Jasper: What Is Open in 2026, Maligne Lake and the Tours

As of early October 2026, most of Jasper National Park is open, a little over two years after the July 2024 wildfire, and Parks Canada says “virtually all of Jasper’s trails have now reopened”. The two real closures are Maligne Canyon, shut for the whole 2026 season including winter, and Cavell Road with its trails to Path of the Glacier and Cavell Meadows.

The fire was reported on 22 July 2024 and reached the town two days later. More than 20,000 people were evacuated. Of the town’s 1,113 structures, 358 were destroyed, about 30%; Parks Canada says 70% were saved, including all critical infrastructure. The fire burned 32,722 hectares. By 15 July 2026, 46 of the 374 properties that need rebuilding were finished. Parks Canada says the cause of the northeast fire “remains under investigation”. What the fire changed, and what has reopened goes through it for visitors.

What is closed, and what runs late

Maligne Canyon is closed by a superintendent’s order, winter access included, with a maximum fine of CA$25,000 and no reopening date, and Pursuit says its Maligne Canyon ice walks remain closed. Cavell Road and its trails stay closed while the slope is stabilised, work planned from fall 2026 into spring 2027.

Until the end of October 2026, safety work on fire-damaged roads brings single-lane alternating traffic and stoppages on Highway 93A, Marmot Road, Whistlers Road up to the SkyTram, and Maligne Road. Miette Hot Springs closes for the season on 12 October, and Tourism Jasper’s Dark Sky Festival runs from 16 to 25 October.

Maligne Lake and Spirit Island

Parks Canada calls Maligne Lake “the largest natural lake in the Canadian Rockies”. It is 22 km long, and Spirit Island lies 14 km up it with no road or trail; tour boats or non-motorised craft are the only way there, and the lake is open to paddlers and electric motors only.

Walking on Spirit Island is not permitted. That is Pursuit’s rule, “out of respect for Spirit Island’s significance to the Stoney Nakoda First Nation”; cruise passengers go ashore at a viewpoint nearby instead, for 15 minutes on Pursuit’s 1.5-hour Classic Cruise or 30 minutes on its 2-hour Premium Cruise, which is for ages 16 and up and adds a stop at Pincushion Bay.

Parks Canada says the forest at the north end of the lake is home to moose and Harlequin Ducks. It also says no caribou remain in the Maligne herd; the last three disappeared in 2018. On 28 September 2026 the Opal Hills Loop at the lake was closed because a grizzly bear was frequenting the area.

In Jasper National Park the wildlife distances are law in 2026: within 400 m of any road you may not be within 100 m of a bear, cougar or wolf, or 30 m of an elk, moose, sheep or goat, unless you stay completely inside a legally positioned vehicle. The maximum fine is CA$25,000.

Getting to Jasper, and to the lake

From Banff the road is the Icefields Parkway: Travel Alberta puts Banff and Jasper 288 km apart, and a park pass is needed to drive it even if you never stop; the Icefields Parkway page covers the stops and the winter rules. Parks Canada puts Jasper 404 km from Calgary and 370 km from Edmonton, and says VIA Rail has regular train service to Jasper via Edmonton and Vancouver. Pursuit’s Brewster Express coach runs from Calgary to Jasper until 17 October 2026 and back until 18 October; its winter timetable from 1 November has no Jasper service.

For Maligne Lake, Pursuit’s directions are Highway 16 east for 3 km to the Maligne Lake Road turnoff, then 48 km to the lake. No public transit goes there: Jasper’s town buses have no Maligne Lake stop, and the Maligne Adventures shuttle listed by Tourism Jasper ran from 1 June to 20 September 2026. In October that leaves your own car or a tour with pickup. A day pass for the park costs CA$12.25 an adult in 2026, the same as in Banff.

Who Jasper suits, and how long to stay

Parks Canada calls Jasper the largest national park in the Canadian Rockies, at 11,228 km², and in a typical year the second most visited national park in Canada. Its attendance table counted 2,392,849 park visits to Jasper in fiscal 2025-26 and 4,558,171 to Banff, so Banff records roughly twice Jasper’s visits on about 60% of Jasper’s area, and Parks Canada still describes Jasper as “at capacity” in July and August. Lonely Planet calls it the “best park for wildlife-viewing”; National Geographic says its weather and scenery are most spectacular in late summer and early fall. The Banff or Jasper guide sets the two parks side by side.

Parks Canada’s seven-day Banff-and-Jasper itinerary gives Jasper three days, and Maligne Lake alone fills most of one: 90 minutes each way for the drive and 1.5 hours for the Classic Cruise. If Maligne Canyon was the reason for the trip, it is closed all year. If you arrive after 11 October, the cruise is over until 28 May 2027, by Pursuit’s dates.

The cruise, and five more Jasper tours

This site is not affiliated with Pursuit, which runs the Maligne Lake Cruise and the Jasper SkyTram; the tickets on this page are booked through GetYourGuide.

The cruise on this page is Pursuit Collection’s Maligne Lake Cruise With Guide, from US$93 as of October 2026 and rated 4.7 from 1,283 reviews. It sails 14 km up the lake with a guide and stops near Spirit Island for a short nature trail before returning to Home Bay. There is no hotel pickup and no free cancellation, food and drinks are extra, and strollers and large bags are not allowed. Pursuit runs a 1.5-hour Classic and a 2-hour Premium cruise; the listing does not say which it sells, so check the option and its length when you book.

If you have a car in Jasper on or before 11 October and want to see Maligne Lake from the water, this is the cruise to book; leave the 90 minutes Pursuit suggests for the drive.

See dates for the Maligne Lake cruise →

maligne-lake-cruise.com covers the cruise in more detail, from the departure times to what the stop near Spirit Island involves.

Without a car, Maligne Adventures’ wildlife and sightseeing tour (from US$165, 4.8 from 704 reviews) is a six-hour day with pickup at listed Jasper hotels, for their registered guests, or at the Two Brothers Totem Pole opposite the Jasper Park Info Centre; it stops at Medicine Lake and includes a 90-minute cruise to Spirit Island. SunDog Transportation and Tours’ Maligne Valley tour (from US$137, 4.6 from 276 reviews) takes 5.5 hours with pickup at 14 points in Jasper; its listing still mentions caribou and Maligne Canyon, but no caribou remain in the Maligne herd and the canyon is closed in 2026. Both include the cruise, which ends on 11 October.

Maligne Adventures also runs a three-hour evening or morning wildlife watch (from US$67, 4.6 from 1,119 reviews) in a minibus on paved roads, watching from inside the vehicle, which the listing says Parks Canada requires. The operator says sightings are not guaranteed, and it is not for children under five.

The Jasper SkyTram (from US$57, 4.7 from 781 reviews, no free cancellation) climbs about 948 m in about seven minutes to its Upper Station at 2,263 m, and a 1.4 km trail continues to the Whistlers summit at 2,463 m. Its 2026 season runs to 25 October (26 October on its hours page), and Pursuit gives 21 May to 11 October as its 2027 dates. The ticket excludes the park pass and transport, and the listing says the upper station can be 12 °C colder than town.

Jasper Raft Tours’ two-hour rafting trip (from US$67, 4.9 from 394 reviews) floats a Class 2 stretch of the Athabasca, a Canadian Heritage River since 1989, while the guides row. You meet at the Two Brothers Totem Pole at the Jasper train station; leashed dogs may be aboard except on the 12 pm departure, and it is not for children under three. Its listing gives no season, so check its calendar.