Winter Escape to Jasper National Park

I'm from Northern Alberta originally and when we went to the mountains for the weekend, it was always to the small town of Jasper, 4 hour west of Edmonton.  We never travelled south to Banff or Lake Louise because they were just too far away.  Now, living in Calgary,  we seldom travel north to Jasper.  Few of us here would ever think of driving 5 hours north to Jasper for a weekend to go skiing when Banff is so much closer. (One hour Vs. five hours of driving.)  However, Jasper is awesome in winter and needs to be visited at least once.  After that, you'll want to go back every winter.  (and maybe stay for a week!)

2024-25 Disclaimer: Many areas, trails, restaurants, and resorts remain closed around the Town of Jasper following the wildfires of 2024. Please visit the Tourism Jasper website along with the Parks Canada website before planning your visit, and research any trails you plan to hike or ski.

Maligne Canyon remains closed following the 2024 forest fires. 

Maligne Canyon in winter

We spent the February long weekend in Jasper this year, thinking that three nights would be long enough to see and do everything.  Man, was I wrong!  We could have spent a week in Jasper and still have trails left to explore next winter.  It didn't help that our son  got sick late in the afternoon on our first full day there.   After an epic ice walk in Maligne Canyon and a fairly long hike on  the Pyramid Bench, our poor little Pook was all done, and proceeded to throw up all over the back of our truck.  Blah!  (one of the great joys of parenthood.)  Sunday was hence, pretty chill, and Noah spent the day sleeping in his sled or on the sofa of our hostel.  We contemplated going home early but a 5 hour drive would not have been fun with a child glued to a bucket!  We decided to stay put and make the best of it.

Poor Pook Resting at our Hostel

Reasons to Visit Jasper in Winter

 

Cross Country Skiing 

Cross country ski trails are plentiful in Jasper and from our home base at a wilderness hostel (closed as of 2024) we only had to go across the highway to access the nearest trailhead for Leach Lake.

We skied on the closed 93A Highway until we reached the lake 4km away.  It was an easy ski and very well groomed.

While we skied straight back to the hostel after, our friends stopped at the picnic day use area at the lake and had a great half day outing.

Skiing to Leach Lake on Hwy 93A

If you decide to go to Jasper for a winter cross country ski trip, just stop in at the visitor centre in town to get a winter trails guide.  It lists all the trails and rates them by their difficulty.  Next time we go to Jasper we want to ski the Whistlers Campground Loop.  It's only 4.5km long and the highlight with kids would be the ski-in fire sites in Marmot Meadows.  The campground is also lit for night skiing on Thursdays through Saturdays until 9pm!  Super Cool!!  For more information on ski trails in Jasper, visit the Parks Canada website for access to all trail maps.

Picnic at Leach Lake

Ice Skating

There are two awesome places for ice skating in Jasper and we chose to try Pyramid Lake since  Pyramid Mountain is one of my absolute favourite mountains in the Rockies.   I've paddled the lake, hiked on the island, and now I wanted to skate it!  Classic lake skating doesn't get much better than Pyramid, and the staff at Pyramid Lake Resort maintain a lovely oval on the lake.

Skating the Oval on Pyramid Lake

The other place I recommend skating is at the Jasper Park Lodge on Lake Mildred and Lac Beauvert.  Lake Mildred offers the biggest skating oval in Jasper with rectangular rinks as well for hockey.  Meanwhile, scenic Lac Beauvert is lit for night skating should you find yourself out this way after dinner.  Skate rentals are also available at the lodge.  For more information on ice skating in Jasper, visit the Tourism Jasper website. 

Skating on Pyramid Lake

 

Winter Hiking and Snowshoeing

Hopefully you read my last story on our wild and crazy ice walk in Maligne Canyon because this is the top winter hike I recommend in Jasper.  The story can be read here at The Wildest Winter Canyon Hike in the Canadian Rockies.

Note Maligne Canyon is closed for the 2024-25 winter season due to wildfires from the summer before.

Hiking in Maligne Canyon with 40 Metre Tall Waterfalls

If you want something a little less slippery, there are plenty of trails along the Pyramid Bench near Pyramid Lake.  We did a short loop from the far parking lot at Pyramid Lake looping around Katrine Lake.  It wasn't the most scenic loop so I would recommend following our exact loop, but Noah did have fun on his winter snow bike.

Bike Skiing on the Pyramid Bench

He was having so much fun on his bike!

Other suggestions for family-friendly winter hikes or snowshoe trips in Jasper:

Athabasca Falls Hike

• Patricia Lake Loop, Pyramid Bench
  
  
• Hiking along the Athabasca River from the Wapiti Campground
  
  
• Maligne Lake Trails (the Mary Schaffer Loop is easy and scenic)
  
  
• Athabasca River Loop from Old Fort Point to Lac Beauvert
  
  
• Valley of the Five Lakes
  
  
• Jasper townsite to Mina Lakes
  
  
• Athabasca Falls

For information on the trails above, visit the Information Centre in Jasper for a summer day hiking map.  All trails will be shown on the map with distances.  For an online map that you can print and use for planning before you go, visit the Parks Canada website.


To hike the Athabasca Falls trail, park outside the summer parking lot gate which will be locked and walk in.  This is a good option for families wanting to experience similar similar scenery to Maligne Canyon with less risk.

Hiking in the Lower Canyon at Athabasca Falls

To read my story on Spring in Jasper, go to Spring Adventures in Jasper.

Old Fort Point Hike in Spring

Disclaimer:  Our stay at the hostel was graciously taken care of for our trip to Jasper.  As always, all opinions and words are my own. 

The Wildest Winter Canyon Hike in the Canadian Rockies

I love winter canyon hikes and the more ice the better!  So imagine how excited I was to finally hike the wild and crazy Maligne Canyon in Jasper this winter with frozen waterfalls over 30 metres tall!  While ice climbers love this canyon, you don't have to be a climber to strap on a pair of ice cleats, crawl through the summer fence, and make your way down into the canyon.  And, the canyon is only 10 minutes away from the town of Jasper on a good road.  Wait, what's that noise you say?  Oh, that's Spring Break calling and Jasper is less than a 5 hour drive from Calgary.

2024-25 Disclaimer: Many areas, trails, restaurants, and resorts remain closed around the Town of Jasper following the wildfires of 2024. Please visit the Tourism Jasper website along with the Parks Canada website before planning your visit, and research any trails you plan to hike or ski.

Maligne Canyon remains closed following the 2024 forest fires.

Hiking Maligne Canyon

Calgarians tend to flock to Banff on the weekends, leaving folks from Edmonton and Northern Alberta to explore Jasper on their own.  And while I get that, and agree that Banff is much closer, Jasper is just too beautiful not to visit at least once a year.  As a bonus, you get to drive the incredible Icefields Parkway en route to Jasper with places like Bow Lake, Peyto Lake, and the Athabasca Glacier available for short hikes to stretch the legs.

Bow Lake En Route to Jasper

Peyto Lake View Point En Route to Jasper

Hiking at the Athabasca Glacier En Route to Jasper

The incredible Maligne Canyon Ice Walk

We spent the weekend in Jasper and went skiing, skating, and snowshoeing.  What stood out to me though was the hike through Maligne Canyon.  We've done cute little canyon hikes near Calgary that were fun but had never done anything like this canyon before.  It was borderline sketchy with kids - I won't lie.  And I honestly don't think anybody without GOOD ice cleats should even be in that canyon at all!  And by good ice cleats, I mean microspikes (walking crampons) or full on climbing crampons.  Yak Trax and other icers aren't really good enough for the steep ice in Maligne Canyon.  Without some kind of crampons or spikes, you'll be sliding all of the steep pitches on your bum and you'd want to be wearing a helmet.

Spikes Vs. Icers -  Guess which won?

Where does this put kids on the danger scale when doing Maligne Canyon in winter?  Well, you pretty much need a one to one ratio of adults to children.  And it doesn't hurt to have extra adults on hand as well.  There were sections where we had to pass kids down sections with one adult at the top, and one at the bottom.   The adults responsible for the kids should also be wearing spikes.  I felt 100% comfortable in the canyon with our son because both my husband and I were wearing our microspikes.  I could have jumped off of a waterfall if I had wanted to.  We saw another family in the canyon carrying a baby and they were wearing full climbing crampons - pretty much necessary if you are carrying an infant or toddler.

Trying to demonstrate how good my spikes were - yes, I'm jumping!

Passing the kids down a slot

In the end, I won't judge your family for the decisions you make, and hope that goes both ways.  We are all responsible individually for the decisions we make.  We put a helmet on our son, and would wear helmets ourselves next time as well to prevent injuries from falling ice.  We had spikes on and we wouldn't do the trip with anything less.  We are definitely doing the canyon again next year, and will be doing it as a family trip again.

What else can you expect in the canyon along with ice and towering waterfalls?  Lots of water!  I'm not sure if it was abnormally wet this February when we hiked the canyon, but there was a LOT of water.  I'd actually consider wearing rubber boots next time instead of winter boots.  On the plus side, I did discover that my boots are 100% waterproof as my socks weren't the slightest bit wet at the end of our trip (and we were all ankle deep in cold water.)  I can't say the rest for the others in our group though.  We tried our best to lift the kids over deep water sections but it was inevitable that they'd get wet feet.

Thank you to whoever built the bridge through this section.  It was necessary!!

Finally, if you want to do the hike when the canyon is empty of people, go around noon.  Tour groups fill the canyon so that you rarely have a moment to stop or enjoy the scenery around you without having to keep moving or step to the side to let 50 people pass.  There's also a feeling like you shouldn't be down there without being on the tour!  (at least that's the impression I got from the guides.)   Meanwhile, if you go around noon, the morning tours are on their way back to their buses, and the afternoon tours are just leaving Jasper.  You'll have the canyon all to yourself at this time of day!

A rare moment where we had the canyon to ourselves

 

Directions to the canyon

From Jasper, head east on Hwy 16 for 2km until you reach the turnoff for Maligne Lake Road.  Turn right and follow the Maligne Lake Road until you reach the signed upper parking lot for Maligne Canyon, approximately 6km from Jasper.  Note, you can also start from 5th bridge, but we chose to start from 1st bridge at the top of the canyon.

Follow the popular tourist trail through the canyon past the second bridge on the summer trail that goes above the canyon  (You'll bypass the first bridge unless you start from the far end of the parking lot.)  The trail should be signed as trail #7.  Cross the second bridge and follow the trail until you find a good way to enter the canyon.  Here is where I leave route finding to you.  I'd rather not be held responsible for giving you inaccurate information and I honestly can't remember the exact spot we chose to get into the canyon.  I do know that we snuck through a summer fence that tour companies had taken apart.  We figured if they could do it, so could we. 

Ice Falls

Playing in an ice cave in the canyon

We hiked up the canyon a ways until we reached a sign that told us very clearly that we should proceed no further.  I like signs and warnings, so we turned around.  We hiked back to our starting point and decided to go down stream a ways to see if we could hike any further.  We did notice that the  tour companies weren't following us but it was actually a LOT easier than the previous part we had already done upstream. 

The photo at left shows the only challenge in going further down stream.  A small slot in the canyon required a bit of light scrambling.  Apparently the tour companies aren't allowed to do this section with their clients but we found it to be easy peasy - even with the kids.  And certainly safer than the previous section with huge chunks of ice threatening to drop on us.

The final waterfalls where we left the canyon

We exited the canyon and made our way back to our vehicles when we reached the beautiful waterfall in the photo above.  We did try to go a bit further but were turned around by open water flowing in the creek.  At this point it was extremely easy to get out of the canyon and many families were choosing to enter the canyon at this point to hike upstream.  The only challenge with that would be climbing UP the slot we slid down.  Much harder.

Beautiful Ice in the Canyon

Ice Cave Fun

Overall, it was a very exciting tour and I am SOOOO excited to go back again next year and repeat the tour.  We chose to do the hike ourselves to cut costs BUT if you don't feel 100% safe about doing the trip without a guide, there are several companies to choose from in Jasper who'd be more than happy to take your family into the canyon and ensure you are kept safe on your trip.  I can't endorse any specific company but Tourism Jasper has a list of companies you can choose from.  Some companies won't take children under 7 years of age but I can't speak for all of them.

Disclaimer:  There are risks associated with all sports in the mountains.  By choosing to do this trip with your family, you take those risks on yourself and I am merely sharing a story about our family's adventures.  I repeat again, that if you don't feel comfortable being in the canyon with your kids, please hire a guide.  Play safe everybody!

So cool to be IN the canyon

Finally, I want to say thanks to the tour companies who made it possible for us to be in the canyon.  I am positive that you are the wonderful people who placed the strategically located bridges throughout the canyon that helped keep our feet dry.  We also followed your example to get down into the canyon at the gap in the fence. While we might not have always been able to stay out of your way, we did try our best to keep moving so that your clients didn't have to wait on us.

Celebrating Spring Break in Banff

The exact timing of spring break varies from school to school, but most children in Alberta will have a week off from school sometime in March.  And while it would be awesome if we could all jet off to sunny Mexico or Hawaii, it may not be in the budget for all of us. No worries though - I've been spending a lot of time in Banff lately and I've got you covered with tons of fun family-friendly activities to try this spring.  And they won't break the bank.

Celebrate Spring Break in Beautiful Banff!

Resort Skiing for a Toonie anybody?

For just a Toonie per person, Alberta residents can ski at Mount Norquay on the first Wednesday of each month.  March's discount day is upon us today, but the next day falls on April 2nd so mark your calendars!

Want to go out to Mount Norquay during spring break?  Save your pennies by skiing at this unique hill that offers hourly ski rates.   Let beginner skiers practice their skills in the learning area and then buy a one or two hour lift ticket to access the beginner chairlift which accesses only green runs.  The ski hill also has a tube park that helps extend your time at the hill when kids are tired from skiing.

No better way to celebrate warm weather than on a sunny ski hill

Take your youngster on a FREE gondola ride to the top of the world

Good news for families with Children 5 and under! Toddlers and preschoolers get to ski and ride the gondola for free at Sunshine Village.  If you can't afford a family ski day, you can at least take a beautiful sightseeing trip on the Sunshine gondola, have lunch at the top, and even put the kids on the beginner hill for an hour or two.  You will still have to pay for your adult gondola ticket but we all need a special treat every once in a while, right?

The Ride to Paradise on the Sunshine Gondola

Visit the all new Cave and Basin National Historic Site 

The Cave and Basin National Historic Site in the town of Banff commemorates the birth of our national parks.  It was here that the first public hotsprings pool was opened for travelers to the Rockies.  Now of course, the Banff Upper Hotsprings has a much newer location, but you can still visit the pool and museum on the original site. 

The Cave and Basin site is open Wednesday through Sunday from 12 noon to 4 pm and open late until 10 pm on Saturday nights for Magic Winter Nights.  Families attending Magic Winter Saturday Nights can expect hot chocolate, skating on the original pool deck, bonfires, an ice palace and music.

If you'd prefer to visit in the day time, you can still bring your skates for Banff's newest skating rink, open until the end of April.  And while you're there, you absolutely must check out Paul Zizka's incredible night photography exhibit inside.  "Summits and Starlight:  The Canadian Rockies at Night" is  only on display until March 21st so don't wait too long to visit. 

Finally, be sure to come back for the Return of the Banff Winter Carnival from March 26-30th.  The theme is the roaring twenties complete with old time music and movies and even a mini ice palace and slide. 

A Preview of the Summits and Starlight exhibit (photo courtesy of Parks Canada and Paul Zizka Photography)

It's Toasty Warm at The Banff Upper Hotsprings

There may still be snow on the ground but at the Banff Upper Hotsprings, it's always toasty warm!  A trip to the hotsprings is the perfect way to top off a day of skiing, skating, or hiking in Banff.

The Banff Upper Hotsprings (photo courtesy of Hotsprings.ca)

Splurge and treat the family to brunch on top of Sulphur Mountain

When is the last time you had brunch on top of a mountain? Or, took a gondola to get to your restaurant for lunch?  Celebrate Spring Break in style with a ride on the Banff Gondola to the top of Sulphur Mountain.   Take a short hike to the top of Sanson's Peak  from the upper gondola terminal and come back to the terminal for a Canadian inspired brunch, available every Sunday until May 11th. For more information, visit the Explore Rockies website. 

Note, your gondola ticket is INCLUDED with the brunch!  Now, that's a sweet deal!

Banff Gondola (Photo courtesy of Brewster Travel Canada)

Want to stay overnight?

You know you do, right?  And yes, you can afford it with a little help from our friends at the Banff Lodging Company.  If you go to their website, you'll find last minute deals with fabulous prices throughout the month of March.  For only $99, you can even try out the Rocky Mountain Resort's fully renovated Wolf Condos, complete with your own kitchen to further cut down on costs while in Banff.  Our family will be staying at the Rocky Mountain Resort later this month so I'll keep you posted on our experience.

Hot tubs at Hidden Ridge Resort, Banff Lodging Company

Disclaimer:  While I gave credit to many Banff businesses in this story, I was not compensated nor requested to write this story. As always, all opinions are my own.

Dog Sledding with Snowy Owl Tours - Best Day EVER!

It's been joked about before that I shouldn't try new things because I've been known to abandon everything for a new sport after trying it only once.  Dog Sledding was no exception.  I went out for a short ride with Snowy Owl Sled Dog Tours and knew within the first 5 minutes that I wanted to buy my own team of dogs, start racing, and sell my soul to become a professional musher.  Addicted easily?  Perhaps.  OR maybe the tour was just that awesome!!!

Having the time of our lives with Snowy Owl Sled Dog Tours

We drove to the Snowy Owl office in Canmore to meet the rest of our group for our tour.  For visitors staying in Banff, they will pick you up straight from your hotel though, which is a great optional service for tourists to the Rockies.  Once at the office, we hopped into a comfortable van for our ride out to the Spray Lakes on the Smith Dorrien Trail.  We didn't bother with a booster seat for our 5 year old son but families with young children may want to bring one along for the ride.

Meeting our Dogs

Once at the trailhead, we were instructed to immediately go find our dogs - and start cuddling them!  Yes, that's right.  "Go cuddle some dogs" was a common instruction throughout the day.  Even if one of the dogs started to get unruly during the instruction period before our tour, a staff member would be quickly ordered to go hug the noisy dog.  Not hit, not control, not calm the dog down, but HUG it.  I knew instantly that this was a great tour company and that we had chosen the best!

Hello adorable puppy!

Our tour started with a 30 minute introduction to the sport of mushing, a tutorial on how to drive our own sled - yes, you get to drive your very own sled!!, and a brief background story on the company and their ethical practices.  The company website states that "there are no rules or regulations ensuring ethical dog care and proper kennel management in the sport of dog sledding."  Snowy Owl ensures however that their dogs are treated with the very best care and nothing is kept secret from the public.   Just visit the A Dog's Life tab on the company website to find out what their dogs eat, how they are treated, where they sleep, or even how they are bred.

Getting set to GO!

And now, what you really want to know - what does it feel like to ride in a dog sled?  Do you get to drive?  Do you have to drive?  How hard is it to drive your own team and can anybody really do it? Can you just be a passenger?  Is it safe for kids?  Is it dangerous?  Do you get cold?  How many people can you fit in a sled?  Do the sleds ever tip?...

I admit, I had each and every one of those questions in my head before our trip.
So, let me answer them for you as best I can.

Snowy Owl maintains a VERY scenic trail for their tours

Driving your own sled

Happy Family!

Yes, you get to drive your own sled and are encouraged to do so.  Do you have to?  No.  You can opt to ride in the cozy warm sled covered in a big blanket the whole time.  Or you can opt to ride part of the time and change places with your partner at the half way point.  And you can also choose to drive together with your partner or with one of the guides.   However, somebody has to drive the sled.  In our case, my husband was very enthusiastic to drive while I enjoyed a peaceful ride cuddling with my son in the sled.  I do regret now that I didn't trade places and take my turn driving;  How many times in my life will I get the opportunity to drive a sled team of dogs??


My husband is a bit of an adventure junkie, preferring to spend his day in the mountains doing more radical things from rock climbing to mountaineering and backcountry skiing.  However, he said he loved the experience, that driving the sled kept him alert and on his toes, and that he'd go back any time!  He found that he definitely had to concentrate and that it was a challenge - which he embraced with total enthusiasm!

The half way point on Goat Pond

Flying across Goat Pond

My advice:  Don't fear if you are a bit nervous about the idea of driving a team of dogs without previous experience.  Everybody in our group did awesome at it and none of us had done it before.  The dogs are used to being lead by beginners and they're smart enough not to run into the team in front of them if you should fail to notice the dogs in front of you stop suddenly.  The instructions at the beginning of our session were thorough and we weren't tackling difficult terrain.  The hills were small and the trail was gently rolling with many flat stretches.  My son was even given the opportunity to ride on the back of the sled with Dad - something we will definitely try next time!!

Over all, as long as you pay attention during the tutorial at the beginning, watch your dogs attentively in case one needs to stop for a pee break, and watch the sled in front of you carefully, you'll be fine!  Perfectly fine.

Sleds can accommodate up to three adults per sled

Riding in the Sled

What does it feel like?  You know the feeling when you're a passenger in a car and the driver suddenly accelerates, pinning your head to the back of the head rest?  Yeah, that's kinda what it feels like when the team takes off.  It's fast, it's noisy, it's exhilarating when you hit bumps (of which there are lots), and it's a total thrill ride!! Not so much however that young kids would be scared.  My 5 year old isn't always the bravest kid when he is trying something new.  I had prepped him by showing him videos of dog sledding before our tour, but I still wasn't sure how he'd react to the noise, speed, and general excitement of the whole ride.  Well, no fear - he LOVED it.

Taking a break to hug one of his dogs

I felt completely safe in the sled, never feared that we'd tip, and was toasty warm bundled under a heavy wool jacket.  It was also a good place for me, the photographer.  It probably doesn't need to be mentioned, but if you are driving, you can't take photos at the same time.  You don't do anything when you are driving but hold on and direct your team.

Two of our beautiful dogs

Family-Friendly Tours

As I said, my son loved the tour and I felt safe about him being in the sled with me.  We could have even had our son ride in the sled alone if we had both wanted to steer at the same time (which is totally possible if both mom and dad want to stand on the back together).  If you have two kids, you can easily put both kids in the sled at the same time or mix it up by alternating who drives/rides.  There is a flat beginner stretch along  Goat Pond that's perfect for kids to try driving with mom or dad.

Easy Stretch where kids could drive

Aside from the actual sled ride, the other great thing for kids is the interaction with the dogs.  As I mentioned earlier, you get to cuddle lots of dogs!  And these dogs are the friendliest dogs I've ever met.  My son was actually lying on top of one of our dogs at one point (hugging him) - and the dog was totally at peace with it.

HUG!

There's also a campfire at the end of the trip complete with hot chocolate and snacks.  Overall, the two hour tour is very family-friendly!  Just make sure you dress the kids (and yourself) warmly!  The 30 minute introduction at the beginning goes long and it's easy to get cold standing around.

Friendly dogs with LOTS of kisses

For other reasons why you should choose Snowy Owl Tours for your dog sledding experience, visit the  Experience Real section of the company website.  The company won a certificate of excellence in both 2012 and 2013 with Trip Advisor and holds a 5 star rating.  Snowy Owl is also rated one of the top 5 dog sledding companies in North America and has held their position as the #1 experience in Canmore for the last 2 years.

Personally, I think you'd also be hard pressed to find a prettier dog sled tour in the Rockies!

Beautiful scenery for the tour

For more information, visit the Snowy Owl website or contact the company directly if you want to find out if one of their tours would be right for your family.  We did the 2 hour Powder Hound Express Tour.  It was a great introduction to the sport and a good trial run with a child.  Next time however, I'd want to do the 4 hour tour which would allow for more time on the sled.  With our tour, we were only on the sled for maybe 45 minutes.  And while it was exhilarating, it felt way too short.  The 2 hour tour is the most affordable option though and would make an excellent birthday or Christmas present for the adult or child who has everything.   Kids really don't need tons of new toys but a dog sled tour would be a gift they'd never forget!

Standing on the sled with Dad

Thank You

A big thank you to the staff at Snowy Owl Sled Dog Tours for the fabulous day in the mountains and for letting us have a brief glimpse into the intriguing sport of mushing.

Here's a parting video of us flying across Goat Pond:




Disclaimer:  Snowy Owl graciously sponsored our family's tour but as always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.  I wasn't compensated in any other way beyond the tour.