Jasper is Ready for Winter — and for Visitors
Published November 24th, 2024
Photography by Jennifer Bain
“To: Anyone returning to Jasper for the 1st time.
From: Alex Almeida.
Item: $10.
Message: Enjoy finding new types of beauty in this gorgeous town.”
In a subterranean coffee shop tucked into a laundromat in Jasper, this small gift is one of many pinned to a pay-it-forward bulletin board.
The Italians have a term for this tradition — caffè sospeso. You simply buy one coffee but pay for two, the barista logs in the second coffee as “suspended” and someone who needs it redeems it. More than just an act of charity, this is about sharing small pleasures.
As this Alberta tourist town rebuilds after a devastating summer wildfire, the “Keep Calm and Coffee On” board at SnowDome Coffee Bar is plastered with “pay it forward” messages, each with a gift card taped to the back.
There’s an Americano for “someone feeling alone,” a macchiato for “someone who’s having an emergency,” a latte for “a cook from JPL (Jasper Park Lodge),” and $10 towards treats “for a family in need.”
I’ve come to Jasper in mid-November to see whether it really is an appropriate time for visitors to return.
The monster wildfire that began in July burned through 79,000 acres, forced about 5,000 residents and 20,000 tourists to flee, and levelled a third of the town. People slowly started returning a month later but many lost their homes. Three hotels and a handful of restaurants were also lost.
Still, much of the town’s key infrastructure was spared.
Driving in from the east along the Trans-Canada Highway from Edmonton, I don’t spot much evidence of charred forest. For that you need to come along the Icefields Parkway from the south. The downtown business stretch is surprisingly intact. But just behind it, fire has destroyed stone churches and a gas station, and “local access only” warning signs will keep you out of the impacted residential areas.
The town is quiet, the hotels like mine (the Crimson) are discounted, and I am warmly welcomed while lunching at Kimchi House, buying groceries and souvenir shopping.
“Responsible tourism is vital and welcome here,” Tourism Jasper stresses on its website. “As we welcome visitors back to Jasper after the Jasper Wildfire Complex, we invite you to be a part of our journey towards recovery. We encourage all visitors to practice responsible tourism, and we kindly ask for your cooperation in ensuring a respectful and positive experience for everyone.”
There are ground rules. Be mindful that residents are navigating many challenges. Photograph the beauty, not the damage. No drones (this is Jasper National Park after all and that’s a Parks Canada rule). Respect closures that have been put in place for safety or privacy. Be aware that things will look different. Support local restaurants, hotels, stores, services and guides.
“We’re open. We’re actively inviting visitors,” Parks Canada’s Graham Wylde, visitor experience manager for the Jasper Field Unit, tells me outside the historic and undamaged Jasper Park Information Centre. “And there’s so much more to enjoy here, and there’s a real beauty to found here in the park, even post fire — some new things to be discovered.”
Marmot Basin is now open for skiing and snowboarding. You can snowshoe, cross country ski and backcountry ski. Most of the park’s scenic areas, lakes and trails have reopened thanks to extensive recovery efforts. Reservations will open in January for summer frontcountry and backcountry camping spots.
On another happy note, Jasper the Bear survived the blaze.
The “distinctly Canadian” animal character was created in 1948 by Jim Simpkins for Maclean’s magazine and appeared in hundreds of cartoons to stress the importance of environmental stewardship. Jasper became the town mascot, and a statue, in 1962. The original lives at the top of the Jasper SkyTram, but the more accessible replica stands along Patricia Street.
I can’t get enough of the charmingly goofy black bear, making pilgrimages to him on my own and with tour guides.
With Sundog Tours guide Kevin Lazzari, a born-and-raised Jasperite who’s best known as the VideoStop owner, I join two Australian tourists (Jill and Keryn McAullay) on a new tour called “Wildlife of Jasper and the Ecology of Fire.”
We visit Pyramid Lake to see areas untouched by fire, and then drive through the town (visiting Jasper the Bear but not the residential area) hearing about Lazzari’s evacuation experience. Then we stroll around Lake Annette to marvel at new growth sprouting up in the charred forest before ending our three hours together taking in the fire-ravaged area from the Maligne Lookout.
“People still want to see things, and they’re curious about the fire, too,” Lazzari tells us. “Thank you ladies for coming to Jasper and supporting our economy, because we really need that. November is always off-season, but this is even more off-season.”
The next day, I’m the only person who signs up for the Downtown Foodie Tour with Jasper Food Tours but I’m grateful to get guide Natasha Goy to myself for three hours. “I like to let my tourists know I’m up to talking about the fire,” she says right off the bat.
We kick things off at a brand new eatery that took over the Chaba Theatre building. The Maligne Range launched Sept. 19 and is a sibling to Jasper Brewing Co, which survived the blaze but is closed to tackle water damage.
Maligne Range makes whisky, so my salmon crudo is paired with a chamomile-infused whisky cocktail called Curly’s Cure. Look closely at the shelf full of gorgeous whisky bottles — it includes several damaged by the fire and salvaged from the owner’s home.
At the De'd Dog Bar & Grill, I devour a “dog bone” (a saucy beef rib) and poutine while sipping Shiraz Cabernet and learning why there’s a commemorative wall full of framed photos of local patrons who’ve died, and a smaller memorial for dogs in the entranceway.
For Goy, De’d Dog is special because when it reopened after the fire, “it was the first place for us to actually hang out.”
Jasper Food Tours actually restarted, slowly, on Sept. 30. “The town has felt more cheerful, at least in the last month, now that people aren’t as nervous to visit us because they don’t feel like they’re impeding on us and using our resources,” Goy observes.
We take a break from eating to see two of her favourite murals — one created by a Cree-Métis artist to honour her grandmother, the other celebrating local legend Della Senz who has lived in a small white house in the middle of downtown for 75 of her 100 years.
From there, we eat elk tacos and drink Jasper the Bear Ale at Su Casa, a Mexican lounge that only launched in March. Co-owner Enrique Alonso even puts on a song by Mexican singer-songwriter Carín León when I mention loving his music.
Then we end, naturally, on an even sweeter note with maple pecan cheesecake and Sortilège Original (a blend of Canadian whisky and Quebec maple syrup) at Fiddle River Restaurant, where Jasperites go for date nights, anniversaries and birthdays.
The food tour runs daily. The route may be subject to change, but the spirit of the tour isn’t. “I want my guests walking away feeling like they know Jasper and feeling like they’re welcome to come back,” says Goy. “And I just want people to feel our gratitude, especially right now.”
Jennifer Bain
After a career at daily newspapers, Jennifer began travelling the world in search of quirk in 2018. She goes wherever the story is, but has a soft spot for Canada and has been to all 10 provinces and all three territories. Jennifer has won multiple awards and written two cookbooks and three travel books. She lives in Toronto but has a vacation house on Fogo Island, Newfoundland, which some cheekily say is one of the four corners of the supposedly flat earth.