The Rocky Mountaineer 2015: Jasper National Park

We explored the area around Jasper town (our base for two nights) this morning, visiting a series of scenic lakes & a canyon.

After dawning wet the morning slowly warmed up, the most lifting as it did so that by lunchtime Jasper was warm & sunny.

We drove first towards Maligne Lake, stopping for a deer sighting & then to view Medicine Lake & the surrounding fire-scorched forest, then continued on to Maligne Lake, enjoying superb scenery of jagged mountain peaks & alpine forests along the way.

At Maligne Lake there was time to stroll on the lake shore, snap photos of the lake & it's famous boat house, & even to shop the excellent gift shop.
Retracing our route we made our way to Maligne Canyon, a 150 foot deep chasm carved out of the rock by water & ice over thousands of years. Despite the terrain all eventually made it back to the bus in one piece!
We ended our morning with one final stop, another beautiful lake, Pyramid Lake (& Patricia Lake en-route).
This afternoon was free to explore Jasper at leisure. Some of the group took a long walk on the town's Discovery Trail, others visited the excellent Jasper Yellowhead Museum, & some enjoyed a rafting expedition on the mighty Athabasca River.

Medicine Lake