Jasper

Sprawling across 11,228 square kilometres (4,335 square miles) of untamed alpine wilderness at the northern end of the Icefields Parkway (Highway 93N), Jasper National Park is the largest national park in the Canadian Rockies, nearly twice the size of its southern neighbour Banff, yet welcoming less than half the annual visitors. Established in 1907 around an 1813 North West Company fur-trading post managed by trapper Jasper Hawes, it forms the northern anchor of the UNESCO Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage Site.

Unlike Banff, where private cars are restricted on several lake roads, in Jasper you can still drive your own vehicle directly to the shores of 22-kilometre-long Maligne Lake (to board the boat to world-famous Spirit Island), across the wooden footbridge to Pyramid Island, and right up to the roaring gorges of Athabasca Falls and Sunwapta Falls. South of town rises the Columbia Icefield and Athabasca Glacier alongside the winged ice wall of Mount Edith Cavell's Angel Glacier, while to the east bubble the 40°C mineral pools of Miette Hot Springs and overhead shines the world's second-largest Dark Sky Preserve. Start with our before-you-go briefing and top things to do in Jasper.

Most travellers reach Jasper by driving the dramatic 232-kilometre Icefields Parkway (Highway 93 North) from Lake Louise and Banff (allowing 5 to 7 hours with sightseeing stops at Peyto Lake, the Columbia Icefield and Athabasca Falls; Sundog Tours also operates a daily sightseeing shuttle bus between Banff, Lake Louise and Jasper). From the east, Edmonton International Airport (YEG) sits 390 kilometres (4 hours on four-lane Highway 16) away, while VIA Rail's legendary transcontinental train ('The Canadian') and the luxury Rocky Mountaineer pull right into downtown Jasper Station on Connaught Drive. See getting to Jasper and how local Jasper Transit and park passes work.

Because Jasper Townsite is a low-rise, three-street railway village surrounded by wilderness, staying along Connaught Drive or Patricia Street lets you walk to every restaurant, bakery, brewery and the train station in 10 minutes. For a serene lakeside cabin retreat just 5 to 10 minutes from town, book at Pyramid Lake Resort, Patricia Lake Bungalows or the historic Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge on turquoise Lac Beauvert. Travelling on a tight budget or booking last-minute in July or August? Look 50 minutes east just outside the park gate in the town of Hinton, where hotel rates are much lower. Compare all options in where to stay in Jasper.

Take the 90-minute panoramic boat cruise down 22-kilometre Maligne Lake to Spirit Island, spot moose and bald eagles along disappearing Medicine Lake and Maligne Canyon, walk to the toe of the Athabasca Glacier (or ride the Ice Explorer) and step onto the glass Columbia Icefield Skywalk, feel the spray of Athabasca Falls and Sunwapta Falls, ride the Jasper SkyTram up Whistlers Mountain, watch sunrise at Pyramid Island, hike the Valley of the Five Lakes, stand beneath Mount Edith Cavell's Angel Glacier, and soak in Miette Hot Springs. Full list in things to do in Jasper.

Jasper's unpretentious mountain dining scene highlights Western Canadian game and berries: grilled Alberta bison tenderloin, braised elk short ribs and venison meatloaf, smoked rainbow trout, warm Saskatoon berry and rhubarb pies at Bear's Paw Bakery, wood-fired backcountry pizzas, and crisp mountain ales brewed right on Connaught Drive at Jasper Brewing Co. (Canada's first national-park brewery, founded in 2005). Read more in our Jasper dining and brewery guide.

Long before railway surveyors crossed the Yellowhead Pass, the Athabasca Valley was home to the Secwépemc, Nehiyawak (Cree), Stoney Nakoda, Anishinaabe and Mountain Métis peoples, whose heritage is honoured today at the Jasper Yellowhead Museum and Indigenous cultural sites along the Athabasca River.