For those planning a trip to the Canadian Rockies with a stop in Edmonton, the West Edmonton Mall waterpark is a perfect way to unwind after a long plane ride or drive.  A visit the amazing 15-acre indoor waterpark at West Edmonton Mall offers hours of fun any time of the year.

Click here to view the embedded video.

To take a rest from it all, there are pools and hot tubs for relaxing.   Spend time in the Blue Thunder Wave Pool – the largest indoor wave pool in the world.

For the more adventurous, the West Edmonton Mall World Waterpark has 17 waterslides and rides – from beginner level to extreme.  The waterpark even has an indoor bungee jump, the largest of its kind in the world.

For waterpark is easy to get to.  Just go to West Edmonton Mall and try to park on the 87th Avenue side near on the west side near 178th St NW.  The waterpark is hard to miss.

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And within West Edmonton Mall is something unexpected:  an indoor amusement park called GalaxyLand.

GalaxyLand is the world’s largest indoor amusement park.

You don’t have to go on any rides or pay admission to walk through the amusement park. I found myself staring at the roller coaster, wondering how they crammed such a big ride into a small space. I didn’t dare ride it, but it looked like riders were having fun.

The Mind Bender Roller Coast is a triple loop roller coast, and the world’s largest indoor triple loop roller coaster to boot.

Here’s what it looks like from afar:

Click here to view the embedded video.

And here’s a good helmet cam video from a front-row vantage point.  It really gives an idea about what the ride is all about.

Click here to view the embedded video.

GalaxyLand is no one-hit-wonder with the roller coaster.  If the Mindbender Roller Coaster looks to be too much for you, try the Galaxy Orbiter, a smaller roller coaster that spins as it reaches a top speed of 30 MPH.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

GalaxyLand has a bunch of indoor rides that make the big North America outdoor amusement parks jealous.   The GalaxyLand Cosmic Spinner is another fun ride.

Click here to view the embedded video.

And then there’s the GalaxyLand Solar Flare which spins around like a ferris wheel, but a whole lot better.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Or, shoot straight into the air with the Space Shot.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The amusement park has plenty of easier rides and kiddie rides to keep everyone happy.

If you had any doubt, yes, GalaxyLand does have a carousel.

Did I mention this is all inside of a mall? How’s that for a Jasper National Park sidetrip?

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.

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.

Check out the West Edmonton Mall website.

After all of this shopping within the mall, the contrast of visiting Jasper National Park afterward is  greatly intensified.

Related posts:

1. Visiting with Bighorn Sheep at Miette Hot Springs, Jasper National Park

1. Fly into Edmonton, Alberta, the nearest airport (a 4 hour drive away from Jasper).
2. Instead of driving, hop on the Via Rail Snow Train to Jasper National Park.
3. Chill aboard the train.
4. Arrive at Jasper train station. Catch a ride to your hotel (some are in walking distance, others have shuttles).
5. Chill.
6. In the morning, take a free shuttle to Marmot Basin.
7. Snowboard or ski until your legs feel like chopped meat.
8. Catch the shuttle back to your hotel.
9. Chill in the pool or hot tub.
10. Repeat as much as you can (Go back to step 6).
11. Do a side trip like the Maligne Canyon Ice Walk.
12. Head back home.

This video by RideGuide introduces some of the concepts above and does a nice job of showing riding at Marmot:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBosE5LIIUY

Have a nice trip.

Many skiers from far away fly into the nearest major airport in Edmonton, Alberta, and then drive the 4-5 hours to Jasper National Park.  That’s a long drive.

If you want to avoid driving a rental car in the snow, consider taking a bus.

Daily bus services run from Edmonton to Jasper in the winter.  SunDog Tours, MagicBus and Greyhound Bus can get you from Edmonton to Jasper National Park so you can go skiing without worrying about driving.

SunDog is in the $100-130 range each way per person from Edmonton to Jasper during ski season. MagicBus is similar but has several lift ticket and hotel package options.  Greyhound is around $100 roundtrip in winter, depending on options and dates.  Either way, you can take in the scenery and maybe even take a nap.

Once at your Jasper hotel, a free shuttle runs 3 times a day in winter to take you from the Jasper hotels to Marmot Basin.

If you do want a rental car in Jasper, the Jasper train station has car rental places in it and a few other places are in town.

I’ve been to Yellowstone National Park in the US and the situation is similar.  In fact, 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.

Luckily, for the adventurous types, many hotel alternatives can give you a good enough place to sleep.

For travelers planning a visit to Jasper National Park, there are several alternatives to staying in hotels within Jasper:

1. Stay in Hinton, AB hotels on the eastern border of Jasper National Park.
2. Stay in Valemount, BC near Mt Robson Provincial Park, an hour from Jasper’s western border.
3. Stay in Banff National Park, on Jasper’s southern border.
4. Try camping in Jasper National Park in a tent or bring an RV.
5. 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.

Or, do a combination of the above. Start on one side of the Canadian Rockies and then make your way across. Maybe start from Yoho National Park, spend a day or 2 in Banff National Park, then hit Jasper and maybe exit out at Mt Robson or head the other way to Edmonton.

I have the nightmare a lot lately. My suitcase is about 8 years old. Part of the zipper looks like it is falling apart after years of rough handling.

You may be in your airplane on the way to Jasper National Park and look out on the runway at underwear blowing in the wind. If you see a pair of boxer shorts with black bear pictures on it, those are mine.

Really.

Question: How do you prevent losing your underwear when flying to Jasper, Alberta, Canada?

Answer: Shop around for the right luggage.

I’ve been to the Walmart’s, the Sears and the JC Penney’s and then to the fancier, upscale department stores like Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, Lord and Taylor’s or similar looking for luggage. Walmart, to be fair, is not known for its quality. I prefer avoiding a cheap suitcase because of my nightmare – the zipper breaking and my underwear all over the floor in the airport.

Macy’s? Macy’s has nice luggage. But, if I spend $200, $300 or more on a designer suitcase at Macy’s, I won’t have money left over for that plane ticket to Edmonton or Calgary airport! Thanks, but no thanks.

I need to buy luggage from a store with selection. I want to buy an individual suitcase that meets my specific needs. And I’m sick of driving around store to store.

What’s the best place for luggage? None of the above.

I prefer to shop online at a luggage specialty store with a huge inventory and good prices. eBags.com fits the bill.

I’ve personally used eBags a few times in years past. I bought 2 backpacks. One is a smaller daypack for hiking and the other is a super-duper laptop computer backpack that I use daily. Both were names brands. The prices were the lowest – or at least the lowest I could find from a seller with a reputation. eBags has free shipping offers too.

Instead of a carry-on suitcase, I like to carry-on a large backpack. I’ll use the backpack while hiking in Jasper or bringing a picnic lunch to the Goats and Glaciers lookout point on the Icefield Parkway in Jasper.

eBags provides lots of product photos. This is handy. knowing what the inside of a backpack looks like is important. Most websites fail to take enough pictures. eBags shows you what you’re getting. You end up with the features you need – not something you’ll regret and return.

But I still need a new suitcase.

In their rolling luggage category, eBags currently lists 327 items – more than any department store, it seems. Almost half of those eBags suitcases are under $100 (USD).

The choices can be further refined by filtering by trip duration. 3 day trips show smaller suitcases and 7 day trips show big suitcases. Cool.

• Tip: Because Jasper National Park has cooler weather even in the summer, be prepared for packing some pants, jeans and long sleeve shirts alongside some shorts and short sleeve shirts.

For suitcases alone, the list of brands eBags carries is comprehensive:
• A. Saks
• American Tourister
• Bric’s
• Briggs & Riley
• Case Logic
• CIAO
• Claiborne Luggage
• Delsey
• Dockers Luggage
• Eagle Creek
• eBags
• Heys USA
• High Sierra
• International Traveller
• Johnston & Murphy
• Kenneth Cole Reaction Business and Luggage
• Olympia
• Osprey
• Pathfinder
• Pierre Cardin
• Ricardo Beverly Hills
• Rimowa
• Samsonite
• Skyway
• Titan Luggage
• Travelon
• Travelpro
• Tumi

The list of backpack brands is even longer! It is fun to look through all of the products and pictures. Once you find the perfect piece of luggage, it is time to order.

eBags provides several ways to pay and ships to Canada and the United States (and there’s a separate UK web store too):

• Regular Checkout – this is for US orders paid by Credit Card
• “Canadian Checkout” – this form is for Canadian residents who want to order from eBags.
• Paypal – which is easy and Ebay users certainly are familiar with it.
• Google Checkout – which I haven’t tried yet

Once the payment method is chosen, the rest of the checkout process is easy.

If you need to buy luggage for your trip to Jasper and you don’t want to lose your underwear, be sure to check out eBags.

Bonus tip: If you really want to do your homework, grab the suitcase model name from Ebags and do a Google search.  You may find it on Amazon or another online retailer for cheaper.

Both Edmonton Airport and Calgary Airport are large, full-service international airports served by several airlines and car rental agencies. Their locations make them good choices for various types of Jasper National Park vacation itineraries.

Edmonton International Airport

Edmonton International Airport (YEG) serves 50 non-stop domestic, U.S. and international destinations. I found it to be an easy airport to navigate. Just get off the plane and follow the clear signs to baggage pick-up.

Most of the major airlines and several regionals fly into Edmonton International Airport on a regular basis. Some fly in several times a day while others only a few times a week. These are the airlines:

• Air Canada/Jazz *
• Air North *
• Air Transat *
• Alaska Airlines *
• Canadian North *
• Central Mountain Air *
• Delta Airlines *
• First Air
• Horizon Air *
• Integra Air
• Martinair *
• Mexicana Airlines
• My Travel
• Northwest Airlines *
• Northwestern Air Lease
• SkyService *
• Sunwing Airlines *
• U.S. Airways *
• United Airlines *
• WestJet *

The rental car agencies in Edmonton Airport are Avis*, Hertz*, Budget*, Thrifty*, and National*.

Driving from Edmonton Airport to Jasper National Park

The drive from Edmonton to Jasper is an easy 3 hours and 27 minutes to 4 hours with a few places to stop for a stretch or meal along the way – like Edson and Hinton. Highway 16 is straight and flat from Edmonton all the way to Hinton. There’s little traffic outside of Edmonton. After Hinton, the Canadian Rockies start creeping up and the scenery changes to snow-capped mountains.

If your flight arrives late in the evening, it may be better to spend the night in Edmonton to get a good night’s rest. Then, do the Edmonton to Jasper drive in the morning. If time permits in Edmonton, the West Edmonton Mall is an adventure in itself.

Another option is to split the Edmonton to Jasper drive in two. The first night, drive halfway to Jasper, staying the night in the small town of Edson, Alberta. Edson has plenty of hotels and dining options. Then, wake up early and you’ll only be 1 1/2 to 2 hours from the Jasper National Park east entrance and Miette Hot Springs.

Calgary International Airport

For Banff National Park to Jasper National Park vacations, Calgary International Airport (YYC) makes a great starting point. Calgary, Alberta is best known for the Calgary Stampede, the famous Canadian stampede/festival that runs for 10 days every July. Calgary stays fun the rest of the year with museums, dining, the Calgary Tower, Calgary Zoo, Calgary Olympic Park, and many other activities.

Calgary Airport is about 1 1/2 hours to Banff village. Lake Louise is a short drive from that. Spend some time in Banff National Park and then go to Jasper National Park, adjacent to Banff on the north. Then head back to Calgary or head east to Edmonton.

Airlines flying into Calgary International Airport:

• Air Canada/Jazz *
• Air North *
• Air Transat *
• Alaska Airlines *
• American Airlines
• British Airways
• Canadian North *
• Central Mountain Air *
• Condor
• Continental Airlines
• Delta Connection *
• Excel Airways
• Fly Globe Span
• Frontier Airlines
• Horizon Air *
• Martinair *
• Monarch
• Northwest Airlines *
• Pacific Coastal
• Skyservice *
• Sunwing Airlines *
• Thomas Cook
• U.S. Airways *
• United Airlines *
• WestJet *
• Zoom

Cargary Airport Rental Car Agencies

The following are the on-site rental car agencies at Calgary International Airport:

• Alamo, Avis*, Budget*, Dollar Rent-A-Car, Enterprise, Hertz*, National* and Thrifty*

I’ve had good luck with HotWire.com for car rentals and have scored prices below Orbitz, Travelocity and the likes. HotWire seems to lack a way to request open-jaw/multi-city car rentals though. CheapTickets.com is a place to find good multi-city car rental options.

Before you buy airline tickets

Plan to have a great time. But be prepared in the slight chance tickets need to be canceled.

First, be cognizant of flight cancellation rules. Ticket rules vary greatly – with low price tickets having the least flexibility. If you end up needing to change dates, sometimes the terms and conditions impose a minor penalty. Other times, a ticket’s terms and conditions can say “no cancellation, no changes, no refunds.”

Next, have peace of mind. An easy way to have peace of mind is to purchase some form of flight insurance. While exact rules vary, most flight insurance policies provide reimbursement in the event of sickness or certain types of emergencies. Some airlines and flight search websites offer it. Others don’t. There are also independent travel insurance providers who provide extended/custom coverage at a price. I’ve paid around $20 per ticket for insurance in the past.

Enjoy your Jasper National Park and Alberta, Canada travel adventure.

Alberta is also home to 5 of Canada’s 13 UNESCO World Heritage sites – Jasper National Park being one of them. TravelAlberta provides an itinerary for doing all 5 in 14 days. Be forewarned, the total distance is 1890 km/1181 mi. That’s a lot of driving! There’s another option.

Another itinerary is to just see 2 of the sites in 14 days. Fly into Edmonton, drive to Jasper National Park, then drive to Banff National Park and then fly out of Calgary. (For the rodeo fan, plan to arrive in Calgary for a day or two of the famous Calgary stampede in July.) This makes for a nice way to get a lot of the best of Alberta travel in at once without being rushed.

Edmonton is contrasting experience after visiting Jasper. It’s a modern city with a mall that is like a theme park. Wait, West Edmonton Mall actually does have both a small theme park and a water park in it. Then there’s the ice skating rink, mini-golf, a pirate ship and a dolphin/penguin show. All of this and stores and restaurants too.

Banff is just over the southern border of Jasper National Park. Banff is known for Lake Louise and lots of mountains. Jasper Journal is admittedly biased toward Jasper National Park.

Alberta is the only Canadian province without a sales tax. The lowest gasoline taxes in Canada are in Alberta, so driving a car or RV is cheaper here too.