Hike the Valley of the Five Lakes

Getting There:

The beginning of the trailhead is super easy to find, with the parking lot for the hike located directly on the Icefields Parkway.

The Hike:

The hike itself is super easy, but extremely scenic and beautiful. There's no real elevation climbs or technical sections, and a lot of people had their dogs on the trail. I will say if it's just rained, the trail can be slippery at parts so plan accordingly. 

The trail begins with a short section through the forest before reaching a bridge, which crosses the Wabasso creek. The path will then lead you through the valley stopping at each of the five lakes (each different shade of blue/green). The 3rd and 4th lakes are considered the highlights, but I personally really enjoyed the 2nd lake. There's a dock there that's pretty fun to jump off/hang out for a while. The waters a bit cold in the lakes, but definitely swimmable and feels super good after hiking in the sun. Overall it's not really a hard trail, but one that's definitely worth a visit.

We saw a few black bears when we were hiking, so bring bear spray if you feel so inclined.

What we wish we knew:

• Go early or go late. This is considered one of the treasures of Jasper National Park so gets pretty crowded as the day goes on
• You can rent mountain bikes in town and do the hike as a mountain biking trail, which would have been pretty dope
• Seriously, get in the water
• The third lake has a nice little rocky beach area that could be a good snack break spot.