Jasper

A glacial lake about an hour southeast of town, with the islet of Spirit Island sitting on the water. No trail reaches the viewpoint facing the island; only the summer cruise boat gets you there.

A deep, narrow slot cut into limestone, viewed from a series of bridges strung across the top. The 2024 wildfire burned the forest around it, so some bridges and trail sections may be shut; read the park notices before going.

A waterfall that overwhelms by volume rather than height, forcing the river through a narrow gap in hard quartzite. Stairs lead down into a dry rock channel the water abandoned long ago, which you can walk through.

A tongue of ice flowing off the Columbia Icefield, close enough to the road to walk up to its toe. Along the trail up from the parking lot, year markers show where the ice ended in the past, so the walk itself measures the melt.

A lake that drains through sinkholes in its limestone bed, full in summer and nearly dry by autumn. Come back to the same viewpoint in September and only a thin stream winds across the mud.

The hottest springs in the Canadian Rockies, with the water cooled before it fills the outdoor pools. They lie where a valley ends, an hour's drive from town, and shut down in winter; bathing is possible from late spring, all summer, until autumn.

A cable car climbing for about 7 minutes to the 2263m station on Whistlers Mountain, running from spring to autumn. From the station the summit is a further walk up a rocky path, and the wind on top bites even in midsummer, so bring a layer.

A lake under the mountain directly north of town, where a wooden footbridge reaches a small island. Stand where the bridge ends in the early morning, when the wind drops, and the reddish Pyramid Mountain hangs upside down in the water.

A mountain with the wing shaped Angel Glacier hanging on its north face; from the parking area a brief trail leads to the pond below the ice. The access road is narrow and full of switchbacks, so trailers must be left in the lot at the bottom.

The whole park is a designated dark sky preserve that keeps light pollution out, so the Milky Way is plain without a telescope a short way past town. In October the dark sky festival brings talks by astronomers and telescope sessions.

A drive of about 1 hour west, on the British Columbia side, brings you to Mount Robson (3,954m), the Canadian Rockies' tallest summit. The visitor centre faces the whole mountain, but cloud often caps the top, so aim for a clear morning.

A glass-floored walkway jutting out from a cliff on the Icefields Parkway, with the Sunwapta Valley 280m below your feet. There is no parking at the site; shuttle buses leave from the Icefield Centre.

About 55km south along the Icefields Parkway, the Sunwapta River splits around a small island and drops into a narrow gorge. The upper falls are minutes from the parking lot; the lower falls lie about 2km further down a forest trail.

A trail starting near the Icefield Centre and climbing to meadows above the treeline, looking down on the Athabasca Glacier from high across the valley. Bighorn sheep herds are often grazing near the pass.

A rocky knoll just across the Athabasca River from town, climbed by wooden stairs on a loop of a little over 4km. The top looks over the town of Jasper and the river valley at once.

A stone-and-timber station from the 1920s, where VIA Rail's Canadian stops between Toronto and Vancouver. A totem pole carved by Haida artists stands out front, and the main street of town begins right across the road.