Athabasca Falls Loop from Jasper
Ride 3.2 kilometers gaining 126 meters at 4% average grade.
Photo: East face of Mount Edith Cavell from Athabasca Falls.
Lying within Jasper National Park, Athabasca Pass was an early 19th century fur trading route that connected Boat Encampment on the Columbia River to the south with Jasper House trading post near what is now Jasper to the north.
Jasper NP is Ranked Canada’s #1 National Park by U.S. News and World Report:
Jasper National Park is by far the best place to experience the Rocky Mountains. The largest national park in the Canadian Rockies offers endless opportunities to hike, bike, boat and more. Jasper also holds the unique distinction of being the world's second largest dark sky preserve, with excellent conditions for stargazing. To soak up the best of Jasper, drive down the famous Icefields Parkway, considered to be one of the most scenic drives in the world (U.S. News)
Photos from Athabasca Falls 8 km south of Athabasca Pass.
Athabasca Falls Loop: Starting out in Jasper, a fantastic day is to ride south to Athabasca Falls on Hwy 93 (The Icefields Parkway) and return to Jasper on Hwy 93A. In total the ride is approx 65 kilometers and 580 meters of ascent.
There are two hills within the ride that border on climbs by themselves. Athabasca Pass is the first is at kilometer 26. The second pitch is at kilometer 51 and is the ramp up from Wabasso Campground to Mount Edith Cavell South turn off about 2.5 kilometers down from the peak of the climb.
The ride outlined above has "the benefit" of riding by the MEC (as Mount Edith Cavell is known by the locals) turnoff, Marmot Basin and Jasper Sky Tram turnoffs. It is pretty much a ritual that when we are in Jasper we ride out to Athabasca Falls and turn off to climb one or all of the above climbs.