Cooking up a fun Family Day weekend
Whip up a weekend of family fun in Jasper with these five essential ingredients. This recipe may even become a family tradition!
Step 1: Add a little zest to the weekend, skimming along one of Jasper鈥檚 many family friendly cross-country ski trails. Choice areas include Decoigne, Pipeline, Whistlers campground and Wabasso campground. Sprinkle in a playground at the last two areas for a bit of extra fun (or motivation).
Step 2: Blend in a family winter walking adventure along the Athabasca River from Old Fort Point, or through the Valley of the Five Lakes. Trails can be slick though, so toss your grippers on, if you have them. You can also spice up the day with a guided tour through Maligne Canyon, a truly mouth-watering experience.
Step 3: Beat down a trail through the wilderness. Dip your family鈥檚 boots in some snowshoes and soak in the mountain air as you wander through one of our favourite areas: the Mary Schaeffer loop, Summit Lakes, Pyramid Bench, or Wapiti Campground.
Step 4: Carve up the ice or whip up a family shinny game on one of Jasper鈥檚 outdoor rinks. Both Pyramid and Mildred Lakes serve up tracks and rinks for that truly Canadian ingredient鈥攕kating on a frozen lake.
Step 5: Finally, garnish your weekend with your family鈥檚 own exploration flavour. Have a winter picnic, make snow angels, go swimming or catch a movie. Whatever your flavour, dig in and savour the experience.
Train station gets a new lid
The Jasper Heritage Train Station roof is well beyond celebrating a quarter century, the expected lifespan for this type of roof. In fact it hasn鈥檛 been replaced in over 30 years.
In recent years, the roof has been showing its age: unanticipated leaks have resulted in interior damage; gradual loss of tiles has required on-going replacement to cover those bald patches; and loss of other important functions makes it a risk to the station itself and those around it.
To improve and protect the overall health of the Jasper Heritage Train Station, it was therefore a priority to give the roof a makeover. The new roof will be asphalt shingles consistent with the building鈥檚 federal heritage value and will maintain its unique character.
While there may be some restrictions to access during the roof replacement, the important services that call the train station home will still be open for business, including offices of Jasper National Park administration, VIA Rail and Greyhound Canada. The makeover team is committed to keeping a clean site, but the roof鈥檚 old, dry, flyaway tiles may on occasion escape them. Please bear with us through this project knowing that in the end the Jasper Heritage Train Station鈥檚 outer beauty will be preserved and those inside will be safe, sound and dry.
