Still Standing, Still Stunning: Jasper Welcomes Tourists Back

On July 22, 2024, a fire that had started on the northeast side of the town of Jasper was joined by another, just south of town, prompting a mass evacuation of the famous tourist town about a five-hour drive northwest of Calgary. The order came late in the night, and residents and tourists scrambled to collect what they could on their way out of what was threatening to become an extremely destructive fire.

The fire, which eventually consumed 32,000 hectares, was in the news for a few days, and though it was unclear to what extent the town was affected, we knew everyone had left, and there was no word on when they’d be coming back.

Though it continued to be news in Alberta, for much of the rest of the country, the story stopped there. So TravelPulse Québec visited the area this past weekend to see firsthand what happened to Jasper, and whether a visit would be the pleasant, touristy sort of a thing it always has been, or a visit to the site of a disaster.

What we saw was reassuring.

Roughly one-third of the town was destroyed or seriously damaged. For residents, it’s still a struggle—especially since most of the lost buildings were homes.

(Photo Credit: Bert Archer)

The two main commercial streets, Connaught Drive and Patricia Street, were largely spared. Two gas stations, one hotel (the Mount Robson), two churches, and a handful of restaurants and shops were affected. Jasper Brewing Co., a cornerstone of the local scene with fine beer and excellent branding, was still closed when we visited.

But other familiar landmarks—like Baxter’s Gifts & Souvenirs, in business since 1935, or the Astoria Hotel, with its distinctive triple gables, run by the same family since 1925—are still standing and open.

Also intact was the dominant hotel and restaurant operator in Jasper and Banff: Pursuit, formerly Greyhound, a U.S.-based company led by a Quebec-born CEO who got his start in Tremblant. Pursuit bought seven hotels in Jasper in 2019, along with several restaurants. Only one, the Maligne Canyon Wilderness Kitchen, was lost to the fire.

TravelPulse Québec stayed at the Lobstick, a modest three-star hotel and one of the seven owned by Pursuit, at the company’s invitation.

 

(Photo Credit: Bert Archer)

It was Victoria Day weekend. There were visitors—mainly Americans who had arrived aboard the Rocky Mountaineer—but it was not as crowded as you might expect for a tourist town on the first weekend of summer. Banff, which TravelPulse Québec had visited the day before, was packed. (That said, by Sunday evening, the manager at the Forest Park Hotel reported there was only one room left across all seven Pursuit properties.)

Forest fire headlines—and uncertainty about what tourists might find—have most likely held people back.

What we found was a town still standing, with all the same charms it’s always had. TravelPulse Québec figured out the best places to grab breakfast or dinner, to get souvenirs, or when to take in the view from the SkyTram (also operated by Pursuit), and what to do while you’re up there. More about that later.

But for now: Jasper is not only still standing, it’s come back full force. And it needs visitors to help it recover from the fire. It’s a tourist town, and a lack of tourism will do far more damage than the fire did. 

But Jasper is a tourist town for a reason. It’s one of the most gorgeously situated mountain villages, not only in Canada, but anywhere in the world. Verbier would kill for its panorama; Vale wishes it was this charming. Even Banff’s got to get nostalgic for a time when they were a quaint little Rocky Mountain village.

So don’t go because it needs the support, go because it’s so frickin’ gorgeous.

 

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