This Is Paradise: Maligne Lake, Jasper Tramway/ The Whistlers in Jasper National Park

By Stephen A. Nelson

For the Brandon Sun

“If I’ve only got one day in Jasper, what’s the one thing I MUST do?”
Well, if you were my guest in Jasper, I would hope you would stay more than one day. Six days of (re)creation would be suitable for a place many believe to be Paradise.
But if you have only a short time in Jasper, here’s what I would show you...

Almost Heaven: Maligne Lake, Jasper National Park, Alberta

Discovered by explorer Mary Schäffer, celebrated by Group of Seven painter Lawren Harris, explored by local guide Curly Phillips, and made famous by local photographer Harry Rowed, Maligne Lake has been called the most beautiful place in the Canadian Rockies.

It is stunningly beautiful. But the whole area would be better off if there weren't so many people -- or at least if we were committed to minimising the impact we are having on the environment and the endangered wildlife... and I don't mean American tourists.

A Taste of Heaven: Angel Glacier in Jasper National Park

 Mount Edith Cavell (rhymes with travel) is just south of the town of Jasper and is one of the mountains that define Jasper.

The mountain went by many unofficial names until 1916, when it was named for Edith Cavell. She was an English nurse executed by the Germans during World War I for having helped Allied solders escape from occupied Belgium.

The rapidly receding Angel Glacier is one of the best known in the park, and was once part of a massive glacial system that carved out the valleys of Jasper.

If you don't believe in global warming, just take a look at what's happened to this glacier in 25 years.

Coming Soon: Touring the Icefields Parkway Athabasca Glacier from Old Bridge

An unusual view of the Athabasca Glacier at the Columbia Icefield. The Athabasca Glacier is the most visited glacier in North America.
But most people won't see it from this perspective. To see this, you have to get out of the car or bus and put your hiking shoes on. And that's a lot easier if you've stayed at the Glacier View Inn or a nearby campground.