Jasper tours and things to do

Jasper is a townsite inside Jasper National Park in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta. Parks Canada places the park 370 km (192 miles) west of Edmonton, 404 km (256 miles) northwest of Calgary and 805 km (500 miles) northeast of Vancouver. Highway 16, the Yellowhead Highway, is the main route to and from the town. The Voyzo day trip from Edmonton puts the drive at about four hours each way.

The Icefields Parkway runs 232 km between Lake Louise and the Jasper townsite, according to Parks Canada, which says it connects Jasper with Highway 1 near Lake Louise and Banff. Parks Canada publishes the Lake Louise distance but no Banff townsite distance and no drive time. The Parkway needs a park pass, has limited services and no year-round cell coverage, and has no services at all between Jasper and Lake Louise in winter. See Voyzo's Banff tours for the southern end.

Not at the moment. The operator's page says the SkyTram is closed for the 2026 season and lists 21 May to 11 October 2027 as its 2027 dates, weather dependent. The ride up Whistlers Mountain takes seven minutes to an upper station at 2,263 m, and Tourism Jasper puts the SkyTram 8 km from the townsite. Dates were checked on 26 October 2026; the SkyTram guide has more.

No. The operator's page says the Maligne Lake cruise is closed for the 2026 season and lists 28 May to 10 October 2027, weather dependent. Parks Canada says Spirit Island is 14 km up the lake with no road or trail access, so tour boats or private non-motorized craft are the only way there, and the cruises go to a viewpoint overlooking the island. Read the Maligne Lake and Spirit Island guide before you plan.

No. Parks Canada says Maligne Canyon remains closed for the 2026 season while it assesses conditions and plans the rehabilitation work needed to reopen it safely, and its trail report of 25 October 2026 lists the canyon as a superintendent closure with no public access. Parks Canada gives no reopening date. Medicine Lake, upstream, drains through sinkholes and is a mudflat in fall and winter.

No. Parks Canada says Cavell Road remains closed for the 2026 season while it assesses conditions and plans the rehabilitation work needed to reopen it safely, and it gives no reopening date. Separately, a caribou closure prohibits all access to the road and to the Astoria and Portal Creek trails from 1 November to 15 May every year, to protect the winter habitat of the Tonquin caribou herd. The road is 14 km long, narrow and winding, with a 7.5 m vehicle length limit and no trailers or large motorhomes.

The operator's Columbia Icefield experiences are closed for 2026 and list 1 May to 11 October 2027, and Parks Canada's Icefield Centre desk was open until 27 September 2026. Parks Canada's trail report of 25 October listed fresh snow on the Wilcox Pass trails. The Parkway needs snow tires or chains from 1 November, and the glacier is dangerous: do not cross the barriers. See the Columbia Icefield guide.

Not at the moment. Parks Canada's Miette Hot Springs page, read on 26 October 2026, says the springs are closed for the season and that it looks forward to welcoming guests back in spring 2027. The page also carries older notices, so check it before you plan a trip around the springs.

July and August are the warmest months, with daily highs of 23.4 °C and 23.0 °C in Environment Canada's 1991 to 2020 normals for Jasper, and Parks Canada says the summer months are the busiest. The SkyTram, the Maligne Lake cruise and the Columbia Icefield experiences run on May-to-October seasons and are closed for 2026. Fall is quieter, the elk rut runs 1 September to 15 October, and snow tires or chains are required on the Icefields Parkway from 1 November.

Yes, with fewer attractions running. The normals give December to February highs of about −3.5 to 0.5 °C and 11.8 to 21.2 cm of snow a month. Tourism Jasper lists snowshoeing, skating on Lake Mildred, ice climbing and skiing, Marmot Basin shows a projected opening on 13 November, and Christmas in Jasper runs to 3 January 2027. The SkyTram, cruise and Icefield experiences are closed, and Maligne Canyon is closed for 2026.

Yes, entry fees apply and a valid pass is required to drive the Icefields Parkway. Parks Canada's fees page, read on 26 October 2026, lists daily admission of CAD 12.25 for an adult, CAD 10.75 for a senior and CAD 24.50 for a family or group of up to seven people in one vehicle, with free admission for youth 17 and under, and an adult Discovery Pass at CAD 83.50. Parks Canada's page does not state a fee year.

Yes, if you are comfortable in winter conditions. Snow tires or chains are required from 1 November to 31 March, Parks Canada snowplows operate between 7 am and 3:30 pm when needed, and there are no gas stations, hotels or restaurants between Lake Louise and Jasper, 232 km apart. Parks Canada lists no cell coverage on the Parkway in winter, so check 511 Alberta before you leave and carry what you need.

Parks Canada says VIA Rail has regular train service to Jasper via Edmonton and Vancouver, a connector shuttle runs daily between Edmonton and Jasper, and a bus service runs via Banff along the Icefields Parkway. From Hinton, Jasper Transit's regional bus has a CAD 15.00 single fare, according to the Municipality of Jasper (read on 26 October 2026), and four trips each way a day on the schedule starting 13 October 2026. Check each timetable; Voyzo's Edmonton day trip is the private option.

Tourism Jasper says the July 2024 wildfire affected more than 32,000 hectares and that Jasper reopened to visitors in September 2024. The Municipality of Jasper reports 358 destroyed structures in the initial assessment, and Parks Canada says recovery is well underway. Some areas remain closed, so check Parks Canada's bulletins, and Tourism Jasper asks visitors to skip photographs of damaged buildings.

Tourism Jasper names the Maligne Valley, Pyramid Lake Road, Highway 16 and the Icefields Parkway as popular wildlife corridors and says sightings are most frequent in the early morning and evening. Parks Canada asks you to stay 30 m from elk, deer and moose and 100 m from bears and other carnivores, and to stay in your vehicle at the roadside. Voyzo's evening wildlife tour starts at 6:00 PM.

Jasper National Park has been a Dark-Sky Preserve since 26 March 2011, and Parks Canada calls it the second largest in the world. Parks Canada lists Pyramid Island, Jasper Lake, Old Fort Point and the toe of the Athabasca Glacier among viewing spots, and says clear, cold nights can bring the aurora. The Dark Sky Festival ran 16 to 25 October in 2026.

Jasper is on Alberta Time (ABT), which the Government of Alberta gives as UTC-6:00. Alberta officially moves to permanent Alberta Time on 1 November 2026, so from then its clocks no longer reset to Mountain Standard Time in the fall and stay on UTC-6:00 all year.

Only if you are travelling from outside Canada. According to IRCC, visa-exempt foreign nationals need an eTA to fly to or transit through a Canadian airport but not when they arrive by car, bus, train or boat, and US citizens are exempt from the eTA requirement. Check IRCC's site for whether your passport needs a visitor visa or an eTA. The Canada Border Services Agency recommends that US citizens travel with a valid passport. Rules change, so confirm on the IRCC and CBSA sites before you travel.

Yes, though it is a long day. Parks Canada places Jasper National Park 370 km west of Edmonton. The Voyzo day trip runs 14 hours with a drive of about four hours each way, for a group of up to five guests, and the two-day tour spreads the trip over two days, with accommodation in Jasper not included.

As of 26 October 2026, Voyzo's Jasper tours are quote-only: send a request and the team replies by email with the price for your group. The tour pages do not state whether the Parks Canada pass is included, so ask when you request your quote. Parks Canada's family or group daily rate covers up to seven people in one vehicle.