Jasper After the 2024 Wildfire: What Is Open in 2026
Parks Canada's and the Municipality's figures for the July 2024 fire, how far the town's rebuild has come, what has reopened and what stays closed through 2026, for anyone deciding whether to go.
Jasper is open. The wildfire that reached the town on 24 July 2024 destroyed 358 of its 1,113 structures, about 30%, and Parks Canada says 70% were saved, including all critical infrastructure. In 2026, in Parks Canada’s words, “the majority of Jasper National Park is now open and ready to explore”, and virtually all of its trails have reopened. Two places stay closed for the whole 2026 season: Maligne Canyon, where winter access is banned too, and Cavell Road with its two trails. The town is rebuilding. Of the 374 properties that need to be rebuilt, 46 were finished by 15 July 2026.
What happened in July 2024
At 7:02 pm on 22 July 2024 a fire was reported near the Jasper Transfer Station, northeast of the town. Within minutes more fires were reported south of town near Kerkeslin Campground, and they merged into one. An evacuation alert went out at 8 pm and an order at 10 pm for the national park, the town included, and more than 20,000 residents and visitors left on 22 and 23 July.
The fire reached Jasper on 24 July. At around 6 pm smoke and embers came down over the southwest corner of the town and set buildings alight. Parks Canada’s count two days later was 358 of the town’s 1,113 structures destroyed. The fire burned 32,722 hectares. It was declared held on 17 August, under control on 7 September 2024 and extinguished on 1 April 2025.
Morgan Kitchen, a 24-year-old Alberta Wildfire crew member from Calgary, died on 3 August 2024 when a falling tree struck him while he was fighting the fire.
On the cause, Parks Canada says the fire reported northeast of town “remains under investigation”.
Residents began returning on 16 August 2024. Tourism Jasper says the town reopened to visitors in September 2024; Parks Canada gives no exact day.
How far the rebuild has come
The Municipality of Jasper counts two different things. 358 is the number of structures destroyed in the first rapid assessment; rebuilding is needed at 374 properties. Parks Canada’s recovery report gives their status on 15 July 2026:
| Stage | Properties |
|---|---|
| Finished, with occupancy permits | 46 |
| Under construction | 91 |
| Building permit approved | 47 |
| Permit application in progress | 67 |
| No permit application yet | 123 |
By then 184 building permits had been approved, covering 397 dwelling units. On 30 June 2026 the federal government announced CA$520 million in additional funding for the rebuild and recovery. The fire also destroyed or damaged 255 of Parks Canada’s own infrastructure assets in the park, 132 of them a total loss. Jasper had 4,738 residents at the 2021 census, before the fire.
What is open in 2026
Most of what visitors come for is running, within its usual seasons:
- Trails: Parks Canada says virtually all have reopened. The Valley of the Five Lakes, Wabasso Lake, Curator and Trail 9 reopened in summer 2026.
- Maligne Lake: Maligne Road reopened on 11 October 2024. Parks Canada calls the lake “the largest natural lake in the Canadian Rockies”. The Maligne Lake Cruise’s 2026 season runs from late May to 11 October, and Pursuit has published 28 May to 10 October for 2027. Walking on Spirit Island is not permitted; the operator keeps that rule “out of respect for Spirit Island’s significance to the Stoney Nakoda First Nation”.
- The Jasper SkyTram survived the fire and reopened on 21 March 2025. Its 2026 season runs to 25 October (26 October on its hours page), and Pursuit lists 21 May to 11 October for 2027.
- Miette Hot Springs reopened on 18 August 2024. Their 2026 season ends on 12 October, and Tourism Jasper says they reopen in May 2027.
- The Icefields Parkway reopened to traffic on 23 August 2024. The Columbia Icefield Adventure and Skywalk, at the southern end of Jasper National Park, has a 2026 season of 1 May to 12 October; Pursuit’s 2027 dates are 1 May to 11 October.
- Pyramid Lake Road is open to vehicles all year, the Pyramid Island day-use area is open, and so is Athabasca Falls.
- Camping: 77% of Jasper’s pre-fire frontcountry campsites and all of its backcountry sites are available in 2026. Wabasso, Whirlpool Group and part of Wapiti campgrounds stay closed this season.
- Skiing: Marmot Basin is targeting 13 November 2026 for its opening day. From mid-October to early November, Highway 93A is expected to be open from its south entrance only, with no through travel, and Parks Canada expects the Mile 5 Hill section to reopen for the ski season.
- The Jasper Dark Sky Festival runs from 16 to 25 October 2026.
Until the end of October 2026, safety work on fire-damaged roads, among them Maligne Road and Whistlers Road up to the SkyTram, means single-lane alternating traffic with stops. Allow extra time.
What stays closed
Maligne Canyon is closed for all of 2026 by superintendent’s order, from the First Bridge parking lot to the Fifth Bridge junction, and the order bans winter access to the canyon too. Pursuit says its Maligne Canyon Icewalks “remains closed”, so do not plan on a canyon ice walk this winter. Parks Canada has finished removing hazard trees, but the canyon project “remains in the early planning stages”, and no reopening date exists. Nearby, the Fifth Bridge trailhead and day-use area reopened in July 2025, along with the trail between the fifth and sixth bridges.
Cavell Road is closed for 2026, along with trail 41, Path of the Glacier, and trail 42, Cavell Meadows. Slope stabilization and retaining structures are planned from fall 2026 through spring 2027, and Parks Canada will set an opening date once the work is done.
How many people visit Jasper now?
In the fiscal year of the fire, April 2024 to March 2025, Jasper recorded 1,142,080 park visits, about half the year before; Parks Canada puts the fall at 53%. In fiscal 2025-26 it recorded 2,392,849, close to the 2,407,529 of the year before the fire. Parks Canada’s calendar-year estimate for 2025 is lower, about 2,130,000 visits, and it says the 2025 figures “remain below pre-wildfire levels, reflecting reduced availability of frontcountry campsites and commercial accommodations”.
In a typical year, Parks Canada says, Jasper is the second most visited national park in Canada. Before the fire it described the park as “at capacity” in July and August, when hotels and campsites were full. With fewer campsites than before the fire, book early for summer.
Is it better to go to Banff or Jasper?
It depends on the trip, and the sources describe rather than rank. Lonely Planet labels Banff “Best mountain park” and Jasper “Best park for wildlife-viewing”. Parks Canada calls Jasper the largest and most northerly of the Canadian Rocky Mountain national parks, at 11,228 km² against Banff’s 6,641 km², and Banff records roughly twice Jasper’s park visits on about 60% of Jasper’s area. Both belong to the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage Site, which UNESCO inscribed in 1984 and extended in 1990 to take in three British Columbia provincial parks. Banff or Jasper sets out what each source says.
How far apart are Banff and Jasper?
288 km by Travel Alberta’s count, about 3.5 hours without stops by Banff & Lake Louise Tourism’s estimate. Most of it is the Icefields Parkway, 232 km from Lake Louise to Jasper (Parks Canada). Services on the Parkway, including its one fuel stop, run from early May to mid-October; in winter there are none, and snow tires or chains are compulsory from 1 November to 31 March. Brewster Express runs its Calgary to Jasper coaches until 17 October 2026 and has no Jasper service on its winter timetable. VIA Rail serves Jasper by train, but not Banff. Banff to Jasper goes stop by stop.
Before you go
- A park pass is required: CA$12.25 an adult a day in 2026, valid until 4 pm the day after purchase. The free Canada Strong Pass period ended on 7 September 2026.
- In 2026, Jasper’s wildlife distances are law within 400 m of any road: 100 m from bears, cougars and wolves, and 30 m from elk, moose, caribou, sheep and goats, unless you stay completely inside a legally positioned vehicle. The maximum fine is CA$25,000.
- No caribou remain in the Maligne Valley herd; Parks Canada says the last three disappeared in 2018.
- Recreational drones are banned in the park.
- For official updates, use Parks Canada’s Jasper pages and the Municipality of Jasper at jasper-alberta.ca. Jasper.ca is a private website, not the Municipality’s.
Planning a trip to Jasper
Jasper’s tours start in the town and at Maligne Lake, and each runs to its own season. What to book in Jasper lists them with their seasons, meeting points and what each one leaves out.
Sources: Parks Canada (the Jasper wildfire timeline and questions, the 2024 annual report, the 2026 recovery report and the attendance tables), the Municipality of Jasper, Tourism Jasper, Pursuit, Travel Alberta, Banff & Lake Louise Tourism, Lonely Planet and UNESCO. Checked October 2026.