Maligne Canyon Ice Walk in Jasper National Park

Me on an Ice Walking Tour in Maligne Canyon in Jasper National Park in Alberta, Canada.

I had an extra few hours on Sunday morning before the drive back to Edmonton to catch my flight home. I was spending the weekend at the Jasper Park Lodge to experience Malanka, the Ukrainian New Year, as well as do a few outdoor things like skating on Lake Mildred and skiing on Marmot Basin.

So, what should I do with my last few hours? The most persistent recommendation was to go on an ice walk in Maligne Canyon, a gorgeous area to explore within Jasper National Park in Alberta’s rocky mountains.

So off I went with three others and a kid to try ice walking. Trevor of Overlander Trekking & Tours outfitted us in boots and ice cleats and drove us to the starting point of the walk. And what a walk it was.
 

Trevor checking the ice during our Maligne Canyon Ice Walk Tour in Jasper National Park, Alberta (Canada).

We started on a trail that gives glimpses of the canyon’s splendour, but it was when we got to actually step onto the ice that the fun began. Our ice cleats digging in for dear life, we followed Trevor as he pointed out photo ops and particularly interesting spots.

Looking up, I was most amazed at the frozen waterfalls, the motionless crystals stopping stiff on their way down. There are many spots where the canyon walls loom overhead and form almost a roof. In between, peak-a-boo caverns with mini frozen waterfalls are rife for more pictures.

The last place where you can walk is a neat area where there’s a hole in the ice and you can see the rushing water underneath.

Ice Walking in Maligne Canyon in Jasper National Park, Alberta, (Canada).

On the other side is a long slide of ice. Obviously, no one goes past there on a walk like this because one shaky step and you’re in the hole (and the rushing water would pull you right under the ice). Yikes. We all decided it was best to head back

What I Liked:

• The scenery in Maligne Canyon is spectacular. Make sure to bring a camera.
• The age minimum is seven years old, as the ice walk would be really slowed down with younger children (and no baby carriers are allowed, as the danger of carrying someone else is too great on ice). We did have a six-year-old boy who was allowed to come with us, though, and he was great. He’d clearly done a lot of outdoor activities before and was a good traveller. It was neat to see the canyon through his eyes, as well, as they’d light up at particularly wondrous sites.   
• This is an area for ice climbers, so you might run into a few climbing their way up the canyon. On our trip, we met some beginners who spent more time asking Trevor for tips than they did actually climbing.