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Although traditionally viewed as the second-ranking of the Rockies' big-four parks after Banff, JASPER NATIONAL PARK covers an area greater than Banff, Yoho and Kootenay combined (10,878 square kilometres), and looks and feels far wilder and less commercialized than its southern counterparts. Its backcountry is more extensive and less travelled, and Jasper Townsite (or Jasper), the only settlement, is more relaxed and far less of a resort than Banff and has just half Banff's population. Most pursuits centre on Jasper and the Maligne Lake area about 50km southeast of the townsite. Other key zones are Maligne Canyon , on the way to the lake; the Icefields Parkway (covered in the previous section); and the Miette Hot Springs region, an area well to the east of Jasper and visited for its springs and trails. The park's backcountry is a vast hinterland scattered with countless rough campsites and a thousand-kilometre trail system considered among the best in the world for backpackers. Opportunities for day and half-day-hikes are more limited and scattered than in other parks. Most of the shorter strolls from the townsite are just low-level walks to forest-circled lakes; the best of the more exciting day-hikes start from more remote points off the Maligne Lake road, Icefields Parkway (Hwy 93) and Yellowhead Highway (Hwy 16).
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