Staying in Jasper National Park and looking for an easy way to get more out of a Canadian Rockies vacation?
Simply look West towards the big mountain in the sky.
Mt Robson Provincial Park is Jasper National Park’s western neighbor and a simple sidetrip from Jasper National Park. A sidetrip to Mt Robson Park is a great way to expand upon a Canadian Rockies vacation.
Mt Robson Provincial Park is one of the many gems of the Canadian Rockies. The park is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site which includes Jasper National Park, Banff National Park and other Canadian Rockies parks and regions.
Mt Robson Park is in the Canadian province of British Columbia on the other side of Jasper National Park past the western border of Alberta.
Looking across the border, Mt Robson provides an outdoorsy haven away from the crowds of the national parks, a place for the off-the-beaten-path good stuff.
Mt Robson Provincial Park’s Off-the-beaten Path Good Stuff
As the park’s name implies, Mt Robson is defined by a mountain by the name of “Robson”. Mt. Robson is the highest mountain in the Canadian Rockies.
The overwhelmingly wonderful feature of Mt Robson Provincial Park is the scenery.
The best way to enjoy the scenery of Mt Robson Park is by hiking. The park offers a mixture of easy and hard day hiking and some overnight backpacking for the more adventurous.
One popular hike is the Mumm Basin Trail. Hike it to see Berg Lake (pictured below). When a hike takes you to a scene like this picture, the value of visiting Mt Robson becomes clear.
Overnight backpacking hikes reveal other amazing lake scenes and water features.
What to Bring to Mt Robson
If doing a sidetrip from Jasper National Park, bring lunch and maybe dinner and lots of water and spend the day hiking in Mt Robson. The park does have a small visitor center but is absent of much of any facilities – like restaurants and shopping. That keeps away the tourist bus crowds and can be a great justification for having a picnic lunch while hiking – if it’s not raining. Bringing rain gear on hikes in the Canadian Rockies is always a good thing.
How to get to Mt Robson Provincial Park from Jasper National Park
Ok, don’t mess these instructions up. Let’s assume that you are leaving from Jasper townsite, the center of Jasper, on Highway 16 – the Yellowhead Highway.
First, get into a car, preferably one that you own or rent.
Turn your car on.
Get onto Highway 16/Yellowhead Highway. Drive west. In approximately 60 minutes you’ll be at the border of Mt Robson Provincial Park.
Try not to get lost on the way! The scenery along the way will make it a fun drive.
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