Hotels in Jasper

Jasper is the largest national park in the Canadian Rockies and the quieter, wilder counterpart to Banff, with a small townsite of around 4,600 people surrounded by glaciers, canyons and some of the best wildlife viewing in the country. Elk, bighorn sheep and bears are regularly seen from the road.

A wildfire in July 2024 destroyed roughly a third of the townsite's buildings, and rebuilding is still under way. The park itself remains open and the landscape is largely intact, though some accommodation and businesses have not returned and burn scars are visible along parts of the valley. Check what is operating before you book.

The highlights are the Icefields Parkway south towards Banff, widely called one of the most scenic drives in the world, the Columbia Icefield with its Athabasca Glacier and Skywalk, the narrow walls of Maligne Canyon and the turquoise Maligne Lake with Spirit Island. Jasper is also the world's second-largest Dark Sky Preserve, with a dedicated astronomy festival each October.