Alberta's National Parks : Jasper to Banff and Everything In-Between

Hello from your friendly mountaineers Jordy and Jess! Choosing the right hikes and attractions can be hard, so we're hoping if you get the opportunity to visit Alberta even for a short time, you can make use of some of the most rewarding destinations this amazing province has to offer.

We were lucky enough to spend a full 7 days there and we had more than enough time to hit all the places we really wanted to see! Keep in mind if you're traveling within the summer months the days are very long, as in sunrise is at 5:30am and sunset is 10:20 pm as well!

Okay lets start

(highly recommend renting a car and or trying the van-life for a week)

--> we did about 2,500 km while we were in Alberta

Start: Edmonton

Destination: Jasper National Park

Distance: 3 h 58 min (383.5 km)

Quick Tip: seeing that time on google maps some may think, 'ou I can make it there in 3h 20 min', Albertans have speed cameras everywhere so be careful. Once you start to get into National Park territory I also highly recommend going the speed as there are tons of wildlife! Thankfully we only saw one roadkill incident but please be mindful of the wildlife.

Now for the juicy stuff,

HIKES near and around Jasper National Park

(our distance is using the Jasper Fairmont as a starting location)

Destination: Maligne Canyon

Distance: 10 min (8.5 km)

Maligne Canyon

Maligne Canyon is a nice easy trail where you can dedicate 1-2 hours at, with a variety of small wildlife, strong water rapids and large trees. When we were here in the middle of June there were still giant pieces of ice on the side of the riverbeds.

Quick Tip: if you ever wanted to practice some long exposure photography, Alberta is the perfect place! Stay tuned to see Athabasca Falls later in this post.

Destination: Valley of Five Lakes

Distance: 10 min (8.6 km)

Valley of Five Lakes : Lake #3

The Valley of Five Lakes is a nice easy hike, which passes five different lakes with stunning views of the mountains in the back. We decided to go later in the day around 6ish and there were maybe 3 other people on the trail. We would dedicate 1.5 - 2 hours on this hike, and that includes many stops and photo breaks. As you will soon come to see, Alberta is one of the most picturesque places we have ever been.

Destination: Sulphur Skyline Trail

Distance: 1 h 2 min (58.5 km)

At the top of Sulphur Skyline Trail

The Sulphur Skyline Tail was a much more challenging hike compared to all the previous hikes and was completely uphill, taking anywhere from 4-6 hours. It is an 8km journey to the top and back, but I assure you the views after 10 minutes in are phenomenal, you are surrounded by mountains as you journey up and it will take your breath away (the wind is really strong at the top so it may literally steal your breath). Very rocky as you commence on the last 10- 15 minutes to the very top but if you take your time you should be fine! Before that last bit of the climb there is a nice break area of flat land where you are given a full panoramic view of the mountains!

Destination: Kinney Lake, BC

Distance: 1 h 13 min (89.0 km)

Kinney Lake, BC

If you ever wanted to say, 'hey, I've been to BC', Kinney Lake is the place to get your credits. Still one of our favourite and easiest hikes where you can follow the river all the way down! The full loop in 13km but with such variety given within the location you could stay here all day! Perfect place for a picnic and a nice relaxing afternoon. This hike is also considered #1 out of the 5 hikes in Mount Robson Provincial Park!

Destination: Athabasca Falls

Distance: 33 min (38.8 km)

Athabasca Falls

For us this was a quick 15 minute stop and you can see the falls 2 minutes after walking from the parking lot. An absolutely stunning view, but with views that don't require much effort they are often times congested with tourists. A very crowded spot but a very lovely view.

== Thats a good start for Jasper National Park so lets cruise over to Banff ==

Start: Jasper National Park (Fairmont)

Destination: Banff National Park (Fairmont)

Distance: 3 h 48 min (296.3 km)

--> once again we are using the Fairmont's to depict the distances

Jasper to Banff

Jordan and Jess in Jasper was fun but let's try Banff! We will be honest, I'm not the biggest fan of driving (Jess), but the drive from Jasper to Banff was one of my most favourite drives of my life. We have done the Great Ocean Road (Australia), however there is something about driving and being surrounded by huge mountains, passing avalanche fields and waterfalls and stunning lakes and rivers of cool blue water. This is a drive that you must do!

Quick Tip: There are many potential stops along the way and the weather at everyone is different. Mountain weather is crazy!

WHAT TO PACK: In terms of clothing be prepared for anything. In one day we had areas that were 33 degrees and others that were 5 degrees. Come the summer months you most likely okay with shorts and t-shirt, but always have a sweater or jacket at reach.

WEATHER: an example of how crazy the weather can be; we started the day with light rain, that turned into aggressive hail that then turned into hot humid sunshine. That was all within 5 minutes (check out our Alberta highlight reel on Instagram to see for yourselves).

Destination: Beehive Circuit Trail

Distance: 51 min (62.9 km)

--> Fairmont Banff to Fairmont Lake Louise

The Beehive Trail

This was another one of our favourite hikes! This 13 km looped route was really fun to hike, filled with tons of little chipmunks at your side. The views from both the Little Beehive and the Big Beehive hike were phenomenal. The picture above was taken a little bit off the beaten path but you will for sure see many similars views on your way up! We would dedicate 3.5 - 4 hours for this trail. Along the path you can visit a little shop with snacks and drinks with an amazing view of the mountains and lakes.

Destination: Bow Summit (Peyto Lake)

Distance: 1 h 12 min (101.3 km)

Bow Summit Lookout is a 10 minute easy hike to see the infamous Peyto Lake! We went around 7pm and there was only 3 other couples there. After 6pm the tour groups and majority of the congestion dies down so that's the perfect time!

Our motto is to keep our writing style short and sweet with lots of pictures, so with that stay tuned for our next blog posts in regards to Alberta and its wildlife, and the infamous Edmonton Mall.

with lots of love,

Jordan and Jessica xx