When the sun goes down in Jasper National Park, the show is just beginning. Night is when the most accessible dark sky preserve in the world comes alive with a blanket of stars and maybe even a glimpse of the Milky Way or aurora borealis from your doorstep.
“You can be out on the main road at night, go right across the street from your hotel and see the northern lights,” says Tyler Burghardt. “You can see all of the stars, and that's something that's not really possible anywhere else.”
The general manager of the Jasper Planetarium believes the chance to see the night sky in its natural habitat is part of why he’s noticed a surge in astrotourism recently. Living in a major city, people might be lucky to see only a handful of stars on a given night.
But the trend is in line with a broader interest in people seeking authentic experiences when travelling. While the relaxing beach vacation certainly isn’t going anywhere, more people are looking to immerse themselves in local activities, learn new things and make memories while doing them.
For those seeking a more creative tourism experience, here are some ways to really experience Jasper National Park, not just visit.
A SENSE OF PLACE
Even though it overflows with natural beauty, a place like Jasper is so much more than a pretty face. It’s a complex mountain ecosystem home to countless fauna and flora working together to make magic in the park.
“It's a world destination for a reason,” says Luuk Wijk, owner of Wildland Photography, a photo tour operator which helps hone wildlife photography skills while educating clients on the biodiversity of the park.
“To have the mountains, wildlife, glaciers—all the natural processes surrounding us—there really couldn't be a better place for those interested in the nature aspect of photography.”
An interpretive guide as well as a professional photographer, Wijk’s photo tours aim to mix art with education by exploring the why: “Why is the lake so blue? Why do we need fire in the landscape?”
Private tours, small groups and workshops offer varying levels of customization for visitors. But everybody leaves with sharper photography skills and a greater respect for the wilderness of the park.
A place like Jasper is so vast and wild it can be overwhelming, particularly post-wildfire. For Wijk, photography is a tool to focus on what is still here.
“We delve into the past when we look at images,” he says. “People have a connection to Jasper and need to get reacquainted. Photography can be a really important aspect of that.”
“It also gives you a great reason to come back to Jasper year after year and see how our landscape recovers.”
“Indigenize the world, one drum beat at a time.”
The more that Isko-achitaw waciy / ᐃᐢᑯ ᐃᐦᒋᑕ ᐘᒋᕀ / Matricia Bauer from Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation learned about her culture, the more excited she became, and the more she wanted to teach it to others.
Today, Bauer shares her culture with the world through her business, Warrior Women, which aims to “Indigenize the world, one drum beat at a time.”
On the Wapakwanis Plant Walk, Make & Take, Bauer shares an intimate understanding of some of the flowers, shrubs and trees of Jasper through an Indigenous lens. At the end of the day, guests will create a salve or lotion from the harvest to take home.
“The flora that we experience and the plants that are around us are full of medicine, they’re full of history, they’re full of stories, they're full of songs—they're full of a symbiotic relationship that we actually rely on,” Bauer told Tourism Jasper in our Venture Beyond series.
“So I think plant medicine and understanding the flora can also be a great lesson on how we fit into the world.”
IT TAKES A COMMUNITY
At the planetarium, while the made-in-house shows, telescope tours and aurora opportunities are all stunning, the thing that stops people in their tracks more than anything else is the sheer number of stars, says Burghardt.
But whether an amateur astrophysicist or a dreamy-eyed stargazer, the finishing touch on the experiences is the community.
“You have such a melting pot of different people from all different backgrounds, and everyone has different stories,” he says. “And once you're in town, you're just, you're immediately part of that community.”
Being a tight-knit community means guests get the benefit of every tour operator’s guidance along the way—whether it’s whitewater rafting, scaling a rock wall or the perfect dinner recommendation.
