From the beginner hiker to the seasoned mountain biker, Jasper National Park’s valley trail network offers something for everyone. With over 220 kms to choose from, valley trails radiate from town doorsteps, providing easy access to precipitous viewpoints, challenging single tracks or serene lakeside strolls.
Many of the trails currently being used in the park were once old logging roads and horse routes. With this in mind, trail management over the past decade has been primarily focused on incorporating new trails, upgrading old trails and restoring unofficial trails that are situated in less than ideal locations. All trail decisions take ecological and recreational values into consideration.
Using wildlife routes, and building your own trails or bike structures on existing trails, creates a confusing mosaic of unsigned trails in areas usually set aside for a reason. Unofficial trails and structures damage vegetation, disturb wildlife, are built without safety standards and protocols, and are illegal in a national park.
As residents of a national park community, visitors look to us for guidance on how to use our trail system. Do your part to help maintain the trails in Jasper National Park. For more information on trail building and maintenance in the park, contact the Jasper Trail Alliance at 780-852-4767.
Celebrating French heritage at the Palisades Centre
Parks Canada’s Palisades Stewardship Education Centre in Jasper National Park plays an important role in providing youth with opportunities to connect with nature in ways that foster an appreciation and a sense of stewardship for these wild places.
September 2014 marked the 10th anniversary of the first time a stewardship program was offered to Grade 10 students from Jasper High School. The Palisades Centre has since welcomed thousands of students and provided them with the opportunity to have unique first-hand outdoor experiences they might not otherwise have had the opportunity for. This includes: winter travel; water experiences; mountain recreation programs; photography days; and wildlife days.
In April 2014, with the invaluable leadership and contribution of local Jasper teacher, Jocelyn Nadeau, the Palisades Centre was able to offer its inaugural French culture credit program, “Sur la trace des pionniers.” In the program, students learn to connect with nature and the cultural stories of Jasper National Park from the French perspective.
Over the last two years, the program has been a hit with students, particularly from the Centre Nord School Board. Students from different schools have come together and bonded over a week of hiking, biking, snowshoeing, campfire activities, and five days of immersing themselves in the French language.
This past April, two groups ranging from Grade 9 to Grade 12 attended the program. The students came from across central and northern Alberta, and each one displayed great enthusiasm and an awe for the beauty of the breathtaking mountain landscape. The groups participated in different activities throughout the week, including visiting the Columbia Icefields, snowshoeing Moose Lake Loop, and learning about avalanche safety.
The Palisades Stewardship Education Centre works to offer experiential, hands-on education in nature for groups of all ages.
For more information about the Palisades Centre, contact 780-852-6192 ext. 225.
Parks Canada
Special to the Fitzhugh
