Elevation: 1100 m
Elevation Gain: 215 m
Located at the foot of Mount Tekarra in the Athabasca River Valley to the south of Jasper, the Valley of the Five Lakes is a popular day hike which visits five different bodies of water. Each of these vibrant lakes is a different shade of blue-green owing to their different depths.
My Ascents:
July 14 2024
Trailhead: Valley of the Five Lakes Parking Lot
In July 2024, we made an overdue return to beautiful Jasper, AB. Having enjoyed our previous trips there as a young couple and a young family, we wanted to share this one with our extended families and invited my parents, Brianne’s parents, Brianne’s sister, her husband and our niece, an aunt, an uncle and a couple of family friends. From July 13 – 17, we enjoyed some of the best that Jasper has to offer, in terms of hikes, bike rides, swimming, food, medical attention and, most importantly, company. As we drove home, we were already discussing our next visit.
On the evening of July 22, Parks Canada responded to multiple wildfire starts following a storm and an extensive heatwave. Within hours, it became clear that two wildfires were approaching the town of Jasper from the south and the north and an evacuation order was issued at 10:00 pm. About 25,000 evacuees were forced to flee in the middle of the night. On July 23, high temperatures and strong winds led to “aggressive fire behaviour” and many of the town’s remaining first responders were relocated to nearby Hinton. At 6:40 pm, a wall of flames, 100-m-high, reached the townsite and Albertans held their collective breath and hoped for the best. That night, about 30% of the town was lost. Remarkably, fire crews were able to save the remaining 70%. Weeks later, the townsite has been largely extinguished, however, the fire continues to burn, out of control, and officials estimate that it may continue to do so for months, forever altering Jasper’s magnificent mountainscapes.
The morning of July 14 started the same way many of our camping mornings begin: WAY TOO EARLY. 🥱 Typically, our children are “happy campers” at 6:00 am but today was a little different. Throughout the night, 1-year-old Lillian had been in obvious discomfort 🤒 so, while the rest of our extended family slept in, we packed up our motley crew and drove into Jasper in search of an open pharmacy. By 8 am, we’d successfully found one and were relieved when Lilly’s mood improved after meds were administered. 😀 Most of our family was still asleep when we returned, and we anxiously waited for them to wake so that we could get on with the fun part of our day (hiking)!
By 11 am, the rest of the extended family group had (finally) enjoyed breakfast and our girls had successfully colored the entirety of Loop 45 at the Whistlers campground with chalk. 🌈 As the midday heat peaked, we had our fill of sitting around and decided to let everyone know that we were planning a hike to the nearby Valley of the Five Lakes. The VOTFL is one of Jasper’s most popular hikes, but we’d always skipped it during previous trips in favor of options that left the valley bottom far below. Today, with a forecast high in the mid-30s, 🥵 the possibility of hiking past (and possibly through) 5 lakes seemed more enticing. Somewhat surprisingly, everyone else agreed and 90 minutes later, all of our “cats” had been herded into their respective vehicles and our caravan departed en masse for the trailhead.
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LEFT: After securing 3 different parking spots at the busy trailhead (no small feat!), 6-year-old Penny (left) and 8-year-old Mera (right) led their beloved cousin (almost 3-year-old) Maren and their ageless Auntie Jana down the popular path towards the lakes.
RIGHT: The trail featured some ups and downs whose difficulty varied depending on age (or on whether or not any cannabis was enjoyed at the trailhead - *cough, cough* 😶🌫️ Grumpo!).
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After a short walk through the forest, we reached a large marsh with an equally impressive bridge spanning it. Here, our children spotted some small trout and successfully blocked both directions of traffic on the busy trail as they searched for more. 🤷
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Even as the sun blazed and the temperature soared, we weren’t tempted to cool off in this large, marshy mess. Fortunately, this body of water is not one of the (up to) five proper lakes ahead!
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LEFT: Mera and Maren approach a moderate uphill on the far side of the marsh. In the extreme heat, this up challenged many in our three-generation-strong group. Atop the hill, we reached a fork in the trail (which is generally hiked as a loop). As a result, it didn’t much matter which way we hiked, so we elected to go counterclockwise (for some reason).
RIGHT: What goes up, must go down… On the other side of the uphill, we found a much rockier downhill (which Papa graciously helped Nannie down).
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After successfully navigating the rolling terrain for 2.1-km, we reached the first real lake (actually, it was the “Fifth Lake,” but we’d unknowingly hiked the circuit in reverse)!
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The Fifth Lake’s surreally cyan surface fills the panorama to southeast. Now this is a body of water that looks much more enticing on a hot afternoon! 😍 Click to see larger.
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To make the lake even more enticing, it came equipped with a dock that made it easy to test the water by dipping our toes in! As you can see, Lillian got a real “kick” out of this.
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LEFT: Little Lilly was, however, less enthused about being fully submerged in the clear, but cold, water. 🥶😂 As I attempted to dunk her, she scraped me violently in an attempt to literally climb back up my torso!
RIGHT: Eventually, Lilly succeeded in climbing me and found a new perch that was to her liking. For their parts, Mera and Penny were a bit braver…
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In fact, Penny could have spent all day in the icy water. When I eventually had to get out, she was happy to stay in longer with “Grumpo” and Grandma.
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Maren and Uncle Craig enjoyed the cool-down as well.
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Four cousins ❤️ soaking up the abundant sun back on the dock. Warming up didn’t take long on this sweltering afternoon!
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LEFT: In fact, it was SO hot that frigophobes Brianne and Auntie Jana even ventured (slowly) in. I think this is the deepest I’ve seen Brianne in a lake in years! 🤯
RIGHT: 1, 2, 3 – GO GOAT! 🐐 With a little coaxing, both “big girls” eventually dove in to cool off!
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After drying back off, we even managed to herd everyone in our sizable group together for a photo. ❤️ While the Fifth Lake was refreshing, the afternoon heat took its toll and we elected to forego Lakes 1 – 4 and return the way that we’d come since it was shorter.
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LEFT: Mera leads her cousin Maren and Uncle Craig back up the rocky crux of the day on their way back to the parking lot.
RIGHT: Papa guides Nannie back to air conditioning ❄️ and cold beverages! 🍻 Sipping “cold ones” around the cooler back at the campground, we quickly turned our attention to planning the following day, which was forecast to be equally hot. 🥵 Hmmm… What could possibly cool us off as effectively as a Valley with Five Lakes? How about following the “Path" of a Glacier? … 🤔
The 2024 Jasper wildfire forever changed many of the Park’s landmarks, including those that we visited and enjoyed as a family. As images of the fire’s devastation begin to appear in its aftermath, we’re deeply saddened by the scale of the devastation, but grateful that we were able to experience these special places together before it happened. We’re also thankful for the men and women who risked so much to fight this fire.
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Valley of the Five Lakes trailhead on July 29, 2024 (image credit: Jasper National Park Facebook).
Sadly, these destructive events are becoming more and more commonplace as the result of anthropogenic climate change. As the 2017 Kenow Fire in Waterton showed us, however, every ending brings with it a new beginning. We’ll, therefore, look forward to revisiting this beautiful area when it’s safe to do so. For Jasper National Park, this isn’t “goodbye”, it’s “see you later.”