Hiking

The Brazeau Loop is a five day 80 km trek into the high alpine passes and forested river valleys of Jasper National Park. It is a fantastic hike – there are a few days of the loop spent in the forest, and we did those days first, hiking the loop anti-clockwise. We’d recommend this because, following the superb hike into the loop over Nigel Pass, the scenery builds and you get a real WOW as you emerge over Jonas Shoulder on day 4 and look south down Jonas Pass. Amazing!

Assiniboine Provincial Park is simply fantastic! Nowhere in The Rockies have we found a place with such great variety in dayhiking – it just requires a tough backpack into the campsite at Magog Lake and then you have ridges, peaks, passes, and lakes to explore. There is also afternoon tea at the lodge.

We took advantage of the early snowmelt this year to head into Paradise Valley and up and over Sentinel Pass before Canada Day. Hiking here so early also means that you don’t have to worry about grizzly bears – later in the year there are hiking restrictions and your need to hike in a minimum group size. We also did an easy dayhike the following day – climbing Parker Ridge near to the Columbia Icefield – fantastic views of the Saskatchewan Glacier.

The Rockwall is dubbed as one of the finest multi-day backpack trips in North America – a 55 km one way trek along the base of the famous limestone cliffs. The route includes several alpine passes, which combine with steep plunges into lush forested valleys where great backcountry campsites are located.