Jasper National Park
Canada’s Jasper National Park is best known for its breathtaking mountain landscapes and its abundant wildlife. Located in the Canadian Rockies of Alberta, Jasper National Park is the largest national park in the Canadian Rockies and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The park is renowned for its towering snow-capped peaks, pristine alpine meadows, and sparkling turquoise lakes, creating a paradise for outdoor enthusiasts and nature lovers.
Visitors can explore a vast network of hiking trails that lead to stunning viewpoints, including the iconic Columbia Icefield, which includes the Athabasca Glacier, and Maligne Lake. Jasper National Park is also home to an incredible variety of wildlife, including elk, moose, black bears, and bighorn sheep, offering visitors the chance to observe these majestic creatures in their natural habitat. The park’s Dark Sky Preserve status makes it an excellent destination for stargazing, as it boasts some of the darkest and clearest skies in the world.
VISIT Jasper National Park:
Park Details
Jasper National Park was established in 1907, and has a total area of 2,774,400 acres (4,335 square miles, or 11,232 square kilometers).
| Address | Jasper, AB, T0E 1E0 |
|---|---|
| Phone | 780-852-6176 |
| Hours | Open year-round |
| Entrance Fee | Free-$11 per day, depending on age |
| Learn More | Official Website |
When to Visit: Weather vs. Peak Visitation
We crunched 30 years of historical weather and/or park service data to find the best months to visit Jasper National Park. We looked for the optimal temperatures, the least amount of snow and rain, and stayed away from peak visitation months if we could help it. All this data then helped us paint a picture as to what the absolute best time to visit Jasper National Park is.
Our data shows the best months to visit Jasper National Park are July, June, August & September.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Park Visits | 59,600 | 55,800 | 77,800 | 153,100 | 148,200 | 184,700 | 450,400 | 451,700 | 342,900 | 72,000 | 52,600 | 51,100 |
| Precipitation | 31 | 23 | 36 | 54 | 83 | 102 | 81 | 72 | 57 | 44 | 37 | 25 |
| Avg Temp | 29 | 32 | 36 | 44 | 55 | 64 | 70 | 70 | 61 | 47 | 33 | 28 |
| Max Temp | 39 | 41 | 45 | 59 | 71 | 76 | 82 | 82 | 75 | 63 | 43 | 40 |
| Avg Temp | 14 | 16 | 22 | 31 | 40 | 47 | 52 | 51 | 43 | 34 | 22 | 14 |
| Min Temp | -14 | -7 | 0 | 15 | 27 | 36 | 40 | 39 | 31 | 15 | 0 | -10 |
Jasper National Park Road Trips
Many family vacations consist of stringing one or more national parks together during a week-long trip. Creating these types of trips is our specialty! Here are the road trips we've created where Jasper National Park is visited.
| Trip Name | Trip Miles | Trip Days |
|---|---|---|
| Jasper, Yoho and Banff | 687 | 9 |
Other Nearby National Park Sites
From national monuments, to historic sites to seashores and more, here are the other parks closest to Jasper National Park.
| Name | Distance |
|---|---|
| Kootenay National Park | 54 km |
| Glacier National Park | 85 km |
| Yoho National Park | 93 km |
| Mount Revelstoke National Park | 99 km |
| Banff National Park | 104 km |
| Waterton Lakes National Park | 188 km |
| Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area | 299 km |
| Glacier National Park | 324 km |
| North Cascades National Park | 378 km |
Nearest Ski Resorts
For those of you who are the diehard outdoors type, visiting a national park on a ski trip can be quite the adventure. Here are the ski resorts within 100 miles of Jasper National Park:
| Name | Location | Summit | Difficulty Score™ | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Panorama Mountain | Panorama, BC | 8,038 ft | 87% | 49 km |
| Kicking Horse | Golden, BC | 8,218 ft | 90% | 73 km |
| Summit Lake Ski Area | Nakusp, BC | 3,018 ft | 11% | 78 km |
| Fairmont Hot Springs Resort Ski Area | Fairmont Hot Springs, BC | 5,200 ft | 44% | 81 km |
| Banff Sunshine Village | Banff, AB | 8,957 ft | 68% | 93 km |
| Revelstoke | Revelstoke, BC | 7,300 ft | 100% | 98 km |
| Lake Louise | Lake Louise, AB | 8,650 ft | 66% | 101 km |
| Mount Norquay | Banff, AB | 6,998 ft | 53% | 108 km |
| Fortress Mountain Resort | Kananaskis, AB | 8,400 ft | 57% | 118 km |
| Kimberley Alpine Resort | Kimberly, BC | 6,500 ft | 62% | 123 km |
| Nakiska Ski | Kananaskis, AB | 7,415 ft | 60% | 124 km |
| Whitewater | Nelson, BC | 6,709 ft | 69% | 138 km |
Nearest Airports
When visiting a National park, many people are faced with either a very long drive across country, or a much shorter flight.
Large Airports
A large airport has scheduled major airline service with millions of passengers per year. This type of airport always accepts international flights. Here are the closest large airports to Jasper National Park.
| Name | Code | City | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calgary International Airport | YYC | Calgary, AB | 206 km |
| Edmonton International Airport | YEG | Edmonton, AB | 371 km |
| Vancouver International Airport | YVR | Vancouver, BC | 480 km |
| Seattle–Tacoma International Airport | SEA | Seattle, WA | 533 km |
| Portland International Airport | PDX | Portland, OR | 705 km |
Medium Airports
A medium-sized airport has scheduled regional airline service. This type of airport may or may not accept international flights. Here are the closest medium-sized airports to Jasper National Park.
| Name | Code | City | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cranbrook/Canadian Rockies International Airport | YXC | Cranbrook, BC | 139 km |
| Castlegar/West Kootenay Regional Airport | YCG | Castlegar, BC | 160 km |
| Kelowna International Airport | YLW | Kelowna, BC | 194 km |
| Penticton Airport | YYF | Penticton, BC | 236 km |
| Kamloops Airport | YKA | Kamloops, BC | 252 km |
| Lethbridge County Airport | YQL | Lethbridge, AB | 311 km |
| Glacier Park International Airport | FCA | Kalispell, MT | 321 km |
Credits: Campground data provided by USCampgrounds.info. Map shapes from CartographyVectors. Weather data from NOAA. Airport data from OurAirports.com. Images from Unsplash, Flickr and Parks&Trips. All data has also been updated and augmented by Parks&Trips.