I always look forward to doing a Jasper travel article. Every time GayCalgary goes to Jasper to cover Jasper Pride, I am introduced to some amazing gems that the area offers along with the amazing scenery. With 2017 affording free access to National Parks, I recommend taking the opportunity to check out Jasper. Of course coming for Pride would be the best time – and it is off season – so you can enjoy the sites a lot easier than when it is peak season.

Rob and I would usually drive from Calgary to Jasper and back. This year, due to me needing to be in Jasper a day early, Tourism Jasper set me up on the shuttle from Calgary. The Calgary to Banff portion of the trip is run by Brewster, and from Banff to Jasper, by Sundog Tours. This was a great way to get there without needing to worry about road conditions. In the past, the roads have been fine, but things can easily change.

The bus service runs once a day and the Brewster Bus is your standard coach, like Greyhound. When booking your trip, you book through Sundog Tours, and they will handle the arrangements with Brewster. The bus picked me up at the Fairmont Palliser Hotel in downtown Calgary and made several stops at other hotels before going to the Calgary Airport, which is its last stop in Calgary. The bus leaves that stop at 11:30am. From there is heads straight to Banff and drops you at the Brewster Bus Depot.

At 1:30pm a Sun Dog Shuttle picks up the passengers to depart for Jasper, making a stop at the Fairmont Lake Louise. The shuttle does not have a bathroom, so it is recommended to go here, or you will need to stop on the side of the road. There are no restrooms open during the off-season along the way to Jasper.

The bus is not a tour bus so they don’t stop at the Columbia Ice Fields or other sites. The bus reached Jasper at 5:30pm, and made stops at each location passengers needed to be dropped off at. It was nice to not have to worry about getting from downtown to the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge. The shuttle also picks people up from their hotels to takes them back to Banff to return to Calgary. I did not need to use the return service, since I would be returning with Rob and Justin.

Once I checked in at Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge, I headed out to one of the Jasper Pride events. At the Fairmont Chateau Whistler, the staff was extremely helpful and friendly. It was great to see that continue at Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge. Not having a car to get downtown, you find out that Jasper is big enough to have taxi service, but the Jasper Park Lodge has a shuttle service too, which dropped me off.

Walking between Jasper Pride events late at night is peaceful and dark, even though there are streetlights, not like the city. In 2011 Jasper National Park was designated by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada as a Dark Sky Preserve, an area where almost no artificial light is visible at night. So in the late hours, if the sky is clear, you get a spectacular view of the stars. During Jasper Pride, there was also a full moon, so you could see the white tops of the mountains glowing in the background, which just added to the awesome visual that Jasper has. This upcoming Jasper Pride, the last event is the Jasper Pride Full Moon Hike, which is happening on Sunday night – so plan your stay for an additional day if you can.

On Friday, Rob and Justin did the Pride Ice Canyon Walk, hosted by Sundog Tours. Check out the article at 34. While they were there, I spent time at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge doing a walkthrough of the grounds, and was explained the differences between the cabins along with some of the property’s 100 years’ worth of history. Check out article at 29.

After all of us finished our activities, we checked out the main street. There is a good stretch of shops and restaurants along Connaught Drive. They are all located along the west side of the road, where the east side of the road is parking, the train station and the train tracks. Additional shops and restaurants are located along Patricia Street. If you are staying at other hotels in Jasper, they are scattered all around, but the foot print of Jasper makes it easy to walk around. You can park the car and just use it if you are heading to Marmot Basin for skiing, or if you are going to head over to the Fairmont, which is a 16-minute drive.

While walking around, be prepared to come across wild life. At Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge, it was happening all the time, but it also happens in the town. We found out the bears had woken early from hibernation, and have been seen. A bear even ran across the slopes where people were skiing. There is information available on how much distance to keep from the wildlife that you encounter. Have a camera ready with a good zoom lens; don’t get up close and do selfies. You can terrorize the animal, or they might attack.

During Pride, businesses participate in the festivities by decorating windows and even catering to the gay community with special ‘Pride’ products. Jasper Brewing Company does a Pride beer, Pride fudge, Pride coffee beans, and more. Pride flags hang all along Connaught Drive. Jasper, during Pride, becomes a Gay Winter Village, which shows how inviting the town is for the LGBTQ community.

On Saturday, Rob took in snowboarding at Marmot Basin. Marmot Basin is about a half hour drive from downtown Jasper or 40 minutes from Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge. There are shuttles available to take you to the mountain, too. I don’t snowboard or ski but, since there are Pride events happening at Marmot Basin, I went to take photos. Unlike Whistler, where people who are there to sightsee can take a gondola up the mountain, I had to arrange to get up on a snowmobile.

Amid clear blue skies, the view from Marmot basin is breathtaking. There are some shops and restaurants at the base of the Basin but, unless you are there to partake in the outdoor activities on the mountain, I would suggest spending your time doing other activities. The areas for parking are designed for people to slap on their skis or snowboard and make their way down to the base. I forgot about that last year, and tried to walk down using similar paths, and it was not easy and I don’t recommend it unless you have snowshoes.

During the peak season, there is the Jasper Skytram, which is a seven-minute ride to the top of Whistlers Mountain. At the top there are hiking trails that let you get a 360-degree view. This is something that I would love to try, but it opens a couple weeks after Jasper Pride ends.

That is not a typo: Jasper, Alberta homes Whistlers Mountain (elevation 2500m), and Whistler, British Columbia is located at the base of Whistler Mountain (elevation 2181m). Both places do winter prides, so there can be some confusion; businesses in Jasper also have Whistler(s) in their title. The big difference is that Jasper is a National Park and Whistlers Mountain is part of the Canadian Rocky Mountain Range, where Whistler, BC, is a resort town, and Whistler Mountain is part of the Pacific Mountain Range. Doing travel articles from one to the other you can see the differences. Supposedly both mountains are named after the whistling sound that marmots make.

Once Pride wrapped up, Justin, Rob and I headed back to Calgary. On the trip back, stopped to check out the Columbia Icefields, which is always an amazing site to see. It is the largest ice field in the Rocky Mountains of North America. You can visit the Ice Field in the off season, but the facility and sightseeing tours don’t open until late April.

Jasper is well worth the five-hour drive from Calgary, or the four-hour drive from Edmonton. The shuttle service makes it easier for those who are worried about road conditions, or don’t have wheels to get there. Treat yourself to Jasper: enjoy pristine nature in Alberta’s backyard.

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Contributor Steve Polyak |

Locale Jasper |

Topic Accommodation and Lodging | Food | Jasper Pride | Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge (JPL) | Maligne Canyon Ice Canyon Walk | Ski and Snowboard |Sundog Tours | Travel |

Photo Gallery Jasper |Travel |