Jasper National Park – Alberta, Canada

Jasper National Park, established in 1907, is the largest national park in theCanadian Rockies with 10,878 square kilometres of mountain wilderness. Jasper is the wildest of the mountain parks, and contains a superb backcountry trail system as well as the world famous Columbia Icefields, one of the only Icefields in the world accessible by road. It is internationally-renowned for hiking in the park, skiing at Marmot Basin and wildlife viewing, and is home to some of North America's rarest animals, including healthy populations of grizzly bears, moose, caribou and wolves.

This national park is located in the province of Alberta, north of Banff National Park and west of the City of Edmonton. The park includes the glaciers of theColumbia Icefield, hot springs, lakes, waterfalls and mountains. Wildlife in the park includes elk, caribou, moose, mule deer,white-tailed deer, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, grizzly bears, black bears, coyotes, beavers, Rocky Mountain pikas, hoary marmots, grey wolves, mountain lions, and wolverines.

Major river systems originating in the park include the Athabasca and Smoky rivers (part of the Arctic Ocean basin)

How to get there ?

The town of Jasper is situated at the intersection of Hwy. 16 (Yellowhead Hwy.) and Hwy. 93 N (Icefields Pkwy.). It is straight west 225 miles on Hwy. 16 from Edmonton and west from Calgary along Trans-Canada 1, then north on Hwy. 93 from Lake Louise, 256 miles in total. Major national and international carriers service both Edmonton and Calgary’s international airports, with multiple flights arriving daily. Renting a car at the airport is the easiest way to make the trip, but rail travel to the park is also available through VIA Rail and the Rocky Mountaineer. Shuttle services are available through tour operators.