If you have yet to be bitten by the showshoeing bug, it’s time to take the plunge. Snowshoeing is one of the fastest growing outdoor winter sports in North America, and Jasper National Park offers a number of amazing routes to explore this winter.
To blaze your own trail in the wilderness this season, here are a handful of snowshoeing options:
BEGINNER: Mary Schaeffer Loop, Maligne Lake
Start out heading south along the shoreline of Maligne Lake, following a pleasant and winding trail that skirts the forest edge and offers glimpses of the surrounding peaks. Plenty of smaller scale wildlife call this subalpine forest home—as you will see from the many tracks. The main destination is a couple of benches and a viewpoint looking out towards Mounts Charlton and Unwin—you can continue the loop into the trees and return.
BEGINNER: Wapiti Campground
During the winter months, Wapiti campground becomes a popular place for locals to explore the winter wonders of Jasper. Campground loops become snow-covered and offer easy going, open trails. Snowshoeing routes are informal here but you can explore the shoreline of the Athabasca River and see plenty of evidence of winter’s wildlife residents. To round out your snowshoe exploration, pack your lunch and bring along a hatchet to have a campfire in one of the many kitchen shelters found at Wapiti.
BEGINNER–INTERMEDIATE: Pyramid Bench
The Pyramid Bench just north of Jasper offers a wide range of trails and links to smaller lakes scattered across the bench. Jasper’s easy trail system links the Pyramid Lake Lodge to the townsite with plenty of side routes so you can customize your own snowshoe adventures. The expansive Pyramid Lake makes for a flat and easy outing, once frozen enough to support visitors. Be mindful not to snowshoe on trackset trails for skiers, but do stop in at The Pines for an après adventure hot chocolate or bite to eat.
INTERMEDIATE: Medicine Lake
The Valley of the Wicked River includes a disappearing lake. No place more spectacular and mysterious to snowshoe can be found in Jasper National Park than at Medicine Lake. Beginning from the main viewpoint looking south down the valley, a snowshoe adventure around the lake’s frozen bouldery edges is both stunning and spectacular. Marvel at the massive pieces of limestone and the abrupt face of the Queen Elizabeth ranges. Snowshoeing here requires a short, steep ascent/descent to/from the roadway. Once down at the lake, however, the flat terrain leaves you wide open to explore. Exercise caution on the lake ice as moving water persists year round in this location.
Visit parkscanada.gc.ca/jasper for more information.
Parks Canada
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