Is Jasper Still Worth Visiting After The Wildfires?
Is Jasper still worth visiting after the infamous wildfires? Our answer would be, yes it very much worth visiting Jasper after the fires. In July 2024, a wildfire ripped through much of Jasper National Park and made its way through the town site, destroying nearly 30% of the town.
The fire burned 32,722 hectares of forest and 358 structures, making it one of the costliest natural disasters in Canadian history. One year later, Jasper is welcoming back visitors. Many are now asking whether Jasper is worth visiting despite the damage done to the park and town.
There are several reasons why we would say yes. First, there is still a lot to see in the massive national park that was unaffected by the fires. Second, the areas of damage are fascinating and a stark reminder of the effects of a changing climate. Third, we would like to help support the businesses in a time of need.
What Does The Fire Damage Look Like?
We usually try to visit Jasper once a summer. Due to obvious reasons, we were not able to in 2024, but we were able to visit in summer 2025 to enjoy the town and, of course, see what had changed.
The 2024 Jasper Wildfire Complex was multiple separate wildfires that converged and eventually made its way towards the town. Emergency services and the municipality successfully evacuated all civilians. However, due to extreme conditions and wind gusts, the wildfire tore through much of the town and the park.
The fire left many Jasper residents without homes, possessions, and livelihoods. It was devastating and resulted in the fatality of one firefighter. It will be a long road to recovery for the town and those affected by the fires.
The extent of the damage extends from around Athabasca Falls on the Icefields Parkway up to the town and to the east of town towards the Maligne Canyon area. Fire damage was extensive in some of these areas, and areas like the Valley of the Five Lakes and Maligne Canyon will remain closed for the foreseeable future.
Popular areas with extensive damage include Athabasca Falls, Maligne Canyon, Horseshoe Lake, Edith Lake, Annette Lake, and The Valley of the Five Lakes. Maligne Canyon and the Valley of the Five Lakes remain closed to the public. Visitors can stop at the Maligne Canyon Lookout to get an idea of the extensive damage done to the area.
Horseshoe Lake is open, but it has lost some of its magic after almost all of the forest around the lake has burned. That said the lake’s beautiful waters remain the same and the brave can still go for a dip this summer. The popular cliffs aren’t going anywhere!
Unfortunately for the town, most of the damage to structures was to personal homes. The core of downtown and many hotels that tourists frequent survived the fire, but this is not to say some local institutions were not affected. Some of our favorite spots in Jasper, like Patricia Street Deli, closed permanently after the fire.
This is largely why Jasper has been able to welcome back visitors so soon. The downtown Jasper’s core offers a similar experience to visitors as it did before the fire. There are still quite a few hotels, cabins, and restaurants that remain open for visitors.
Many famous historic buildings and monuments survived such as Jasper the Bear, Two Brothers Totem Pole, Jasper Firehouse, Jasper Station, Jasper Skytram, and the Athabasca Hotel. Also many of the natural highlights of Jasper remain unchanged. Notably, the Pyramid Lake and Patricia Lake area were left unscathed. You can still have an extraordinary time in the park and town.
For the most up-to-date information regarding what’s open and closed in the park, we suggest checking the Jasper National Park website. They have a map and post updates to give a good idea of the conditions.
Is Jasper Still Worth Visiting?
Yes, Jasper is still very much worth visiting after the fires. Much of the park and town remains untouched by fire damage, and natural beauty is abundant throughout the area. Jasper has not lost its towering peaks, sparkling lakes, and huge landscapes. Highlights you can still easily visit include Pyramid and Patrica Lake, Lac Beauvert, Maligne Lake, the Athabasca Glacier, Athabasca Falls, and Sunwapta Falls.
Many of the operators are open for business visitors can still go for a paddle, navigate whitewater rapids, ride a gondola, go for a guided hike, cruise along a lake, catch a theatre show, eat their way through a food tour, hop on a bike, ride a horse, or learn about the stars. There is still a lot to do in Jasper!
A highlight we’d stress the most for visitors is Maligne Lake, which remains astounding. A cruise along its turquoise waters to see Spirit Island is undoubtedly a quintessential experience in the Canadian Rockies. It’s worth the journey to Jasper alone.
You can still get on classic hikes this summer like Wilcox Pass, Stanley Falls, Bald Hills Loop, and Pyramid Lake Loop. We hope to see Edith Cavell Meadows and the Tonquin Valley reopen this summer, but the fire damage leading along the road leading up to the trails is extensive and requires some cleanup.
Above all, Jasper has not lost its spirit; the town’s soul remains the same. It has long been said that many prefer their time in Jasper over more developed and commercial Banff.
More Photos from our 2025 Trip
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Plan Your Trip to the Canadian Rockies
- We now have an interactive map! With over 350 stops and pre built itineraries around the Canadian Rockies, our personal map and guide is your one stop shop to an epic trip here.
- Recommended Experiences: There are many things to do in the Rockies, but our top recommendation is the Banff Gondola – a must do experience! Want to get up close and personal with a glacier? We cannot recommend this Icewalks tour enough! See more of our recommendations.
- Planning your visit to Moraine Lake and don’t want to deal with the Parks shuttles? We recommend using Moraine Lake Bus Company, Fairview Limo (leaves from Lake Louise Village) or booking with ViaVia (these leave from Banff/Canmore).
- Hotels in the Rockies: There are many places to stay, from luxury hotels to wilderness cabins. See all our favorites here.
- Get Around: We suggest renting a car to get around. You can search for rental cars on Discover Car. For a campervan trip, you can check prices and compare on Outdoorsy. Don’t forget the Guide Along Audio App for driving the Icefields Parkway (Use our link for 25% off!)
- We can help you plan your 2025 trip to Western Canada! If you’re feeling overwhelmed by planning we can assist! We’ll hop on a 1 on 1 phone call, and PERSONALLY go over your plans and itinerary (or help you craft an itinerary), and will save you time and money with our personal recommendations. Calls are followed up with detailed trip notes afterward that I write myself. See our services here.
Thank you so much! This is really helpful. One correction… you wrote, “Fire damage was extensive in some of these areas, and areas like the Valley of the Five Lakes and Maligne Lake will remain closed for the foreseeable future.” I think you meant Maligne Canyon, not Lake.
Good catch, you’re right – thanks!
Thank you for the update. We visited Jasper just two weeks before the fire last year and were extremely sad to hear about the destruction the fire had caused, especially to the town and people of Jasper. It was my favourite part of a six week trip to the Rockies.
Although we will not be returning this year, it is so wonderful to hear the town is ready to receive visitors again, and a lot of the places we visited are also ready for people to visit.
So although not reading the blog to plan a visit, I still read it for updates and information. Thank you especially for this update and the good news x
Hi Lynne,
So glad to hear you got to experience the best of Jasper last year. I hope you get to visit again one day!
SWISS-CANADIAN REBUILDING PARTNERSHIP: After forests burned Jasper in 2024, a glacier/mountain collapse buried Blatten, Switzerland in 2025. Within only 1 month, the local citizens, government, and architects were already envisioning a new Blatten that they would build from local stone and trees salvaged from the debris cone and the Lotschental valley, in a stable location, in traditional, rustic, beautiful, Alpine style-all within a few years. By forming an international partnership, Jasper and Blatten could share rebuilding concepts so that Jasper will also be able to rebuild the efficient Swiss way:
1. Architects of traditional timber frames, Canadian log homes, foresters, and local citizens could select the best “Cheetah Trees” and charred trees to build rustic, beautiful, authentic stone and large timber homes that would resist future fires. This would prevent waste of the charred trees and a secondary fire. 2. Builders could gather stone that is at risk of falling onto the roads of Jasper/Banff to build stone houses in the style of the Abbot Pass hut, which the Swiss guides built, accomplishing two goals. 3. If necessary, pick an uncontaminated site such as a campground where forests and roads have already destroyed wilderness, and build so beautifully with only natural, local stone and charred trees so that visitors won’t want another campground to escape the government-proposed, dreadful, unoriginal, factory-built, “modular” village made of artificial materials with faux exteriors.
But, If citizens are going to passively wait for a government to create a vision of failure with a goal of rebuilding in 10 years entirely with factory homes, then Jasper will fail because no architects will award Jasper for its traditional stone and timber construction rebuilding. Think about it: rebuild authentically, and it will pay for itself many times over, as visitors would be attracted to a beautiful village. Visitors remember Num-ti-Jah Lodge, but don’t have any recollection of any modular construction !