Miette Hot Springs are the hottest hot springs in the Canadian Rockies and can be found just down the road from Jasper. The water for the natural hot springs flows from the mountain at 54°C and is then cooled to a comfortable temperature of 40°C before it enters the hot springs pool.
Like gourmet blends of coffee, a hot spring’s water features a signature mix. Each of the three Rocky Mountain Hot Springs operated by Parks Canada, (the others are in Banff and Radium), has its own unique blend of minerals, gases and temperature.
The three springs at Miette that feed the pool gush at 1,540 litres per minute and feature high concentrations of minerals. The top five minerals found in the Miette Hot Springs are sulfate, calcium, bicarbonate, magnesium and sodium.
The hot springs date back to the 1800s when Canada’s First Nations people used the springs to achieve physical and spiritual well being. Hot springs are of longstanding importance to Indigenous peoples.
The source of the three hot springs are located on Sulphur Creek, a tributary of Fiddle River. It wasn’t an easy place to get to until a crude pack trail finally appeared in 1910, making it accessible on foot or by horseback, attracting only the most determined.
Three years later, a makeshift log bathhouse and sleeping shelter were constructed. Then in 1919, striking coal miners from the nearby community of Pocahontas built a temporary bathhouse and two sweat houses.
The increasing popularity of the facility, combined with the need to create jobs during the depression, resulted in the construction of a proper road and a permanent aqua court with facilities similar to those found at the Banff Upper Hot Springs. The four-year project was completed in 1938.
The current facility was built in 1986 about a kilometre from the original building and will be renovated in the fall. The ruins of the original bathhouse still stand for those who wish to walk up the valley to see the source of the hot springs.
Soaking in the hot springs is a very affordable way to spend the day in Jasper National Park and in addition to the pools there is a picnic area and the trailhead for the popular Sulphur Skyline hike is nearby.
The hot springs are open daily from 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. and will be extended from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. beginning June 17th and includes a ‘quiet hour’ for the last hour of operation four nights a week, from Monday to Thursday (10 - 11 p.m.). Kids are still welcome, but everyone is asked to refrain from making lots of noise.
If you’re coming from the east, the Hot Springs are located just past the park gate. Turn left onto Miette Road and follow the signs. If you’re coming from the west, head east on Highway 16 and turn right on Miette Road and follow the road to the end. For more information go to www.hotsprings.ca
Parks Canada
Special to the Fitzhugh
