for 2 hours. We then drove back to Jasper to explore the town for an hour before returning to wait at the terminal. If you can, you should schedule your ticket in advance to avoid a long wait. This area also has a café of some sort (outdoor seating), a gift shop, and the ticket office. There are also restrooms here. The trams run every 7 - 8 minutes (there are 2 operating in tandem). They call your time slot and you queue up awaiting the tram. It soon arrives and your group is herded in. Then you have a 7-minute ride to the top. There is a similar terminal at the top, but with a sit-down restaurant also. The main attraction here is hiking. You are above the tree line, so the trails are all just dirt among barren ground and stones. You do notice the air being a bit thinner here also. If you have hiking poles, they will be helpful. It is a bit desolate (other than all your fellow hikers) but still pretty in its own way. If you aren't interested in hiking up to the nearby summit, then you may want to question whether the tram rides and strolling a bit are worth the ~ $60 CDN price (per person). When you want to return, you can either wait for your agreed slot or inquire with the staff whether there are known extra spaces on earlier trams. We were lucky and got 2 spaces 25 minutes or so early, which was good. Also, it is colder at the top, especially if you are waiting in the shade. You may want to bring a light jacket (even in summer). The visit here is definitely better on a really clear day. There was lingering smoke from wildfires earlier in the summer when we visited, which degraded the views of more distant mountains.

Mid Sept with warm sun so we lucked out. Arrive before 11am and the ride up will be full be 1pm…read morecoming down wasn't crowded. The hike is moderate to advanced but you can take your time to the lookout and enjoy the beautiful panoramic Rocky Mountains. Highly recommended

Maligne Canyon is the deepest canyon in Jasper National Park, with a depth of more than 170 feet at…read morecertain points. Hikers were exploring this incredible natural landmark by crossing 6 bridges built across various points of the canyon. First and Second bridges are the easiest hikes. The 2nd Bridge is the highest point in the canyon. The 3rd Bridge offers the vest views of the waterfall and is the best for a photo opportunity. The 6th bridge offers a long hike with spectacular sights. The Maligne Canyon Wilderness Kitchen offers food & drinks here.

My husband and I hiked through Maligne Canyon on a overcast day. There was some residual smoke from…read morethe wildfires, but we were still able to snap some gorgeous photos and take in the beauty of our surroundings. I would definitely recommend parking at the first bridge and starting there but you can also park at the fifth bridge and seventh bridge. It just depends how much time you want to spend and how strenuous of a hike you want to do. We went out and back from the first bridge to the fifth bridge in about two hours.

Like many of the falls in the area, you will find a breathtaking view if you just go a little bit…read morefurther than the average tourist. Do yourself a favor and hike to the lower falls! A little bit farther and a little bit more of a work out, the lower falls offer a crowd-free experience. My husband and I visited shortly after visiting Athabasca falls and pretty much had the entire place to ourselves. It was an overcast day, but that did not take away from the beauty of everything we saw. There is plenty of parking as well as a public restroom when you get to Sunwapta Falls.

The falls are located about 42 miles south of Jasper on the Icefields Parkway. At the road is a…read more'resort' / motel and a restaurant, I think. You turn there and go less than a half mile to a loop / parking area near the falls. When we went (early afternoon on a Monday in the summer), it was a bit challenging to find a parking space. Overflow appeared to be along the approach road. We did find a space that was being vacated by another car, but later it appeared this was likely a less-than-legitimate parking space. Oh well. The falls are quite close to the parking area (maybe 100 yards?). There are actually two falls connected by a narrow / deep canyon of about 100 feet in length. There are several viewing areas and it pays to visit all 3 - 4 of them, to get the best overview of both falls. I'd recommend visiting in the afternoon for better lighting. Also, if you are visiting both, I'd recommend coming here *before* going to Athabasca Falls (which is further along the road towards Jasper), as the latter is more impressive. That is not to say that Sunwapta is not worthwhile; I just think you'll be more impressed with it if you see it first and are not comparing it at the time with Athabasca. The trails to overlooks are fairly short. Seeing the whole place took on the order of 30 - 45 minutes, for us. YMMV. Definitely a worthwhile stop, though.

Beautiful! Pictures don't really do it justice…read more You have to feel the energy of the water to get a good feel for the power and beauty. Super easily accessible. There is a small trail across the bridge should you want a different view. Go early in the morning if you can... before 8:30am and you will probably have the place to yourself before the tour buses start rolling in.

Canada has so many beautiful natural wonders. And the Canadian Park Service does such an amazing…read morejob of preserving, presenting, and curating the entire experience. These falls are just another example. There is an ample parking lot, the walk ways are well maintained. The structures are high quality and allow people of all mobilities access to the beautiful views. Lots of places to enjoy the falls, and also take pictures. Amazing!

Must stop place. Not only it's beautiful location but also have all the things that a road trip…read moreperson would need. Gas, food, drinks, picturesque views, washrooms, drinking water, clothing n hats , huge parking for RV's , park trail to walk n stretche a bit, dog walk area, kids slides ... Museum gives you very educational tour of the times of summit. You can actually register here to climb the mountain, watch videos of the previous climbers, find some artifacts or just enjoy the view of spectacular robson mountain. Cafe has vegetarian and vegan choices. Fresh fruit , yogurt n cheese also available but little more pricey then regular drive throughs. N why not? Its in the middle of nowhere. I mean far away but definable reachable and accessible from highway. All staff at the museum, cafe n gift shop are nice and friendly. As a single traveller i had my time here. Enjoyed the views over a cup of soup. Freshen up quickly n on my way to edmonton.

Whenever I come out to Mount Robson Provincial Park, I always stop and take a gander through the…read moregift shop. This is a family owned and operated business for more than 40 years. In many tourist areas, the souvenirs are pretty similar. This shop also has the regular garb - pens, mugs, knick nacks, tshirts, books on the area, etc. However, it also has some unique items that in the past, have motivated me to purchase. A few years ago, they had a bunch of hoodies that are a bit more expensive, and they were artistically inspired. They were not logo'ed from the area. I remember talking to the gal who was working, and she mentioned it was someone local. I paid about $45 for the hoodie, and I have not seen another one anywhere, so needless to say, I'm pretty pleased. When I headed back there today, I saw a few more of these unique hoodies, but sadly, there were none on my size. However, there was a large rack of unique scarves, that were selling for only $10. Game on! Definately check out this little shop. I know that tourists are inundated with the same old stuff everywhere you go. Just be advised that this shop does offer a few reasonably priced, unique items.

The Valley of the 5 Lakes is a 3 mile loop trail near Jasper. It's considered a moderately…read morechallenging route, it takes an average of 1 1/2 hours to complete. This is a very popular area for hiking, mountain biking & paddle sports, we encountered other friendly people while exploring. The best times to visit this trail are June through October. Dogs are welcome, but must be leashed. Before starting out on the trails, there's a trailhead sign listing hikes with information. The short hike took me past all 5 spectacular lakes. 4th Lake was terrific! Here the waters were clear, clear green and the reflection of the forest trees onto the waters was like a painting from some professional artist! I mean, really, I was loving this 4th Lake. Stunning! 3rd Lake - my favorite lake! The reflection here again...was this unreal, futuristic aspect where the mountainside surrounding the lake converged down towards the middle and the reflection was symmetrical. You got both angles of the trees coming at you from both sides. And while walking above this 3rd Lake, the center of it was dark green with a light blend of turquoise green on the outer sections of it. It was too good to be true! I was impressed! 2nd Lake was sort of a downer. Weird. Out of nowhere coming across this lake, it was like a pale brownish. But still, it was clean enough at the bottom to where you could still see the reflections of the trees. So, ultimately, it wasn't too colorful, but the reflections were good enough. And honestly, it was sort of a nice change of pace from the rest of the others. Finally 1st Lake. This had the best coloring in terms of real good turquoise blue but just unfortunately the trees overtook the perspectives from the trail. If they only did some maintenance around it...1st lake would be everyone's favorite, lol. 1st Lake is the biggest of them all and will take you the longest amount of time to navigate around.

We put this hike off til last as the parking lot was packed on our previous passes. We stopped in…read morearound 7pm & there were only a few other cars. We took it slow in hopes of catching the sunset & ended up clocking about 3.6mi on our counters before exiting around 10pm. There were plenty of mosquitoes, you may want to take repellent if they tend to like you. (I get bitten but the hubs isn't as tasty, apparently.) Don't go in expecting a flat trail. While most of the trail is relatively level, there are some climbs (complete with signs to warn of steep hills), no matter which way you go. We logged 568ft of total elevation gain. We opted to go counterclockwise (going right at the loop) & would do it the same direction again, if we repeat the trail. What you will see for colors, reflections & water clarity will depend on lighting, wind & weather.

This was one of my favorite hikes that we did between Banff and Jasper…read more The trail starts to the left by the heated pool house. It's about a 4-5 mile hike and it took us about 3.5 hours to do. The hike up was pretty steep, but not unmanagable. You start out on a horse path for a bit before it turns into a dirt path. About half way to the top the path takes a turn to the right and then there are a bunch of switchbacks. Close to the top you get above the treeline and it starts to get windy. The trail turns into gravel there and gets a lot steeper. The climb is worth it though. The views at the top are amazing. You can see 360 degrees around you. It's incredibly windy at the top. We almost got blown over while we were taking a picture. It's about an hour drive from Jasper and definitely worth the trek to the top!

STEPH JUDGEMENT: Tough but rewarding hike with some of best views of the area…read more This was the first hike of our trip so we were all excited and rarin' to go! The trailhead is right next to the Miette Hot Springs parking lot and very easy to find. We'd gone for a pre-hike dip at the springs and felt nice and relaxed. Which was good, because it was pretty much a straight uphill climb for 2.2 miles and the last quarter mile or so was pure agony, but you feel so good when you finally make it! We lingered at the summit with the other hikers, eating our packed lunch and taking in the breathtaking views. There were a lot of really cute chipmunks at the summit that were obviously used to being fed by people (which you're not supposed to do, and we didn't) and were bold enough to come right up to your feet to look for scraps. The other best part was rolling right into the hot springs again after our hike and soaking the aches away.

This is Wilcox Pass Trail located in the Columbia Icefield section of Jasper National Park…read more It's an 8 kilometer (or 5 mile) moderate, roundtrip hike offering rewarding views of Athabasca and Snow Dome Glaciers set in the distance. Basically...if you'd like to capture a landscape/panoramic perspective of this ultra popular, Icefields Parkway area from high above...then you'll appreciate venturing along Wilcox Pass Trail. The hike ends when you have reached Wilcox Ridge, the "pinnacle of it all" where you'll have undisturbed, vista point sceneries. Here at Wilcox Ridge...some hikers were taking selfies as well as sitting and relaxing while having water and snacks. Btw, an added bonus midway through the hike was...passing by a family of bighorn sheep while they were lying and grazing in the grass right along the path towards Wilcox Ridge. Now...I highly recommend you proceed onto Wilcox Pass Trail in the morning to be afforded time with the sun at your back and making for worthwhile picture opportunities. Funny...unfortunately for me, the first time I arrived here, I stopped in the afternoon and the sun was staring me straight in the face. I was barely able to admire the setting because I was blinded by the sun and couldn't see. Welp...with a 2nd chance to make things right, lol, I woke up the following morning (at 6am!) and was the first hiker onto the trail. This made all the difference. With the sun's positioning in the sky exactly where I wanted it, I was now able to have wonderful moments breathing in the fresh Canadian air while enjoying the glacial surroundings. Overall, it made for a fulfilling morning and first half of my day. One extra note...right nearby here (just a few kilometers down the road) is another 1/2-day hike I'd recommend called - Parker Ridge Trail. And, of course, don't forget to spend time at the Columbia Icefield Lodge and taking a tour out onto Athabasca Glacier (which almost every tourist does). Alright, well, this is Wilcox Pass trail situated in the heart of Jasper NP, Alberta, Canada.

This trail is probably the nicest short trail in Banff-Jasper area, especially when there are no…read moreforest fires or low clouds, so you get perfect views of mountains Athabasca, Andromeda, North Twin, and Columbia icefields. I don't think any other trail in the Rockies is that rewarding in terms of the views from the top. We didn't see any wildlife except for lone elk and some pikas, but people report seeing marmots and mountain goats. Someone told us that there are some fossils right at the top, we tried to find them but couldn't. I recommend starting your hike early in the morning as by 2pm the sun will be right behind the mountains and you would see anything. Also, by noon, the trail will be crowded, we met over 30 people on the way down.