Friday, 12 July
Drive from Columbia Icefield Discovery Center to Hinton, AB
Overnight lows were in the low-40s, and daytime highs were in the mid-70s. Today, we travel 174 miles through the beautiful Jasper National Park to Hinton, Alberta, which was just east of Jasper, Alberta.
We left the Columbia Icefields Discovery Centre parking lot around 9 am and drove north on Icefield Parkway past mountainous landscapes dominated by the rugged peaks of the Canadian Rockies. We followed the Athabasca River which flowed from the Athabasca Glacier most of the way.
Athabasca Falls
Athabasca Falls is a stunning waterfall located approximately 30 kilometers south of Jasper, just off the Icefields Parkway (Highway 93A)1. The falls are 75 feet high but are known for their powerful flow. The water cascades over a layer of hard quartzite and through softer limestone, creating a dramatic gorge and several potholes.
Jasper
When we reached Jasper, we parked in a RV parking lot and we walked through the downtown area.
Jasper is a small mountain town of about 5,000 people surrounded by beautiful mountains and glacier-fed lakes. It lies at the intersection of Highway 16 (Yellowhead Highway) and Highway 93 (Icefields Parkway). The Athabasca River meanders through the town. It lies between the Victoria Cross Ranges (northwest), Pyramid Mountain (north), Maligne Range (southeast) and Trident Ridge (southwest). The lakes nearby include Pyramid Lake, Patricia Lake, Lake Annette, Lake Edith, Lac Beauvert, Maligne Lake, and Medicine Lake.
The downtown area was full of retail and gift shops, restaurants, and hotels catering to the tourists.
Some of the attractions downtown include the Two Brothers Totem Pole, which tells the story of an unusual connection between the west coast islands of Haida Gwaii and the Rocky Mountains. The Jasper Park Information Centre was located in a rustic-style log and stone building constructed in 1913-1914 and was originally the park administration building. There were some interesting exhibits outside, but they were fenced off. Other downtown attractions included Jasper the Bear, the Old Firehall, and Heritage Railway Center.
We decided to get a Beaver Tail before we left. Beaver Tails are delicious, whole-wheat pastries stretched out into an oval shape and served piping hot. They are similar to flat donuts and are typically topped with various sweet toppings like cinnamon sugar, chocolate, fruit, or even ice cream. We got a Classic that was covered with cinnamon sugar.
Hinton/Jasper KOA
The campground was 43 miles north of Jasper on Highway 16 (Yellowhead Highway). The highway continued to parallel the Athabasca River, with high mountain peaks on both sides.
We arrived at the campground around 4:30 p.m. and were assigned site #068, a pull-thru site with gravel. We were right across from the washroom, but we never used it since we had full hookups. The sites were close together.
Laundry
We needed to do some laundry, and the campground laundry was already busy, so we decided to drive into Hinton 6 miles north of us. Hinton was a city of about 10,000 people located in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains on the south bank of the Athabasca River. It began as a coal-mining and railway town in the early 1900s. In 1957, Alberta’s first pulp mill in Hinton, and a new town blossomed. The mill remains the town’s largest employer, but coal is still a cornerstone of the community’s economy. However, of three mines in operation in the 1970s and 1980s, only one is in operation today.
We drove to West Rock Cleaners. It was a small laundromat, but the lady running it micromanaged everything and ensured everyone was efficient. She was very friendly and ensured everyone knew how to operate the washing machines, how much time was needed to dry your clothes in the dryer, that clothes were removed as soon as they were done, and that the tables were clean. She talked non-stop with us and told us about the locals and the local politics. She was a hoot!
Saturday, 13 July
Beaver Boardwalk
There were overnight lows in the mid-40s and daytime highs in the high-60s. It was very overcast, and rain was a threat.
The Beaver Boardwalk, the world’s longest freshwater boardwalk, showcases the local wetland system around Maxwell Lake. The attraction features more than three kilometers of the boardwalk, seating areas, and interpretive signs. The number of beavers varies from year to year, but at times, there are upwards of a dozen in the area. The best time to see the beavers is in the early morning or evening.
The boardwalk was 11 minutes up the road and was misty and cold when we arrived. After walking around on the boardwalk, we kept watch over the pond from an elevated platform. We eventually caught sight of a beaver carrying a branch to his house in the middle of the pond. We stayed for about an hour and saw the beaver several more times. We also saw some ducks swimming around the pond and had a couple of pesky squirrels close behind us in the trees.
Yellowhead Highway
The road between Jasper and Hinton follows the Athabasca River. The Yellowhead Highway (CA-16) was named after a trapper who frequently used the pass and was nicknamed “Yellow Head” because of his blonde hair.
There were several viewpoints of the Athabasca River along the way. Some had signs naming mountains on either side of the valley.
One stop was at the site of the Jasper House. For almost half a century, Jasper House was the central stopping place for fur traders using the Athabasca and Yellowhead passes and an important meeting place for adventurers, voyageurs, artists, and missionaries. There is no “house” at this site anymore, but there is a short trail there that took us to the shores of the Athabasca River. We really enjoyed the wildflowers along the pathway. A small plaque sat near the parking area.
Cold Sulpher Springs and Emerald Pond were other interesting stops. The sulfur springs were small and little more than a baby blue puddle of stinky water. Nearby was an emerald-green pond that reflected the nearby hills in its smooth waters.
We found some mule deer near the road as we continued further south.
Pyramid Lake Road
We passed the Jasper sign and took CA-16A to Pyramid Lake Road, just north of the city. We saw a bear and two cubs on the hillside just before our turn. They were already drawing a traffic jam, so we quickly moved on. We were surprised to see bears so close to town.
The first lake we saw was Patricia Lake. We stopped at an overlook and enjoyed the views of the lake with Pyramid Mountain in the background. We then hiked a 3-mile loop trail from the parking lot along the shoreline and then through a forest of Douglas fir.
In 1943, Patricia Lake was the site of a bizarre WWII project called Operation Habakkuk. This project unsuccessfully attempted to build an unsinkable aircraft carrier out of ice and sawdust. The plan was abandoned when the ship, unsurprisingly, melted, and the wooden supports sunk to the bottom of the lake, where they remain a favorite haunt of visiting scuba divers.
We continued up the road to Pyramid Lake, driving to the end of the road that followed the shore of the lake. We then returned to Pyramid Lake Bungalows, parked the truck, and walked down to the water. Some Adirondack chairs were on the dock, but they were all full, so we sat at one of the benches along the shore and ate our picnic lunch.
Maligne Lake Road
We then went south of Jasper to visit the many glacial lakes on Maligne Lake Road.
We first explored a cluster of beautiful lakes just a short distance from Jasper. We first drove by Lake Annette and Lake Edith. We parked near Lake Annette’s and walked around on its beaches. The poor weather was taking its toll on the kayak vendor there. We then drove a short distance to Mildred Lake on the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge grounds. The lodge was quite vast, and we got lost driving through it. Beauvert Lake was right next to the lodge.
Medicine Lake
We then continued to Medicine Lake, about 30 minutes from Jasper. Medicine Lake is a 7-kilometre-long, narrow body of water in the Maligne Valley Watershed. It is not an actual lake but rather an area where the Maligne River backs up, much like a bathtub filled too fast for it to drain. The water then disappears underground as a losing stream to many of the area’s lakes and rivers.
We stopped at several overlooks on the lake, and one of them gave us a great view of an eagle nest with an eagle in it.
Maligne Lake
We then continued to Maligne Lake, the largest natural lake in Jasper and the Canadian Rockies. Maligne Lake is famed for the color of its azure water, the surrounding peaks, the three glaciers visible from the lake, and Spirit Island, a frequently and very famously photographed islet. Boat tours are very popular.
Maligne Lake is approximately 14 miles long and is 318 ft at its deepest point. It sits at an elevation of 5,480 ft. It is fed and drained by the Maligne River, which enters the lake on its south side and drains the lake to the north. Maligne Lake, as well as Maligne River, Maligne Mountain, and Maligne Pass, takes its name from the French word for malignant or wicked. The name was used by Father Pierre-Jean De Smet (1801–1873) to describe the turbulent river that flows from the lake in the spring. It is also possible that early French traders applied the name to the river for its treacherous confluence with the Athabasca River.
The parking lot was small and packed, so we turned around here after snapping some pictures from the truck.
Staff Prepared Cookout
From 4-6 pm, the wagonmaster and tail gunner prepared us a dinner of pulled pork, potato salad, mac salad, and green salad at the pavilion.
Miette Hot Springs Road
After dinner, we drove down the scenic Miette Hot Springs Road, a 17-km road known for frequent wildlife sightings. It was a narrow, winding road heavily wooded with peaks in the surrounding mountainous terrain.
About a mile down the road, there was a pull-off to see the Punch Bowl Falls. The falls are easily accessible via a short, well-maintained trail, and you will cross a short wooden bridge before reaching the falls. Here, you will see a small flowing creek and bowls carved by erosion into the rock face.
We continued down the Fiddle River Valley, which got its name either from the wind, which sometimes sounds like a fiddle in a strong wind or because the Fiddle Range outline resembles a violin. There was a pull-off farther up the valley with information signs about this phenomenon, but we were unable to recognize any fiddle sounds, albeit the wind was not strong.
The road ended at Miette Hot Springs Resort, which has the hottest hot springs in the Canadian Rockies. We did not stop to look around, but it looked busy. We turned around at that point and returned to the campground.