|
With little on offer in town you need to use a bike, car or the shuttle services to get anything out of the area. The obvious trip is on Canada's longest and highest tramway, the Jasper Tramway , 7km south of town on Whistlers Mountain Road, off the Icefields Parkway (daily: April to mid-May and Oct 9.30am-4.30pm; mid-May to early Sept 8.30am-10pm; Sept 9.30am-9pm; $18 return; tel 852-3093). In peak season you may well have a long wait in line for the 2.5-kilometre cable-car ride, whose two thirty-person cars take seven minutes to make the 1000-metre ascent (often with running commentary from the conductor). It leaves you at an interpretive centre, expensive restaurant, and an excellent viewpoint (2285m) where you can take your bearings on much of the park. A steep trail ploughs upwards and onwards to the Whistlers summit (2470m), an hour's walk that requires warm clothes year-round and reveals even more stunning views. A tough but rather redundant ten-kilometre trail follows the route of the tramway from Jasper International Youth Hostel ; if you walk up, you can ride back down for next to nothing. Also near the town, a winding road wends north to Patricia and Pyramid lakes , popular and pretty moraine-dammed lakes about 5km from Jasper and racked full of rental facilities for riding, boating, canoeing, windsurfing and sailing. Food and drink is available locally, but if you're thinking about staying here as a more rural alternative to the townsite the two lakefront lodges are usually heavily booked (the one at Pyramid Lake is open year-round). Short trails, generally accessible from the approach road, include the Patricia Lake Circle, a 4.8-kilometre loop by the Cottonwood slough and creek offering good opportunities for seeing birds and small mammals, like beavers, during early morning and late evening. The island on Pyramid Lake, connected by a bridge to the shore, is an especially popular destination for a day out: continue on the lake road to the end of the lake and you'll find everything a little quieter. Slightly closer to town on the east side of the Athabasca River, Lake Edith and Lake Annette are the remains of a larger lake that once extended across the valley floor. Both are similarly busy day-use areas. Their waters are surprisingly warm - in fact they're the warmest in the park, thanks to the lakes' shallow depth. In summer you can lie out on sandy beaches or grassy areas. A clutch of picnic sites are the only development, and the wheelchair-accessible Lee Foundation Trail meanders around Lake Annette (2.4km). Few other hikes from town are spectacular, but the best of the bunch, the Old Fort Point Loop (6.5km round trip), is recommended. Despite being just thirty minutes out of town, it's remarkably scenic, with 360-degree views and lots of quiet corners. To reach the trailhead (1.6km from town) use the Old Fort Exit, following Hwy 93A across the railway and Hwy 16 until you come to the Old Fort Point-Lac Beauvert turn-off; then turn left and follow the road to the car park beyond the bridge. The Valley of the Five Lakes Trail (4.6km) is also good, but the path starts 10km south of town off the Icefields Parkway. For full details of all park walks, ask at the information centre for the free Day-hiker's Guide to Jasper .
Your Tip for Jasper Tramway and the lakes
Help other backpackers! Write your own guides and backpacking tips to Jasper Tramway and the lakes - they will appear instantly on this page - Please only write a tip/guide to Jasper Tramway and the lakes - visit the main Jasper Tramway and the lakes forum to ask a question!
Please do not post links to your site here (they won't work) - please use the Jasper Tramway and the lakes webguide section below! Thanks.
|
