After driving the Icefields parkway and having pizza for tea in Jasper we were excited to check into our hotel for the next three nights – The Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge. As we drove up the drive it was set in the most amazing countryside with lots of greenery and a huge lake. We had booked a cabin with a separate lounge area and although it was lovely – for the cost of it we were a little disappointed.

^{Jasper Park lodge}

^{Inside the cabin}

Anyway, we decided to go for a walk around the grounds and they were so beautiful and we saw deer and geese. Then Tom & Izzy went to the pool and we had a very chilled evening.

^{Wildlife spotting on our first night}

Maligne Canyon

We were up quite early and headed out to Maligne Canyon which was only about ten minutes away. There were some walking routes and we followed the trail along the river which crossed various bridges and gave us views of some little waterfalls.

^{Maligne Canyon}

^{Maligne Canyon}

Our walk was just over an hour but by the time we left the carpark was quite full and people were circling around looking for spaces.

Maligne Lake

Our next stop was Maligne Lake (the largest lake in the Canadian Rockies) which was 45 minutes up the road driving through forests. As we drove we spotted a herd of mountain goats. It was also evident that a wild fire must have passed through a few years earlier as there were lots of dead trees.

We parked up and did a lakeside walk and also played on the rocks by the lake. As boats sailed past they caused waves so we were seeing if they would go over the rocks!

^{Playing on the rocks}

Wildlife Spotting

We returned to the hotel where we were greeted by a deer in the carpark!

^{Deer at the Fairmont}

We decided to head out in the evening and see what wildlife we could spot. We began by picking up a KFC for tea and then drove to Pyramid Mountain as it was a popular place for wildlife watching. Unfortunately we didn’t see anything but as we were returning to the hotel we noticed a few cars pulled up on the side of the road. We joined them and wandered along the grass where we witnessed a herd of deer swimming across the river.

^{Swimming in the river}

At the hotel we wandered down to the lake as the sky was stunning and did some sunset photography.

^{Reflections at the Fairmont}