Fri. July 17, 2026 Wells Gray Provincial Park

 Fri. July 17

50 degrees this beautiful morning! We continue south through beautiful scenery.  A few more towns and businesses.

Today we continue south to the town of Clearwater, where we turn into Wells Gray Provincial Park Visitors Center.   On advice from the welcome center folks, we decide to get a campsite at nearby North Thompson River Provincial Park and then head into Wells Gray. $33.50 Canadian ($25 US) sound fine, but there is a boil water advisory and only pit toilets.  We choose an open site, deposit our envelope and head out.

Wells Gray is noted for its waterfalls, so we decide to do the three major ones.  Some of the others require more hiking than we're willing to take on.  Spahats (1st nation word for bear) is first, only a 6 miles or so drive on decent road.  

At the end of an easy 1/2 mile trail is a great viewing platform. The falls is 97' tall and Spahats Creek continues to carve into the canyon wall, so the falls moves further downward.  Lots of other viewers, but not crowded.

About 20 miles farther is beautiful Dawson Falls on the Myrtle River.  It is only 60' high, but is 297' wide and sometimes called mini-niagara.  

 The easy trail is about a mile RT and soon the sound of the Falls is clear.

 

Dawson Falls and the Myrtle River are powerful, carving into old lava flows.

Helmcken Falls is Canada's fourth-highest at 463' .   This falls was the inspiration for the creation of Wells Gray Park in 1939. 

 There is a tent set up near the viewpoint with a few rangers who explain Spray Zones to us.  Apparently the area near the base of waterfalls are called Spray Zones and are home to many unique plants which have just recently been identified and studied. They have some samples of Rough Gooseneck Moss, Tree Lung Wart and Witches Brew... and expect to discover more.

We head back down the mountain to Clearwater and our campsite, stopping at a Subway for a tasty sandwich.  We walk a bit and a little rain moves in.   The Park Rangers are making rounds and we discover there is some fine print, which says non-residents pay extra, plus we don't have Canadian money so they charge extra for that too.   The guy is a bit apologetic, but this is a popular campground and has "special" rules, different from other Provincial Parks.  Oh well.   Live and learn, eh?  

Beth chats with a couple from Florida who have been traveling in Canada since early June and plan to continue till September.... escaping hot weather.  

We snack a bit and play some cribbage.  Hard rain for a bit and we have to close the overhead fan.  But it is cool enough without it tonight.

Thursday, July 16, 2026 IceFields Parkway, Jasper, Mt. Robson

 Thursday, July 16

Waterfowl Campground has 100 campsites, all of which were filled last night.  It is nicely spread out and treed, though, so didn't feel crowded.  The lake is gorgeous and calm in early morning light.

We continue on the IceFields Parkway this morning, pausing at viewpoints and areas.  That's the parkway down there from a high viewpoint.

Stopped at Coleman Stream Picnic Area for breakfast.  Lots of ground squirrels all over the place - looks like a prairie dog town!  They chirp when we get near and dive into burrows, but soon come back out.

This chubby guy looks like he gets more than his fair share of food!

We stop at Columbia Icefield Discovery Centre which is crazy busy already.  Nice Visitor Center with displays, restrooms, restaurant and gift shop across the road from the glacier.  There are options to ride a specialized vehicle out onto the glacier or walk a glass-bottomed viewing area (both for $) or you can walk over to the "toe" of Athabasca glacier. 

1919

today

 We've seen and walked on a few glaciers in Alaska, so settle for viewing.  Sad to see how much it has shrunk over the years, and it continues to do so.  Scientists predict it will mostly disappear as soon as 2040, depending if warming temps continue.  What will happen to the rivers then!?! And the trees, and the wildlife, and the people?!?!

 *RVers can overnight here in an area of the parking lot for a minimum fee and there are lots of people who did so.

The air is so clear, crisp and clean!  Smells amazing.

Next stop is Sunwapta Falls on the river of the same name which originates at Athabasca Glacier.  Amazingly powerful moving water! The name is Stoney Indian meaning "turbulent water". Quite a few people and Beth takes family pics for several groups, many of whom seem Middle Eastern.   

The trail continues through a canyon to lower falls.   

The next stop is Athabasca Falls which is in Jasper National Park, but also just off the highway and equally busy.   It is one of the most powerful falls in Canada, fed by glaciers and the Athabasca River.  The river has carved a rugged canyon here as well.

 I offer and take a few more group photos

and get one of us as well.  

From here it is about 30 miles into the town of Jasper.  There were horrendous forest fires here in 2024  and we see major devastation when approaching town.  Lots of construction going on. Over half of the 374 destroyed properties have been approved for re-building or completed, but it is obviously a work in progress.  Burned trees are prominent on the south side, though new wildflowers and other growth are visible.  

Small town, and the main street is short but busy.  We shop at a grocery store here, get gas and find a shop with wine, so at least we supported a little bit of the recovery! What does exist is very busy.

Areas further north, like Malign Canyon, are in better shape we hear, but we turn west here and head for Mount Robson Provincial Park.

Quick stop at Moose Lake which is beautiful, but no moose.

Snow-topped Mount Robson is the highest point in the Canadian Rockies at 12,972 feet and is part of the Rainbow Range.  They have a nice Welcome Center with this beautiful view.  No maps, though, but they tell us we can get maps at Valemont Welcome Center, down the road, so we continue on.  The folks at Valemont are not very helpful with maps or information  "I don't know much about camping." 

 Time to find a place to alight for the night, and with the fridge a bit iffy on propane, we look for a place with electrical hookups, which eliminates most of the provincial park sites. We choose Canoe River Campground which turns out to be a good choice, with shade, electric and showers! Greg walks and finds the river but those sites are reserved far in advance, we're told.  Temps have been climbing since we are back on the west side of the Rockies now (84 when we stop) so the AC feels good till things cool off nicely. 

Huge, dinner-plate-size mushrooms growing here.

Met a girl from Switzerland here who was visiting for 3 1/2 weeks and impressed with the vastness of Canada.   (Yesterday we saw a license plate from Argentina! - now that's a road trip!)

Pretty sky tonight.  We will begin turning south tomorrow. Still in mountain time now, so we're going to bed with the sun.

Tacos for dinner.  And we play our nightly cribbage game... I think we are about even now, but Beth's getting better at shuffling!