There are many exciting activities to keep you occupied on a visit to Jasper National Park. Here are a few of the more popular tours and attractions in Jasper Alberta.
Marmot Basin Ski Area
If you are visiting Jasper during the winter months, then you are probably coming to ski or snowboard at Jasper’s own ski resort, Marmot Basin. The ski area is located 20 minutes from the town of Jasper and boasts 84 runs, equally distributed between beginner, intermediate and advanced terrain. One of the best things about skiing at Marmot Basin is the lack of people, which means virtually no lift lines and plenty of room to move around on the slopes. The ski hill also has a variety of mountain restaurants and a coffee bar.
www.skimarmot.com
Columbia Icefield
One of the highlights of any visit to Jasper or Banff National Park is a tour of the Athabasca Glacier at the Columbia Icefield Visitors’ Centre. The Columbia Icefield lies 108km south of Jasper on the superbly scenic Icefields Parkway. Once there, you can take a tour on the Ice Explorer, which is a large all terrain bus that takes you up onto the glacier itself while the driver gives you interpretive information about the geological characteristics of the surroundings. You even get the chance to step out onto the glacier itself – not to be missed!
www.explorerockies.com
Jasper Sightseeing Tours
For many visitors, the main reason to visit Jasper National Park, is to take in the sheer beauty of the Canadian Rockies scenery. One of the best ways to do this is on a guided tour. Sundog Transportation and Tours offer a variety of tours during the summer and winter months including sightseeing tours, train tours, boat cruises, gondola rides, whitewater rafting, dog sledding and heliskiing.
www.sundogtours.com
Maligne Canyon
Maligne Canyon is located around 10 minutes drive from Jasper and is a very pleasant hike which usually takes between 1 and 1.5 hours one way. The scenery through the canyon is beautiful with several waterfalls and bridges giving you a tremendous perspective into the deep canyon. The trail starts at the Maligne Canyon restaurant and gift shop, where there is also a gallery with an excellent collection of Native Indian and Inuit art.
www.malignecanyon.com
www.eastudiosjasper.com
Helicopter Sightseeing Tours
Located east of the Icefields Parkway between Lake Louise and Jasper, Icefield Helicopter Tours offer a spectacular bird’s eye view of the Canadian Rockies. Whether you choose the Cline Glacier Tour (20 mins), the Wilson Glacier Tour (25 mins) or the Columbia Icefield Tour (55 mins), you’ll be treated to breathtaking mountain scenery which simply cannot be fully appreciated from the road. Open year round.
www.icefieldheli.com
Walks & Talks Jasper
Interpretive walks and hikes at a leisurely pace in Jasper National Park. Small groups are lead by certified guides who are long time residents of Jasper. Trips are offered year round, with the selection changing depending on the season.
www.walksntalks.com
Athabasca Glacier Ice Walks
For a self propelled visit to the Columbia Icefield, energetic visitors can choose to walk onto the Athabasca Glacier with trained glacier guides. These ice walks allow you to enjoy impressive ice formations and magnificent glacier views with an interpretive guide on either a 3 hour or 6 hour tour.
www.icewalks.com
Whitewater Rafting
Whitewater rafting is an exciting way to explore some of the magnificent waterways of the Canadian Rockies. Jasper’s Whitewater Rafting offers guided class 2 rafting on the Athabasca River (2 or 3.5 hour trips), or class 3 rafting on the Sunwapta River (2 hour trip).
www.raftingjasper.ca
Raft Tours
For a mild adventure for the whole family, a float trip along the Athabasca River offers a comfortable ride for toddlers, seniors and everyone in between. This 2.5 hour trip with interpretive guide will allow you to enjoy this old fur trader route at a relaxed pace.
www.jasperrafttours.com
Jasper Tramway
To access outstanding mountain and lake views without climbing a mountain yourself, you cannot beat the Jasper Tramway. You will be accompanied on the 7 minute Tram cabin ride by an interpretive guide who will teach you about the surrounding area and its wildlife. At the top you can walk along the boardwalks, visit the restaurant and shop, or go hiking on the trails.
www.jaspertramway.com
Airplane Tours
There is no better way to get a real perspective of the sheer vastness of the Canadian Rockies than to view them from the air. Air Jasper offer two outstanding sightseeing tours – The Maligne Lake & Columbia Icefields Air Tour, or the Mount Robson & Amethyst Lake Air Tour. Whichever you choose, in an hour or two you’ll see scenery that most people will never see as it would otherwise require travelling for weeks on foot in highly inaccessible terrain.
www.airjasper.com
