JASPER NATIONAL PARK - Canadian Rockies: Including Banff and Jasper National Parks - page 351

This trail begins across the road from the riding stables on Pyramid Lake Road. It traverses
a mixed forest of aspen and lodgepole pine—prime habitat for larger mammals such as elk,
deer, and moose. The second half of the trail skirts Cottonwood Slough, where you'll see
several beaver ponds. Unlike the name suggests, this trail doesn't encircle Patricia Lake,
but instead just passes along a portion of its southern shoreline.
The Palisade
• Length: 11 kilometers/6.8 miles (4 hours) one-way
• Elevation gain: 850 meters/2,790 feet
• Rating: difficult
• Trailhead: the end of Pyramid Lake Road, 8 kilometers (5 miles) from town
The destination of this strenuous hike is the site of an old fire lookout tower atop a high
ridge between the Athabasca River Valley and Pyramid Mountain. From the locked gate
at the end of Pyramid Lake Road, the trail crosses Pyramid Creek after one kilometer (0.6
mile), then climbs steadily for the entire distance along a forest-enclosed fire road (take the
right fork at the 7.5-km/4.7-mi mark). Once at the end of the trail, it's easy to see why this
site was chosen for the lookout; the panorama extends down the valley and across Jasper
Lake to Roche Miette (2,316 meters/7,600 feet).
Old Fort Point
• Length: 6.5-kilometer/4-mile loop (2 hours round-trip)
• Elevation gain: 60 meters/200 feet
• Rating: easy
• Trailhead: Take Highway 93A south from downtown, follow the first left after crossing
Highway 16, and park across the Athabasca River.
Old Fort Point is a distinctive knoll above the Athabasca River, to the east of town. Al-
though it is not likely that a fort was ever located here, the first fur-trading post in the
Rockies, Henry House, was just downstream. It's easy to imagine fur traders and early ex-
plorers climbing to this summit for 360-degree views of the Athabasca and Miette Rivers.
From the parking lot beyond the single-lane vehicle bridge over the Athabasca River,
climb the wooden stairs, take the trail to the top of the knoll, and then continue back to the
parking lot along the north flank of the hill.
The Whistlers
• Length: 8 kilometers/5 miles (3 hours) one-way