Visiting Edmonton and thinking about a day trip? Jasper National Park is a long 3+ hour drive but doable (and worth it!).
Coming into Jasper National Park on Highway 16 through the eastern entrance, you’ll have time for several fun activities.
The first stop could be for a soak at Miette Hot Springs, 51 km west of Hinton, Alberta.
Consider some hiking too. The eastern side of the park has several hiking trails good for day hikes. Even a short 30 minute walk might be nice after all of the driving.
On the way from Edmonton to Jasper, you may want to stop at Hinton to pick up some food for a picnic lunch.
After a stop in Jasper townsite, consider a quick drive up to Pyramid Lake and Patricia Lake or to nearby Lac Beauvert and the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge. Plan to have an early dinner in Jasper townsite before heading back to Edmonton.
Another option is to skip most of the above and instead spend the day on Maligne Road doing the Maligne Canyon Hike and enjoying Maligne Lake activities (like the boat ride or renting a canoe).
Whatever your itinerary, keep a look out for wildlife the whole time. You never know when you’ll spot elk, caribou, deer, bighorn sheep, mountain goats or a black bear. You have a good chance to spot at least one kind of animal (other than humans) during a day trip from Edmonton to Jasper National Park.
This is a trip that can be done anytime of year. A nice post about a wintertime day trip from Edmonton to Jasper here from J on her East of Enid Avenue blog should be plenty of motivation. J’s pictures show an almost unreal world, a true winter wonderland.
Some tips:
Get up extra early
Drink lots of coffee
Take turns driving if you have multiple drivers so everyone can enjoy the scenery
Relax
Have a great day trip to Jasper National Park!
By the way, instead of a day trip from Edmonton, another option is to do all of the above but spend the night in a hotel in Hinton, Alberta. Hinton is close to the eastern entrance and staying there will allow for 2 days of activities.
With many Jasper National Park visitors landing in Edmonton International Airport, talking about West Edmonton Mall makes a lot of sense. After a long flight, walking around West Edmonton Mall for a few hours is a good way to unwind.
And this is no ordinary mall.
It’s the largest mall in North America and was the largest in the world until 2004 (now the 5th largest in the world)!
It is so big, you almost need to plan your itinerary for what to do in the mall before you arrive. Don’t worry, you can get a brochure with a map at the entrance. That’s what 800 stores does to you.
West Edmonton Mall Map
West Edmonton Mall even has a few theme areas. I thought the Chinatown area was pretty cool. It is a collection of a handful of shops in its own wing. For a moment, you feel like you’re in another world. Then you exit Chinatown back into the main mall and again realize you ARE in another world. Then, head to the Bourbon Street and Europe Boulevard theme areas for something entirely different.
And then there’s the indoor attractions: ice skating, amusement park, waterpark, minigolf, and a whole lot more. But that’s another story for another time.
After all of the walking around the mall, you need a treat. The list of dessert places in West Edmonton Mall is seemingly endless.
A Piece of Cake
B Sweet
Baskin Robbins
Cinnamons
Cinnzeo
Cookies By George
Cosmo’s Snacks
Dream Tea House
Galaxy Ice Cream and Frozen Yogurt
Galaxy Treats
Gelati Napoli
Kernels
Maple Sugar Shack, The
Purdy’s Chocolates
Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory
Second Cup
Starbucks Coffee Company
Tea Art
Tim Hortons
Yogen Früz
Yogi’s Yogurt
And if you find this place so amazing that you want to spend the night, there are 2 hotels on-site: Fantasyland Hotel and West Edmonton Mall Inn.
Astoria Hotel is a 35-room hotel conveniently located on 404 Connaught Drive, the main road in Jasper townsite,…a little hotel in the little town within the big Jasper National Park.
Besides the location, Astoria Hotel offers the convenience and delight of Papa George’s restaurant and the fun of the uncommonly named De’d Dog Bar and Grill on the premises.
While Astoria Hotel gets mixed reviews, I think it has to do with expectations. I think it is mostly because of the cost and the small size of the rooms.
If you are looking to spend all day in your hotel room, this is not the best place to do it. If you just want a basic place to stay after a day of Jasper National Park adventures, Astoria Hotel is plenty suitable – and a lot more comfortable than camping.
With the limited number of hotels within Jasper, the prices creep up. During the peak summer months, Astoria Hotel is a lot of money for what it is, but less than many other Jasper hotels. You’re paying for convenience.
If you’ve ever stayed in New York City, you know that supply and demand do a lot to hotel prices and that old buildings often mean small rooms. That’s what is going on in Jasper and at this and other hotels in the park. It is what it is. Personally, I don’t want to see any more hotels in the park because it would mean too many people would visit and make it crowded.
After a long day of hiking and sightseeing, you’ll surely be thankful to have a cozy bed to sleep in. I’ve stayed in plenty of charming hotels and I find them refreshing compared to the big hotel chains, but that’s just me.
See prices for Astoria Hotel here. Staying in hotels in Jasper National Park can be pricey during the peak summer season regardless of the hotel. Compare Jasper National Park hotel prices to find the best deal. Then again, there are other ways to get your trips hotel costs down, such as spending a night in a hotel in Hinton, Alberta, past the eastern entrance to Jasper National Park.
If you plan to visit Jasper National Park during summer, you must be thinking about hiking. Short hikes, long day hikes, and overnight backpacking trips abound in Jasper, Banff, Mt Robson and the other regional parks of the Canadian Rockies.
To get the most out of hiking, pre-vacation hiking preparation goes a long way to increasing your enjoyment.
If you’re thinking about hiking, I encourage you to try to do step up your training at home as far before vacation as you can. By preparing for hiking ahead of time, you can build up your endurance and your muscles. You can use training to avoid being completely exhausted after a short hike and to avoid injuries or dangerous situations on long backpacking trips.
Skyline Trail in Jasper
Training for hiking is easy. Just walk. One foot in front of the other.
Practice walking short distances to build up your endurance for longer trails. Start with short distances around the neighborhood or at a mall or on the treadmill at the gym. Envision the Discovery Trail around Jasper or the Maligne Canyon trail on the way to Maligne Lake or Wilcox Pass near the icefields. Then progress to longer distances. By the time you visit Jasper, you’re in top form and ready for all the Canadian Rockies have to offer.
I’d suggest writing your training down on a calender, whether you’re walking around the neighborhood or using the treadmill at the gym. Seeing it written on a calendar can be motivating.
When you train for hiking at home, remember that you’ll be wearing a backpack in while hiking in Jasper. If you have a chance while training, try to wear a backpack with a weight similar to what you’d expect to carry in the Canadian Rockies.
If you need motivation, here’s a video from YouTube of scenes from the Skyline Trail. You DO NOT want to have to turn around because you are tired on a trail like this in Jasper and Banff.
For longer backpacking trips where you may hike 6, 8 or 12 hours a day for several days in a row, obviously a different level of training is required and you’ll really need to work on endurance so you can avoid collapsing from exhausting half-way through!
Let’s talk skiing and snowboarding videos shot at Marmot Basin Ski Resort in Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada, North America, Earth.
This first video is a Marmot Basin official promotional video. Well, it’s not really promotional…it just shows some good skiing and snowboarding action.
Have you heard about the new ski lift at Marmot Basin, the “Canadian Rockies Express”?
The Canadian Rockies Express, the longest quad chairlift in the Canadian Rockies, opened for the 09/10 ski season. Now you can experience it virtually through a 4 minute 29 seconds video taken from in a lift chair. The fast motion video shows going up to the top and then back down again. Normally it takes about 7 1/2 minutes to get to the top.
Riding the new lift looks like fun.
The ride travels 2,300 meters (1.5 mi). As shown on the latest Marmot Basin trail map, the new lift covers a lot of ground fast.
Natalie Lucier created this 3:55 minute video of scenes atop Marmot Basin ski area overlooking the surrounding Canadian Rockies in Jasper National Park. As she says in the video “mountains, mountains, and more mountains.”
All I can say is “Wow”.
While Marmot Basin ski area is only open during winter, an equally spectacular view can be had from nearby Whistlers mountain. Take the Jasper Tramway up Whistlers mountain during summer and then there’s a short hike to the top.
Marmot Basin has web cams hooked up around the ski area so that people like us, surfing on the web, can look and dream about visiting, skiing and snowboarding.
Take a look.
See what’s happening at Marmot Basin this very minute. See the skiers and snowboarders and the weather conditions. Wish you were there.
That’s what I’m doing.
Marmot Basin has 86 named trails for a variety of skill levels. Check out the trail map.
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