My First Time in Jasper

If you read my very first post explaining why I started this blog, you already know that my main goal is to document my travels and adventures. I am sure you know that our memories, in general, are not particularly reliable. Personally, I can be incredibly forgetful, and I want to be able to look back on my posts to help me remember these moments in as much detail as possible! But, the hard part now is trying to recall details from less recent trips. Let me start with something not too long ago – my first time visiting Jasper in April and May of 2022.

One of my good friends (Jeanette) moved to Edmonton after graduating from University, and I have been lucky enough to get the invite to come and visit her a couple of times now. When I went to visit her in April and May, she suggested we take a trip to the mountains, which meant choosing between Canmore/Banff and Jasper. This was a difficult choice because I always love choosing somewhere new to explore (I had never been to Jasper), but at the same time, the Canmore/Banff area is a favourite of mine. In the end, my curiosity of going somewhere new prevailed, and Jeanette had our accommodation picked out in no time!

En Route

My trip started with Jeanette picking me up from the airport in Edmonton, and surprising me with a delicious plant-based sandwich from Farrow (she knows the way to my ♥). With my hunger satisfied (“hangry” can be very real for me), we officially started on the four-hour drive to Jasper!

Before reaching the town of Jasper (you actually drive for about 20-minutes through the National Park before getting into town), we pulled over on the side of the highway to do a short hike for views of Talbot Lake and Jasper Lake. However, a bit further up the road was a herd of about 50 big-horned sheep, and they were not impressed with us venturing into their territory. The sheep watched our every move as we climbed up the small hill for a view of the Lakes. We snapped a few photos before noticing that some of the sheep were now running. We quickly made our way back to the car, and once we were on the highway, we watched the sheep reclaim their home – hopefully we were their last unwanted visitors for the evening ツ.

Food & Drink Establishments

Eating plant-based in smaller towns is not always easy, but Jasper did not disappoint:

• Sunhouse Cafe: The oatmeal that was being served at the time of my visit was amazing – caramelized banana, blueberry compote and granola *chef’s kiss*.
• Jasper Pizza Place: Very thankful Jasper Pizza Place offered vegan cheese – the pizza (and brews) were delicious!

Pyramid Island

While we did not get a chance to check out any of the trails around Pyramid Lake, we made a point of visiting Pyramid Island which provides stunning views of the Lake and surrounding mountains! This was a quick stop (probably around 15 minutes), but a must-see when visiting Jasper.

Valley of Five Lakes & First Lake

As the name suggests, the Valley of Five Lakes & First Lake trail loops around five small lakes. Four of the five lakes are actually quite close together, and my guess is that most visitors miss the first lake because it does require taking a different trail.

All five lakes were surrounded by forest, and were actually quite different. The first, fourth and fifth lakes were a beautiful turquoise-blue colour; the second lake was more green; and the third lake was still frozen!

Old Fort Point

If you want city views of Jasper, definitely check out Old Fort Point! There are two ways to get to the view point: the first consists of walking up the stairs from the parking lot to the view point, and the second requires walking the entire trail and taking the stairs down at the end to complete your hike – we opted for the latter option, as we felt this would be more rewarding ツ.

Aside from a couple small hills, this was a very enjoyable hike with a few viewpoints along the way before getting to the end (or the beginning… depending where you start). There were even some big-horned sheep at the main viewpoint – luckily these ones were a bit more “chill” than the ones we encountered at the start of our trip!

I should note that we did this trail, as well as the Valley of Five Lakes & First Lake on the same day. While it was definitely doable (27,000 steps), we were spent by the end!

Maligne Canyon

On our way back to Edmonton, we stopped for one more hike through Maligne Canyon. I feel this is a very popular stop for visitors, and can get quite busy. Regardless, this was a large canyon with several bridges, waterfalls (some of which were still frozen) and stunning views!

Jeanette and I definitely packed a lot into less than 48-hours in Jasper, but I absolutely loved my first visit to this beautiful National Park! Thank you, Jeanette, for being the best tour guide ♥.

Always grateful,

Michelle

(A little reminder to myself that I made it back from Edmonton around 10pm on May 4th after a flight delay, and had to be at my Master’s convocation the next morning – it was an action packed few days!)