5 Awesome Things to do in Jasper, Alberta, Canada

Picking 5 awesome things to do in Jasper, Alberta, Canada is an extremely difficult task. There are so many things to do in Jasper that it would take weeks to see and do them all. So faced with the task of narrowing them down to 5 in my short 3 day stay in Jasper after a 2-day journey from Vancouver on the Rocky Mountaineer train; I give you my 5 awesome things to do in Jasper!Just make sure you have the proper healthcare in canada for non residents to stay covered at all times.

White Water Rafting the Fraser River

If you’re thinking to yourself, isn’t the water really cold in Northern Alberta. The answer is yes. The Fraser River temperature is about 8 degrees Celsius or some 50 degrees Fahrenheit. However, with a wetsuit on it’s really not that bad although you will get wet, believe me!
5 Awesome things to do in Jasper, white water rafting, Fraser River, Jasper, Alberta, Canada, travel, British Columbia
The Fraser River rafting point is about an hours drive from Jasper, actually over the border into British Columbia. You start right in the shadow of Mount Robson; which is the tallest mountain in the Canadian Rockies and is seriously gorgeous!
5 Awesome things to do in Jasper, white water rafting, Fraser River, Jasper, Alberta, Canada, travel, British Columbia
Each boat holds about 8 people plus a guide from Maligne Adventures who are really friendly and very funny-even with a few corny jokes! The ride itself is about an hour or so through mainly level 2 and 3 rapids. To put that into perspective, it’s a nice ride with some moderate rapids but mostly pretty calm and relaxing but very scenic and beautiful. You will never be scared.
5 Awesome things to do in Jasper, white water rafting, Fraser River, Jasper, Alberta, Canada, travel, British Columbia
Check it out if you’re in Jasper and if you’ve never rafted before it’s a great place to try for the first time! Trust me, my first time was in the Zambezi River at Victoria Falls; which are the biggest rapids in the world…that was scary!

Harley Davidson Motorcycle Tour

I took a Harley Davidson guided motorcycle sidecar tour with Jasper Motorcycle Tours. What that means is I got to ride in a sidecar with a super cool Harley Davidson through the mountains around Jasper. To me, this is definitely one of the coolest things to do in Jasper and the first time I had ever done something like that.
Jasper Motorcycle Tours, Harley Davidson, leather, Jasper, Alberta, Canada
The staff at Jasper Motorcycle Tours are excellent and outfit you in full out leathers; doo-rag and chaps included! You can basically pick the tour you want and the places you’d like to see.
Jasper Motorcycle Tours, Harley Davidson, leather, Jasper, Alberta, Canada
Sadly for me, although I was riding for about an hour or so, it was raining heavily when I went so I wasn’t able to get the great pictures I wanted. But even with the inclement weather, I had a blast and it was a real thrill to ride in a sidecar to a Harley Davidson.

Jasper Tramway

The Jasper Tramway takes you high above the small town of Jasper. It gives you incredible views and is the longest and highest aerial tramway in Canada. You can see forever.
Jasper Tramway, Jasper, Alberta, Canada
The tramway takes about 15 minutes to get to the top and from there you can walk along the ridge to see views in all directions. It is pretty cold up top so dress appropriately; which I did not! However, I still had a blast and got some great pictures.
Jasper Tramway, Jasper, Alberta, Canada, view
I think the best time to go up the Jasper Tramway is early in the morning, as the clouds seem to be highest at that point. Weather in Jasper is very unpredictable so give yourself a few days to do the Tramway, as the weather may not cooperate with you when you want it to!

Eating

I wasn’t expecting much for food in Jasper I’ll be honest. However, I ate at two excellent restaurants that deserve mentioning. First, Evil Dave’s is a great place to get some real variety in Jasper with some cool plays on old favorites like sushi and different meat and fish plates. The restaurant has really cool décor as well and if you need to use the restroom, just look for the neon lights that say ‘Live Nudes”!
Evil Dave's, Jasper, Alberta, Canada
I also ate a pizza place called Famoso Neapolitan Pizzeria. Now as a pizza connoisseur and proud New Yorker and veteran of authentic Napoli style pizza I wasn’t expecting anything. However, it was highly recommended so I checked it out and I have to say it was pretty damn good!
Famoso Neapolitan Pizzeria. Jasper, Alberta, Canada
The menu was extensive for different types of pizza but I went with a spicy sausage pie and it was delicious. I wouldn’t quite classify it with the great sots in New York, New Haven or Italy but it was excellent for Canada and certainly for Jasper.

Stay

As with any tourist-oriented town, jasper has a variety of accommodation to choose from. I stayed at the Tekarra Lodge, which is about a mile outside of town, just across the train tracks and the Trans-Canada Highway. It was excellent and really gives you a great feel for what Jasper has to offer.
Tekarra Lodge, Jasper, Alberta, Canada
The cabins are self sufficient and free standing. The beds are excellent and the amenities are just as good as anywhere in town. The rooms are very moderately priced, especially compared to the Fairmont in town.
Tekarra Lodge, Jasper, Alberta, Canada
However, the jewel of the Tekarra Lodge is simply the views or the river, mountains, forest and just nature in general. It is so relaxing to stroll around the grounds and just be in nature. The staff is also very friendly and I highly recommend staying there if you’re in Jasper!
Jasper, Alberta, Canada
Obviously, these are only 5 things to do in Jasper and there are hundreds more. Jasper is a great town that is as scenic as anywhere on Earth-it really is beautiful. Many people dismiss Jasper and head straight to Banff but I loved Jasper and would love to go back!

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Comments

  1. I thought you bleached your hair there for a second before I looked closer and read that it is a doo rag…phew!

  2. mmmmmmmmmmm pizza

  3. Elizabeth says

    Not gonna lie, you look pretty sexy in those chaps!

  4. Great post, I would love to visit Jasper!

  5. Jasper is truly one of the most unique and memorable places that I have visited. I have not seen half of what you’ve seen so it is nice and reassuring to hear you feel the same way about Jasper. Thanks for sharing, Lee.

  6. Lee, great photos of the rafting trip. Were the pictures included with the trip or did they cost extra?

  7. We stayed at the Fairmont in Jasper and I was pretty disappointed to be honest because it wasn’t nearly as nice as some of the other Fairmont’s in Western Canada. It was also far from town. I would have preferred to stay closer to town. I looked up Tekarra and for the price, it really doesn’t look too much different than our room at the Fairmont Lodge.

    • Allyson, I visited the Fairmont as well during my stay in jasper and wasn’t too impressed although didn’t see into the rooms/cabins…it wasn’t the Banff Springs, Chateau Lake Louise or Chateau Frontenac!

  8. Thanks for a great article about Jasper. Jaspar is definitely on my radar as a place to visit in Canada (along with Banff, Calgary, Vancouver, Whistler etc), so it is great to learn more about the different options available. The tramway looks great and the area looks amazing!

  9. I grew up in Jasper and you nailed a lot of the wonderful things you can do in my hometown. I hope you can visit again sometime and see, do, and eat even more.

  10. Hey Lee, thanks for putting us at number one! Glad you had a good time rafting with us and in Jasper in general.

  11. Great post thanks for sharing.

  12. Nice review as I sit in Jasper’s The Other Paw cafe this morn! 3 days? U just touched the surface, obviously not a hiker! So much more to see so U need to return. Did U come with low expectations? If so I wonder why?

  13. Awesome information and the photos were really helpful; your insight is greatly appreciated.

  14. Great post! I like rafting trip and I also wanting to travel around a bit. It really helpful information you shared. Thank you so much for sharing it.

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