Jasper National Park

Jasper's greatest asset is it's relative solitude.  It offers the same cougars, mountains, bears, lakes, moose, elk, glaciers, camping and activities as Banff, but lacks it's southern neighbor's crowds.  The forests seem a little denser, the lakes a little bluer, the glaciers a little bigger, the wildlife a little more plentiful, and the people a little friendlier.

The townsite of Jasper is within Jasper National Park

Jasper-Hinton Airport is a small general aviation airport east of town.  There are no commercial flights into Jasper, but there is train and bus service.

     I spent four days and three nights at the  Whistlers Campground in Jasper National Park.  The primitive campsites were very large and well laid out so you didn't feel like you were on top of someone else.  The campground had over 770 campsites.  Jasper is 3 km from the campground.  There are a total of 10 campgrounds in the park.  most are open only during the summer.

The first day there was a 7.9 km hike to the top of the Tramway.  The hike started at 3500 ft and went to 8050 ft. Four of the group hiked.  Three of us rode on the tram.  Once at the top the kids had a great time with a old-fashioned snowball fight.  Everybody took the Tramway back down.

After the hike we spent the afternoon at a beach on Lake Annette.

Maligne Canyon is 11 km east of the townsite.  It is a narrow and deep limestone gorge with waterfalls, crystalline pools and interesting rock formations.  This is a very popular hiking destination for people wanting a easy hike.

After an ice cream break in Jasper, we did a 2km hike to Angel Glacier.

The next day was July 1 (Canada Day).  We had a Pancake Breakfast that Jasper put on, followed by a flag raising ceremony, then a parade.