First trip to Jasper: what to do in 2 or 3 days
🏘️ Local guide📅 Updated October 18, 2026⏱ 3 min read
Cover: Jasper SkyTram. Photo: Hansueli Krapf, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Jasper is a small town inside Jasper National Park, at the end of the Icefields Parkway if you come from Banff. Everything worth seeing is minutes or a couple of hours from downtown, so 2 or 3 days are enough to see the essentials without rushing.
This plan goes from the closest to the farthest. Each place links to its page with hours and details, and the trails show today's official status.
Day 1: the townsite and around
Start at the Jasper Park Information Centre, a log and stone building right downtown that is a national historic site. That's where you buy your park pass, pick up maps and ask about trail and road conditions. From October 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027 it's open 9:00 to 17:00.
Jasper Park Information Centre. Photo: Gillfoto, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Nearby is the Jasper-Yellowhead Museum, with the history of the fur trade, the railway and the early years of tourism in the park. Admission is by donation (8 dollars suggested per adult), and in winter it opens Thursday to Sunday.
If it's in season, ride the Jasper SkyTram: seven minutes up to 2,263 m on The Whistlers, a 10-minute drive from town. It runs from mid-April to late October, weather permitting.
To end the day, climb Old Fort Point (3.8 km loop) for the view over town and the Athabasca River, or take the flat walk around Lac Beauvert (3.5 km).
Day 2: the Maligne Road
Spend a full day on the Maligne Road, 44 km of narrow, winding road that leaves Highway 16 just east of town. There are no gas stations on this route: start with a full tank.
Medicine Lake. Photo: Joli Rumi, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
On the way is Medicine Lake, the disappearing lake: in late summer and fall it drains through sinkholes in its bed, and the water flows underground until it reappears near Maligne Canyon.
At the end is Maligne Lake, the largest natural lake in the Canadian Rockies according to Parks Canada, 22 km long. Spirit Island is 14 km down the lake and can only be reached on the boat cruise or in your own non-motorized boat. To stretch your legs, the Mary Schäffer Loop is a flat 3.2 km walk along the shore.
Day 3: the falls to the south
Athabasca Falls. Photo: Thomas Fuhrmann, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
South on the Icefields Parkway, Athabasca Falls is 20 minutes from town and one of the most powerful falls in Jasper. A little farther, at km 54, is Sunwapta Falls; the trail to Lower Sunwapta Falls is the quieter option. If you have energy left, continue to the Columbia Icefield with our Icefields Parkway guide.
At night and where to sleep
Jasper is a dark-sky preserve: any clear night is worth going out to look up. We cover where and when in Dark skies in Jasper. For a place to sleep, see the Jasper campgrounds guide or the public campgrounds with seasons and fees.
Trails in this plan (today's status)
Official sources
- Parks Canada: Jasper Park Information Centre
- Parks Canada: Maligne Lake
- Parks Canada: Medicine Lake
- Pursuit: Jasper SkyTram
- Jasper-Yellowhead Museum and Archives
Community experiences
User experiences, not official information. Always check the official status before you go.
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