Epic Travel → North America → Canada → Jasper National Park → Sunwapta Falls

Location: South of Jasper, Jasper National Park, Alberta

Distance: 3.2 km/2 miles roundtrip

Elevation Gain: 140 meters/470 feet

Time Required: 1 hour

Red Tape/Notes:Entry into Jasper requires a daily fee of about $10 per person (or ~$20 per family/group); alternatively, you can buy a Parks Canada Discovery Pass if you’re staying for an extended time.

What’s Nearby?: Toe of the Athabasca Glacier, Tangle Creek Falls, Athabasca Falls

Most people driving through the area will make the short walk down to see the upper falls – the large parking lot was chock full of people when we stopped here and the viewing areas around the upper falls were packed. But it’s Canada, so people are polite and move over for you to take your pictures, and there are numerous viewing areas, so the crowds don’t totally destroy the experience. However, the really nice thing to do is head down the trail to the lower falls (if you don’t see a sign, just follow paths downstream, staying on the parking lot side of the river). There’s very little elevation gain and virtually no one makes the effort to go down there. We literally saw only four other people the entire hike, compared to a hundred people at the upper falls.

Epic Travel → North America → Canada → Jasper National Park → Sunwapta Falls