Things to do in Jasper

Jasper is a town of around 4,700 people inside Jasper National Park, at roughly 11,000 square kilometres the largest national park in the Canadian Rockies, 288 km (about 3 h 30) north of Banff along the Icefields Parkway.

A July 2024 wildfire destroyed close to a third of the town's buildings; Jasper has rebuilt and is open to visitors again, though some streets and nearby trails still show fire damage, so do not expect a fully untouched townsite. The Jasper Dark Sky Preserve is one of the largest in the world, with a festival held each October.

Rather than a stopover on the drive from Lake Louise, Jasper works better as a base for two or three nights, with its own shops, cafes and accommodation and a noticeably quieter pace than Banff.