Retired couple Gene and Laurie wrote about RVing in their 40′ motorhome across North America. If you are thinking about RVing in the Canadian Rockies, it will be an inspiration.
Gene and Laurie make me envious of their 10-day experience in Banff and Jasper National Parks in the Canadian Rockies. RVing seems like lots of fun and offers a unique freedom to experience the parks at a leisurely pace without the need for hotel rooms.
They write: “The vistas are breathtaking and each day we approach ’sensory overload’ as the roads and views seem to be more beautiful with each turn.”
What do you do when you have 2 moms, 3 kids, and astrong desire for a cross-country roadtrip?
Rent a mini SUV (the modern minivan) and head for the highway! Catherine Conners and Katie York, 2 moms from the Canada Moms Blog, are doing just that.
They’re driving a rental vehicle from eastern Canada all the way to Vancouver on the west coast - with a stop planned in Jasper National Park. Sounds like lots of fun!
Bicycle enthusiast-and-a-half Scott Mullin started riding on his birthday on February 21, 2009. He started in Pompano Beach, Florida, USA - the other side of the continent!
He just left Banff National Park on June 25 and then spent a few days riding through and camping in Jasper National Park. On June 28 he rode from Jasper townsite to Hinton, Alberta and will continue all the way to Alaska.
As often happens during peak summer months, travelers are frustrated about the availability of hotels within Jasper National Park.
I’ve been to Yellowstone National Park and the situation is similar. Finding accommodations within Yellowstone National Park can be even harder than Jasper National Park.
As the saying goes, “it is what it is.” If these great parks were full of hotels, they’d be cities.
For travelers planning a visit to Jasper National Park, there are several alternatives to staying in hotels within Jasper:
Stay in Hinton, AB hotels on the eastern border of Jasper National Park.
Stay in a Jasper private home accommodation - Few travelers know about private home accommodations in Jasper National Park. They are not heavily promoted and can be a bargain.
One of Jasper National Park’s top attractions is the Athabasca Glacier, part of the Columbia Icefield, an icefield whose water flows into North America’s major rivers and then on to the Arctic, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
To get a taste for the travel experience, here are some recent videos taken by fellow Jasper National Park travelers riding the Brewster Ice Explorer bus on the Athabasca Glacier. These videos are taken by Jasper National Park travelers with video cameras and the skills to put together a video and share it on YouTube.
One could argue that these videos are a little bit of a spoiler and reveal too much. Don’t worry! In the case of the Athabasca Glacier, anyone who has been there and taken pictures or video will always say that there is no way to truly capture the experience. The scale of the place is beyond comprehension.
So we should thank our fellow camera-toting travel video makers. They provide a taste of the Athabasca Glacier, but it is just a small sample - hopefully motivation for your own Athabasca Glacier experience. If you want a true taste, you can actually eat the snow.
In a recent article on taking the VIA Rail train to Jasper National Park, I looked at what you can expect when taking a VIA Rail train to Jasper and explained the train routes. Let’s now look at what others are saying, starting with trip reports and then finishing with videos.
Hoary Marmots. Now you see them. Now you don’t. Did you hear them whistle?
Yes, marmots earned the nickname “whistlers” from the sounds they make. In Jasper National Park, Whistlers Mountain has whistlers (marmots) living on it. You may spot a few when taking the Jasper Tramway up to the top of the mountain.
The planet has 14 species of marmots (learn about all 14 on the UCLA marmot burrow). The type living in the Canadian Rockies are called “hoary marmots.”
According to the fact sheet here, hoary marmots make 4 kinds of whistling sounds: “ascending calls”, “descending calls”, “flat calls” and “trills”. The whistle sound might be different between the sound made for ground predators and aerial predators.
Play this video to hear a marmot whistling.
Finding Hoary Marmots on Jasper National Park
According to a hoary marmot species profile by Gustav Yaki, the place to find marmots in Alberta is in higher elevations. He says between 2,100-2,450 m (6,800-8,000 ft), usually above the treeline. He points out that marmots are vegetarians and may be eating grasses near their dens if they are not in the midst of their 8-month long hibernation.
Pictures of Hoary Marmots
Keep a look-out at high elevations. You may see a hoary marmot or two.
Are you planning or thinking about a trip to Jasper National Park? This updated selection of online maps of Jasper National Park will help you get oriented fast.
What can you expect when taking a VIA Rail train to Jasper National Park? Lots.
VIA Rail Canada trains are geared towards cross-country travelers and the trains have all sorts of conveniences making for a very relaxing way to see the countryside and get to Jasper National Park.
This video was produced by the Alberta tourism board. It provides an excellent glimpse of the VIA Rail experience in action. One of the passengers is interviewed. Pay very close attention to his name.
