Miette Hot Springs (40°C Hottest Pools in the Rockies) & the Sulphur Skyline Hike

Tucked deep inside the rugged Fiddle River Valley at the eastern end of Jasper National Park (61 kilometres / 1 hour's drive north-east of Jasper Townsite along Highway 16 and winding 17-kilometre Miette Road, open seasonally from early or mid-May to mid-October), Miette Hot Springs offers the ultimate Canadian Rockies two-for-one experience: one of the park's greatest summit ridge hikes starting literally at the front door of the hottest natural mineral springs in the Rockies.

1. Part 1, Hike the 'Sulphur Skyline Trail' First (8.0 km Round-Trip, 3 to 4 Hours, 700m Vertical Gain)

If you want a big-mountain summit view without needing technical scrambling gear, park at Miette Hot Springs in the morning and tackle the Sulphur Skyline Trail, so that the moment you walk down the last step of the trail, you can walk straight into the 40°C hot pools.

• What to Expect on the Trail: packing 700 vertical metres (2,300 feet) of elevation gain into just 4 kilometres one-way means this trail climbs steadily uphill from step one. For the first 2.5 kilometres you hike up a wide, shaded forest path; then, for the final 1.5 kilometres, you step above the treeline onto a steep, open shale ridge. The reward at the 2,050-metre summit cairn is remarkable: an uninterrupted 360-degree panorama over the serrated limestone walls of Utopia Mountain, Ashlar Ridge and the Fiddle River canyon.
• Want an Easy 30-Minute Walk Instead? Do the 'Source of the Springs Trail' (1.2 km Flat): if you skip the summit hike, walk the paved canyon path behind the pool complex past the historic, ruined concrete walls of the 1938 Aquacourt bathhouse right to the steaming rock crevices where 54°C (129°F) geothermal water boils out of the mountain.

2. Part 2, Soak in Miette Hot Springs (4 Pools, 2 Hot & 2 Cold Plunge)

Operated by Parks Canada (check the official site for current admission and towel or swimsuit hire rates), the modern Miette bathhouse features two large outdoor hot mineral pools kept at 37°C and 40°C (98°F and 104°F) alongside two refreshing cold-water plunge pools. Rich in sulphate, calcium, bicarbonate and magnesium, the water bubbles out of three natural rock springs at 54°C (129°F), so hot it has to be cooled down before entering the soaking pools.