You betcha, camping in Canada’s Jasper National Park is super popular. In 2022, 450,000 campers stayed at the park’s front country campgrounds, and 14,000 stayed at backcountry campgrounds. With abundant wildlife, an extensive trail network, and stunning mountain views, people flock there. And TODAY, January 28, Jasper National Park reservations have opened.
Despite wildfires, Jasper National Park reservations go ahead
Parks Canada says camping will still be available despite the wildfire that ravaged the destination last year. Reservations for front-country camping opened at 8 a.m. today. For the adventurous, back-country camping reservations will open at 8 a.m. Wednesday (Jan. 29).
“The vast majority of the park is reopened, and so people can experience all the same type of recreation that they could pre-fire, and we are encouraging people to come and visit Jasper,” said Graham Wylde, visitor experience manager for Jasper National Park. “The economy of Jasper relies heavily on tourism and coming and staying in campgrounds, and contributing to those overnight stays in Jasper helps with the economic recovery that the town needs.”
Due to the Jasper wildfire affecting several campgrounds, Parks Canada has spent the winter evaluating their conditions. Wylde reported that approximately 75 percent of the campgrounds will be open for the 2025 season. Whistlers Campground will be nearly fully operational, though some loops will be reserved for temporary housing for Jasper residents.
Not all of Jasper’s campgrounds will be available. About a third of the campsites at Wapiti Campground will be open, while Wabasso Campground and Whirlpool Group Campground will remain closed due to significant fire damage.
A changed landscape
Don’t imagine that “what you see is what you get,” when looking over pictures on the Parks Canada website. “Both Wapiti and Whistlers were impacted by the fire, so there’ll be burned trees,” Wylde said. “There will be more open sight lines as a lot of trees had to be taken down and removed, so it’ll just have a little bit of a different look than it typically would.”
Additionally, Parks Canada has added the overflow campground to the Jasper National Park reservations system arrangement for the entire season, allowing more people to book campsites in advance. The camping season has also been extended, with some sites opening earlier and closing later than usual. Wylde noted they were anticipating Jasper would be as busy as usual, and camping would be near or at capacity, as is typical for the park.
Click here for more information and to make reservations.
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Thank you for the news, Russ and Tina! Will let DW know. We do plan staying there, more or less, en-route to Alaska this summer. Have a great day and safe travels!