Jasper, Alberta

By Kay Barbaro
Staff Writer

One of the most intriguing and relaxing attractions to Jasper National Park and the Canadian Rockies are its hotsprings, and of those, the Miette are some the hottest, most interesting, and most enjoyable.

The Miette Hotsprings, photo courtesy Parks Canada.

Water as hot as 53.9ºC flows out of these springs in a narrow canyon along Sulphur Creek. Heated geothermally, the Miette Hotsprings are the hottest known springs in the Canadian Rockies.

Each minute approximately 800 litres of steaming water pours out of the natural ducts along the creek. Rich in calcium, sulphate and hydrogen-sulphide, the water is collected, cooled, chlorinated and filtered, then pumped into pools.

The two hot pools at the springs are kept at about 40 degrees Celsius. At Miette, you can have a soak in the pool, and take in interpretive displays, the old pool, and hiking trails. The winding mountain road to Miette includes the Punchbowl Falls, an old coal mining site, and Ashlar Ridge Viewpoint. The area also offers excellent wildlife viewing opportunities.

Suggested length of visit: 1 to 2 hours
Location: 61 km east of Jasper, Alberta
Nearest full service towns: Jasper and Hinton, Alberta
Other visitor services: Change rooms, showers, towel and swimsuit rentals, wheelchair accessible, restaurant, picnic area, accommodation
Capacity: 250 in the pool (though it’s rarely full)

Hours of operation:
May19 – June 22, 10:30 a.m. -9:00p.m.
June 23 to September 4, 8:30 a.m. – 10:30 p.m.
September 5 – October 9, I1:O0 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.

Peak season: July and August

Some of this information provided courtesy of Parks Canada.