Retired couple Gene and Laurie wrote about RVing in their 40′ motorhome across North America.  If you are thinking about RVing in the Canadian Rockies, it will be an inspiration.

Gene and Laurie make me envious of their 10-day experience in Banff and Jasper National Parks in the Canadian Rockies.  RVing seems like lots of fun and offers a unique freedom to experience the parks at a leisurely pace without the need for hotel rooms.

They write:  “The vistas are breathtaking and each day we approach ’sensory overload’ as the roads and views seem to be more beautiful with each turn.”

Besides the vistas, they were fortunate to see lots of wildlife including deer and elk in their campground and a family of bears in the wilderness.

They took lots of photos in Banff and Jasper and said this of the experience:  “Huge mountain’s, snow capped summits, deep gorges, rushing rivers and spectacular falls are everywhere; and then you get to the glaciers !”  Now that’s an experience of a lifetime.

OK, that’s it, I want an RV.

Oh, wait, I don’t have enough money.  RVs can be as expensive as buying a home.

Alas, there is a solution.

Don’t have an RV? Rent one.

You’ll see a lot of rented RVs in Jasper National Park.

If you live in the States, it may be more cost effective to fly to Calgary and pick-up an RV there instead of driving from the States.  Another option is to pick-up the RV in Montana and drive north, or Vancouver and drive east.

Renting an RV is not particularly cheap - it can be like the cost of a hotel and a car rental combined.  The good news is that they have kitchens so you can save money eating-in instead of dining out.  Read my advice buying locally grown food in Alberta - easy to do in an RV with a kitchen.  Not only will it save money, but it will reduce your travel carbon footprint for your Jasper National Park and Canadian Rockies vacation.

The freedom and convenience makes RVs very desirable.

Places to rent RVs

For a good list of places to rent RVs in Alberta and beyond, check out the Go RVing Canada website.

Also, take a look at Cruise America. They have a Calgary, Alberta location and a Vancouver, BC location and many other locations in the US and Canada.

Still have sticker shock?

Another alternative way to experience the great outdoors is to go tent camping in Jasper National Park.  It is a fraction of the cost and can be just as much fun.

Related posts:

1. Banff National Park on a Budget

Rent a mini SUV (the modern minivan) and head for the highway!  Catherine Conners and Katie York, 2 moms from the Canada Moms Blog, are doing just that.

They’re driving a rental vehicle from eastern Canada all the way to Vancouver on the west coast - with a stop planned in Jasper National Park.  Sounds like lots of fun!

Learn more about the Canadian Moms Blog Road Trip.

My advice for driving cross-country with kids to Jasper:  Stop at the West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton too!

When doing a cross-country trip with kids, on the way to (or from) Jasper National Park, you’ll probably want to stop for the night in Edmonton.  If you do, make some time for the West Edmonton Mall.  The mall has lots to do for the kids, like the waterpark, minigolf, ice skating rink and lots more.  After half a day in the mall, the kids will surely sleep for hours - a reward parents should thank me for!

Learn more about activites for kids in Jasper National Park.

Related posts:

1. Alberta Travel Beyond Jasper
2. Riding the VIA Rail Train to Jasper National Park

Bicycle enthusiast-and-a-half Scott Mullin started riding on his birthday on February 21, 2009.  He started in Pompano Beach, Florida, USA - the other side of the continent!

He just left Banff National Park on June 25 and then spent a few days riding through and camping in Jasper National Park.  On June 28 he rode from Jasper townsite to Hinton, Alberta and will continue all the way to Alaska.

“Why?”, you ask.  He explains on his website:  “No mortgage… no wife… no kids… and now no job… what’s a guy living in South Florida to do? Jump on a bike and ride to Alaska of course.”

Sounds reasonable.

Scott also writes:  “For me this journey is about providing myself with an opportunity to learn from other people/cultures so I can contribute more.”

Scott posts to his blog about his epic cross-country bicycle journey every step of the way (or is it ‘peddle of the way’?).  He’s seen lots of North America during his first 4 months - Georgia, Kentucky, Iowa, Nebraska, Montana, British Columbia and Alberta to name a few.  He takes plenty of interesting photos along the way.

A few days ago, he wrote about staying at Wabasso Campground in Jasper (pointing out how strict they are about quietness/drinking) and then about getting friendly tune-up service at Freewheel Cycle, a bicycle shop in Jasper townsite (which, by the way, is a good place for us mere mortals to rent bicycles).

On his last day in Jasper, he writes about the ride out and then camping at a KOA in Hinton.

Browse through some of his recent posts, as he has wonderful pictures of the Canadian Rockies.  Speaking of pictures, see a picture of Scott and his bicycle here in Florida, to see where it all started.

Good luck Scott!!

Related posts:

1. Jasper’s Amethyst Lake Makes Magazine Cover

As often happens during peak summer months, travelers are frustrated about the availability of hotels within Jasper National Park.

I’ve been to Yellowstone National Park and the situation is similar.  Finding accommodations within Yellowstone National Park can be even harder than Jasper National Park.

As the saying goes, “it is what it is.”  If these great parks were full of hotels, they’d be cities.

For travelers planning a visit to Jasper National Park, there are several alternatives to staying in hotels within Jasper:

1. Stay in Hinton, AB hotels on the eastern border of Jasper National Park.
2. Stay in Valemount, BC near Mt Robson Provincial Park, an hour from Jasper’s western border.
3. Stay in Banff National Park, on Jasper’s southern border.
4. Try camping in Jasper National Park in a tent or bring an RV.
5. Stay in a Jasper private home accommodation - Few travelers know about private home accommodations in Jasper National Park.  They are not heavily promoted and can be a bargain.

Or, do a combination of the above.

Related posts:

1. Hotel Alternatives: Jasper Private Home Accommodations
2. Hotels in Hinton, Alberta - A Jasper Hotel Alternative
3. Banff National Park on a Budget

To get a taste for the travel experience, here are some recent videos taken by fellow Jasper National Park travelers riding the Brewster Ice Explorer bus on the Athabasca Glacier. These videos are taken by Jasper National Park travelers with video cameras and the skills to put together a video and share it on YouTube.

One could argue that these videos are a little bit of a spoiler and reveal too much. Don’t worry! In the case of the Athabasca Glacier, anyone who has been there and taken pictures or video will always say that there is no way to truly capture the experience. The scale of the place is beyond comprehension.

So we should thank our fellow camera-toting travel video makers. They provide a taste of the Athabasca Glacier, but it is just a small sample - hopefully motivation for your own Athabasca Glacier experience. If you want a true taste, you can actually eat the snow.

This Athabasca Glacier video (narration in Chinese), taken from the driver’s seat of a Brewster snocoach, offers a unique perspective. Try to get a front sear on the bus for a similar experience.

This final video shows that visiting the Athabasca Glacier on a snowy day might not be such a good idea. The view just isn’t the same.

Related posts:

1. 9 Cool Pictures of Columbia Icefield and Athabasca Glacier
2. Historical Postcard: Rappelling Above Athabasca Glacier
3. Jasper and Banff National Park HD Videos

VIA Rail trip reports

Traveler Carolyn writes about her experience on VIA Rail’s Canadian, going from Vancouver to Toronto with a stop at Jasper National Park.  By the looks of the pictures and all of the snow on the ground, it was a winter trip.  Read article.

Traveler Susan also writes a blog post about riding on the Canadian and stopping at Jasper National Park and Banff National Parks during the day.   Read article.

Videos of VIA Rail Trains

This traveler’s video shows scenes from VIA Rail’s Skeena line from Prince Rupert, BC to Jasper National Park, AB.

This video by Vacations Canada provides a quick tour of the VIA Rail Canadian line.

VIA Rail train from above

From the ground at Jasper National Park train station

YouTube contributor bcrcndr now has 55 brief videos showing segments of a cross-country trip aboard the VIA Rail Canadian.

Proving that there is a video on YouTube for everything, this is a video of a person going from one end of the train to the other. Not particularly exciting, it does at least show what the inside looks like.

There you have it.  These resources should have provided a good honest idea about what riding on a VIA Rail train is like.  Have you rode VIA Rail before?  What’s your experience?

Related posts:

1. Riding the VIA Rail Train to Jasper National Park
2. Jasper and Banff National Park HD Videos
3. Real traveler videos of the Athabasca Glacier in Jasper National Park

Yes, marmots earned the nickname “whistlers” from the sounds they make.  In Jasper National Park, Whistlers Mountain has whistlers (marmots) living on it. You may spot a few when taking the Jasper Tramway up to the top of the mountain.

The planet has 14 species of marmots (learn about all 14 on the UCLA marmot burrow).  The type living in the Canadian Rockies are called “hoary marmots.”

According to the fact sheet here, hoary marmots make 4 kinds of whistling sounds: “ascending calls”, “descending calls”, “flat calls” and “trills”. The whistle sound might be different between the sound made for ground predators and aerial predators.

Play this video to hear a marmot whistling.

Finding Hoary Marmots on Jasper National Park

According to a hoary marmot species profile by Gustav Yaki, the place to find marmots in Alberta is in higher elevations.  He says between 2,100-2,450 m (6,800-8,000 ft), usually above the treeline.  He points out that marmots are vegetarians and may be eating grasses near their dens if they are not in the midst of their 8-month long hibernation.

Pictures of Hoary Marmots

Keep a look-out at high elevations.  You may see a hoary marmot or two.

Related posts:

1. Wildlife at Jasper National Park
2. Build your own igloo in the Canadian Rockies
3. Arthur Frommer recommends Canadian Rockies

Free Online Maps from Parks Canada and others

Browse through these Jasper National Park maps.

• Icefields Parkway Interactive Map (Really cool interactive map from the start of the Icefields Parkway in Banff National Park all the way through Jasper National Park to Jasper townsite) (IcefieldsParkway.ca)
• The Whole Park (Parks Canada)
• Icefields Parkway (PDF - Parks Canada)
• Jasper Townsite (Where most of the Jasper hotels are) (Parks Canada)
• Whistlers/Tramway (Jasper Tramway) (Parks Canada)
• Maligne Valley (Map of Maligne Lake and Medicine Lake) (Parks Canada)
• entire park (general road map) (Live Maps)
• Another Jasper Townsite map (A free printed version of this can be found at the Jasper Information Centre) (Jasper Tourism website)

Printed Maps of Jasper National Park

Before visiting Jasper National Park, it is good to have maps in-hand. While it is may be hard to find printed maps at local bookstores, there is a map available on Amazon.com. Also many of the books in the Jasper National Park Journal store have maps in them.

Free Jasper National Park Maps

Wondering how to get free printed maps of Jasper National Park? If you are a CAA or AAA member, check with your local office as they are known to be a good resource for driving maps.

Also, check out your local library. While they may not carry maps, they might have a Jasper National Park book on hand with maps in it. If not, ask about inter-library loan. You may also want to explore the atlases in the reference section of your library. You may find some great Jasper National Park maps that you can photocopy. Consider taking a digital photo of the atlas map and leaving it on your camera for the trip - as it is can be more convenient to look at a map on the camera than pulling out the printed map.

Upon arrival at the Edmonton or Calgary airports, take a look around for tourist brochures near the exist. Usually, there will be something with a map. If that doesn’t work, your car rental agency is likely to have a free map for at least Edmonton and Calgary if you ask.

On the way to Jasper from Edmonton, Calgary or British Columbia, look for free maps at hotels and rest areas. Once in Jasper or Banff, free maps will be readily available at information centers.

Jasper National Park Road Map by Google

View Larger Map

Jasper National Park Aerial Map by Google

View Larger Map

(Originally posted September 3, 2006. Updated and enhanced May 19, 2009.)

But this character, tired of all of the tourists taking pictures of him, decides to stick out his tongue.

Learn more about Jasper National Park elk.

Related posts:

1. Photo: On Top of Whistler’s Mountain
2. Wildlife Profile: Hoary Marmots in the Canadian Rockies

VIA Rail Canada trains are geared towards cross-country travelers and the trains have all sorts of conveniences making for a very relaxing way to see the countryside and get to Jasper National Park.

This video was produced by the Alberta tourism board. It provides an excellent glimpse of the VIA Rail experience in action. One of the passengers is interviewed. Pay very close attention to his name.

This 2nd video shows a VIA Rail passenger trail as it pulls into the Jasper train station.

VIA Rail routes

VIA Rail routes can include a variety of destinations.   See the VIA Rail website for exact details, availability and pricing.  Here’s a brief overview of VIA Rail’s offerings that include a stop in Jasper National Park.

The Canadian - Vancouver to Toronto

VIA Rail calls the Canadian “the ultimate Canada train trip between Toronto, Jasper and Vancouver!” It is world-renowned.  Imagine going from the big city of Toronto on Lake Ontario in eastern Canada all the way to multicultural Vancouver on the west coast of Canada with stops at Jasper National Park and others along the way.  Besides Jasper, there are stops in Sudbury Junction, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Edmonton, and Kamloops. Now that is the ultimate cross-country train adventure.

The Skeena - Prince Rupert to Jasper National Park

Take the Jasper-Prince Rupert train (the Skeena) for a 2 day journey from Prince Rupert in British Columbia to Jasper in Alberta, Canada.

The observation deck on the VIA Rail trains provides a one-of-a-kind way to view the Canadian Rockies.

The Snow Train

During winter, VIA Rail offers Edmonton-Jasper and Toronto-Jasper-Vancouver routes on the Snow Train.  Learn more on VIA Rail’s website here.

What to do in Jasper National Park upon arrival?

What does one do once arriving at the Jasper National Park train station?  See the Jasper National Park Train Station Guide.

Related posts:

1. Train to Jasper - VIA Rail Trip Reports and Videos
2. Jasper Train Station Guide
3. Elk versus train: Who wins?