Jasper National Park can be just of piece of a great Alberta, Canada vacation. According to the Alberta Government, there are 600 lakes, 245 rivers, more than 78,000 square kilometers of parkland, 275 golf courses, 6 ski resorts, 66 regional ski hills and 2330 hours of sunshine annually. That means there’s a lot of nature beyond Jasper National Park.
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.
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Many visitors to Canada wrongly assume that healthcare is free here, and therefore they don’t need travel insurance. If you are a non-resident of Canada, you will be presented with a bill for any medical services that you access; travel insurance is definitely a better option; a trip to the emergency room can quickly run into the hundreds, if not thousands of dollars.