After a few days in Clearwater we drove a couple of hours to our next stop which is in Valemount, an area a little outside of the well-known Jasper National Park. We are staying here to be near to the (apparently equally nice) Mount Robson Provincial Park and so we could stay somewhere a bit more remote and less busy than Jasper.

We’ve got a really nice Airbnb cabin in the woods, it’s pretty massive for just the two of us with two rooms even, but it’s a great place to stay for a few nights and it’s got some lovely views out from the patio looking towards the mountains.

Day 1 – Jasper National Park

From our base in Valemount we’ve done two long day trips hiking and sightseeing. Yesterday we drove the 1.5 hours to get to Jasper, where we did a couple of hikes in the area.

It was raining a lot of the day which was a bit annoying and we got a bit damp, but we hiked up in to the mountains to see Lake Mina. We took a couple of wrong turns so this ended up being a longer hike than intended, but we got to see Cabin Lake as well.

After we arrived back in to town area, we then did the long Discovery Trial which loops around the town for about 8km. This gave us chance to look round the town itself, going in many of the (very similar) gift and tourist shops, and then….obviously….finding the local Jasper Brewing Co for a drink before we had to head home.

On the way back we stopped at our local brewery (Three Ranges Brewery) in Valemount, which is only open over the weekends but seems a very popular place. Probably because there’s not a whole lot else going on in the local town here. Good selection of beers again here.

Day 2 – Mount Robson Provisional Park

Today was our second day in the area and the weather was a lot better thankfully. Still had some random showers throughout the day, but it was warmer and mostly dry and sunny. After popping to the visitors centre to get a map and some pointers, we started the day doing the first part of the very popular Berg Lake Trail. This is a long, multi-day hike which is about 44km round-trip and requires you to camp overnight along the way. Maybe one for another trip…

We did the first part of it which was about 6km to Lake Kinney, which was probably the best lake we’ve visited so far on the trip – really picturesque and some of the photos don’t even look real.

The walk takes you along a well-defined path along the fast-flowing river, over some boardwalks and bridges and eventually you reach the lake itself.

The full route actually only opened back up today after being closed for about 4 years after loads of flood damage had caused it to be shut. They’ve been slowly re-opening sections, but the full route that takes you all the way to Berg Lake only opened up again today.

As a result of it only just re-opening today, they had a few stalls and things set up at the start of the trial, including free coffee and cake which was a very welcome sight after we got back from the hike! They were also giving away some free stuff like T-shirts, and our new Canadian moose pal, Jerry (that’s the name on the back of his hoodie)

After lunch we went to do another walk to see the Overland falls. It was a short 20 mins or so to get to the falls themselves, then you could follow a path along the river and through the forest which we did as well.

That was another long hike, and after that we had very tired legs and feet. Another quick stop at Rearguard Falls (this one really was just about 20 mins total) which were pretty crazy as you could get right next to the crashing water on the viewing platform.

After that final walk and we were ready to head home….via the brewery. That goes without saying. Jerry enjoyed the Brown Ale.

We’re moving on again tomorrow to Banff, a place we’re really looking forward to visiting. We’ve got a really scenic drive ahead along the Columbia Icefields Parkway, past Jasper again and down the mountains to Banff. It’s apparently one of the most scenic and beautiful drives in the World you can do, so we’ll be doing loads of stops along the way I expect.

Si

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