Jasper National Park Photography Hot Spot
The Canadian Rockies mountain system comprises the southeastern part of this system, laying between the Interior Plains of Alberta and Northeastern British Columbia on the east to the Rocky Mountain Trench of BC on the west. The southern end borders Idaho and Montana of the USA.
The Canadian Rockies have numerous high peaks and ranges, such as Mount Robson (Sometimes called Mount Bella) (3,954 m (12,972 ft)) and Mount Columbia (3,747 m (12,293 ft)). Much of the range is protected by national and provincial parks, several of which collectively comprise a World Heritage Site.
What you can find in Jasper National Park
Jasper National Park is the largest national park in the Canadian Rockies, spanning 10,878 km2 (4,200 sq mi). It is located in the province of Alberta, north of Banff National Park and west of the City of Edmonton. The park includes the Columbia Icefield glaciers, hot springs, lakes, waterfalls, and mountains. Wildlife in the park consists of elk, caribou, moose, mule deer, white-tailed deer, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, grizzly bears, black bears, coyotes, beavers, Rocky Mountain pikas, hoary marmots, gray wolves, mountain lions, and wolverines.
Photography In Jasper National Park – From Banff to Jasper
It takes about 1-2 days to photograph the park’s main areas, depending on how you cover it if you are a photographer who wants to spend time getting every angle and include every square inch plan two days.
The Columbia Icefields Parkway is one of the world’s most scenic drives that stretches 144miles between Lake Louise and Jasper. There are many great things you will be able to stop and photograph along the ride up icefield parkway to get to Jasper: Peyto Lake, The Columbia Icefields, The Glacier Walk, and Bow Lake (one of our favorite spots on the planet earth.) Start your journey early up the Icefields Parkway towards Jasper. To see Bow Lake and Peyto Lake information in detail, go to our Canada Hot Spot Page.
There are several lakes in Jasper National Park, and the main tourist attraction is Maligne Lake, under a half-hour drive from the center of town. The lake is covered with tourists if you go in the summer and parking can be a hassle. We went there for this article, but we probably will not go back.
Jasper is a 4-hour drive up the icefield parkway to get there from Banff. There isn’t as much incredible dynamic scenery compared to the southern Canadian Rockies. The drive up Icefield Parkway has some stops that make this trip worthwhile, but we were not all that impressed with Jasper overall compared to the Banff area. Maybe we have just been to many incredible places in Banff, Yoho, and Revelstoke.
Waterfalls
The marvelous spots on this journey are the waterfalls. Athabasca and Sunwapta are the two best places not to miss. Lake Maligne, although beautiful, was covered by tourists in the summer. There are a few other lakes: Patricia and Pyramid that are good. The other lakes did not give us any compelling photos.
There is also Maligne Canyon to hike and photograph, which allows some for compelling images. The Maligne lookout is just a lookout. We call these pictures tourist shots from these types of locations. You can stop there and get some good images. Try to do something different than the same old shot of the island that every person in the world gets.
Jasper National Park Wildlife
Keep your eyes out for wildlife. Elk is abundant, especially early in the morning. We went during a heatwave when wildlife is known to stay in the wilderness. We did see some bears on our journey.
To see each individual Photography Hot Spot location of Jasper National Park go to our Canada Photography Hot Spot Page.
Athabasca Falls – Jasper National Park
Above – Ahtabasca Falls, Jasper National Park
To get the deep blue sky, white puffy clouds, or the milky water effect, you will need a circular polarizing filter and or a neutral density filter. Learn how to shoot waterfalls here. It is well worth the investment to get a tripod and a filter to create dynamic milky water effect waterfall images.
Patricia Lake
Patricia Lake, just a very short drive outside of the center of town, is a beautiful photography spot. This image is one of our favorites from the trip. We did some excellent night photography at this location. We ventured out for sunrise photography at Annette Lake, and the road was closed off. The park opens after sunrise. We did not locate a good sunrise location.
Tangle Falls – You will pass this going up the Icefield Parkway before you get to the town of Jasper. This was a quick stop for some photos.
Sunwapta Falls
Sunwapta Falls is accessible via a short drive off the Icefields Parkway that connects Jasper and Banff National Parks. The falls have a drop of about 18.5 meters. Sunwapta is a Stoney (Assiniboine) word that means turbulent water. It is most spectacular in the late spring when the spring melt is at its peak. This is the first stop when heading into the park.
There are two falls, a lower and an upper one. The one most people see the upper falls, as access is easy. The lower falls are a short distance away.
The water originates from the Athabasca Glacier, and volumes are higher in early summer, caused by a glacial meltdown.
