Jasper

Introduction

Jasper in winter

© Herr Bert

Jasper is a town in Alberta, Canada, with the star attraction being the Jasper National Park, in which Jasper is located.

Sights and Activities

• Athabasca Falls is a serie of waterfalls in the Athabasca river a good 30 kilometres south of Jasper. There is a short trail you can follow, but you can also use it as a trailhead for a longer hike. In winter the falls freeze over.
• Jasper National Park is the biggest attraction of Jasper. Several Trainheads can be found along the highways.
• Jasper Skytram - During the spring and summer season you can take the gondola up to a viewpoint 2,263 metres above the town.
• Maligne Canyon - Both Maligne Adventures and Sundog Tours organise tours to Maligne Canyon, but you can also walk the trails yourself. In winter booking a tour is a plus as you can actually walk onto the ice with your guide.

Maligne Canyon

© Herr Bert

• Marmot Basin - Skiing can be done during the winter at Marmot Basin. A shuttle service brings you up and down the mountain. Skiing can be done until May.
• Train rides - Jasper Adventure Centre and Sundog Tours organise tours either from Jasper to Dunster Station, or from McBride Station to Jasper (both in British Colombia).
• Wildlife spotting can be done easily from the highway. You will be surprise what you can see from the comfort of your car. Elk is very easy to spot in and near Jasper as a group of elk has found out that being close to humans is a good guarantee to be safe from wolves. Seeing other wildlife needs a bit more luck, but it also depends hugely on the time of the year you are visiting. Big horn sheep, coyote, moose and bears are also pretty common. To get a better chance you can book a tour (usually about 3 hours) at again: Maligne Adventures and Sundog Tours.

Getting There

VIA rail train

© Herr Bert

By Plane

The easiest option to get to Jasper is to fly into Edmonton Airport and continue the journey over highway 16 towards Jasper.

By Train

Viarails' Jasper - Prince Rupert train and the Canadian both serve Jasper. Trains go three times a week in either direction (east to Toronto, west to Vancouver on the Canadian, and also three times a week to Prince Rupert, with an overnight stop in Prince George.

By Car

Highway 16 (Yellowhead) bisects the park east-west. Hinton is 69 kilometres and Edmonton is 350 kilometres to the east. Valemount is 110 kilometres to the west. The only other way into the park is from Lake Louise in the south via the Icefields Parkway (Highway 93). If you plan to drive into the park in winter, check: 511alberta for road closures and weather conditions.

By Bus

Greyhound buses go from Jasper to Edmonton (4.5 hours), Prince George (5 hours), Kamloops (6 hours) and Vancouver (11.5 hours). Sundog Tours operates a daily shuttle between Edmonton (Airport or the West Edmonton Mall, via Edson and Hinton to Jasper daily. Once in Jasper you will be dropped off at your accommodation. For the way back they can pick you up at your hotel and drop you off at the mall or the airport. Brewster Transportation has services to Lake Louise village (4.5 hours) and Banff (5.5 hours).

Getting Around

By Car

Using a car is good thing to do if you want to reach trailheads when you want to go hiking, or take trips outside the town. If you arrive by car you will need to buy a pass to enter the Jasper national park, the amount depends on the number of days and people. If you arrive without a car and want to rent a car this can be done at the train station (National and Hertz) or at the Sundog office (Avis).

By Public Transport

There are no city buses, the only public transport are the shuttle busses to Marmot Basin and the Skytram, but there are some taxicompanies in town you can use.

By Foot

If you stick to town and use tours to see something arond town, and maybe the shuttle bus to Marmot basin to go skiing, you can get around fine without any transportation of your own.

By Bike

You could get around with a bike, but please take noitce that this is a mountain terrain. Also you need to take notice about what to do when you encounter wildlife especially when riding your bike outside of the town. As you are within a national park you should not encounter wildlife and never feed animals. If you do you alter the behavour of these animals which is not benificial for them or for humans. This is bear country, but most accidents actually occur with the elk, during spring (when the young are born) and fall when it is mating season.

Eat

Most of the hotels in or near Jasper have restaurants that will meet or beat your expectations for dining in a small community. Some are higher-toned than others, but across the board food is generally very good and portions tend to be hearty. In addition to the hotel restaurants, the town has several noteworthy dining spots as well as numerous restaurants catering to the hungry but penny-pinching skiers and other visiting outdoors-folk.

Drink

• Hearthstone Lounge and Champs Sports Lounge (Sawridge Inn), 82 Connaught Drive, ☎ +1 780-852-5111. Hearthstone Lounge (10:30am to 10:00pm) offers appetizers, soups and a wide selection of light meals. Cocktails, wines by the glass, fine draught beer. Unique furnishings, large flat screen TVs, stone fireplace. Champs Sports Lounge (4:30pm to midnight) offers food and drink, Wednesday night karaoke, UFC fight nights on large flat screen TVs, NHL games and playoffs. $9-$20 (lunch, dinner).
• Villa Caruso, 640 Connaught Drive (Corner Hazel Ave), ☎ +1 780 852-3920. Steak House & Bar.

Sleep

In the summer, there is excellent camping in the campgrounds operated by Parks Canada. Throughout the year, it is possible to stay in private home accommodation - rooms or suites in residents' homes. Prices vary, but standards are high - full details of what is available can be found in the tourist office in town. Hostelling International runs a series of hostels throughout Jasper National Park. Jasper International is the closest to town (7 kilometres southwest from Jasper on Whistlers Road, and is open all year), and four Wilderness Hostels which cater more towards trekkers and those people who "enjoy getting in touch with nature."

There are numerous motels and inns within the town, as well as in Hinton, just outside the eastern entrance to the park.

Keep Connected

Internet

Internet usage is wide-spread in Canada. Wi-fi is available in many locations in larger cities, sometimes free and sometimes at a cost. You will find Wi-Fi in coffee stores, some restaurants and also hotels and motels more and more offer this service for free, but with a code usually. Internet cafes are common along major streets, and and in larger cities, charge between $3 and $4 for an hour, usually in 20-minute increments.

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

The country calling code to Canada is: 1. To make an international call from Canada, the code is: 011. Emergency services can be reached by dialling 911. This number will give you free access to Police, Fire and Ambulance services and can be used from landlines, phone booths and cell phones.

The populous areas of Canada along the border with the USA have excellent cellular and wired telecommunications, meaning that travellers are never fair from an international phone call home, a WIFI connection or an internet cafe. Depending on the mobile phone provider, coverage could be either CDMA and GSM coverage. Travellers wishing to purchase SIM cards for GSM phones should look for Rogers Wireless, Telus Mobility and Bell Mobility, which all offer nationwide availability.

Post

Postal service is provided by Canada Post, a crown corporation owned by the government but run as an independent business. Most post offices keep hours from 9:00am to 5:00pm though in bigger places longer hourse might be available.

To format the envelope of a letter sent within Canada, put the destination address on the centre of its envelope, with a stamp, postal indicia, meter label, or frank mark on the top-right corner of the envelope to acknowledge payment of postage. A return address, although it is not required, can be put on the top-left corner of the envelope in smaller type than the destination address.

The lettermail service allows the mailing of a letter. The basic rate is currently set at $0.63 for one standard letter (30 grams or less). The rates for lettermail are based or weight and size and determine whether the article falls into the aforementioned standard format, or in the oversize one. The rate is the same for a postcard. Mail sent internationally is known as letterpost. It can only contain paper documents. The rate for a standard letter is of $1.10 if sent to the United States, and $1.85 if sent to any other destination. Oversize or overweight letters may be charged a higher fee. Larger parcels can be shipped via Canada post both domestically and internationally, the rate is dependent on the weight and destination. ^[1]

Federal Express, TNT, UPS or DHL also provide interntional shipping from Canada and are usually very quick and reliable though might cost a little more compared to Canada Post.