On Sept 14, 1907 Jasper became Canada's fifth national park, taking its name from the abandoned fur trading post Jasper House. The Canadian government knew from experience in Banff that railway expansion (tracks reached Jasper in 1911) combined with a new park would be good for the nation’s emerging tourism industry.

Buckskin clad Mary Schäffer was an early visitor—she reached Maligne Lake in 1908. You can walk in her footsteps to the viewpoint that bears her name. Jasper’s first tourist tent camp beside Lac Beauvert is now famous Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge.

In 1913 the railway depot shantytown of Fitzhugh was renamed Jasper—the original name lives on as a local newspaper. What was the park administration building and superintendent residence is now Jasper’s handsome Information Centre. And the town’s railway station has recently been restored to its former 'arts and craft'-style glory.

To the east, the coal mining community of Pocahontas thrived from 1910 until the mine closed in 1921—the short interpretive walk through the site rises to a nice view. Construction of the Banff-Jasper Icefields Parkway may have begun as Depression time relief work, but today the route is one of the world’s great scenic drives.

If you scuba dive the chilly waters of Jasper’s Patricia Lake you may find refrigeration pipes. During WW2, Winston Churchill tested his concept for a floating ice airfield here, but the prototype was a failure. Today this lake and adjacent Pyramid Lake are popular for fishing and boating.

Not that long ago, folks would visit the garbage dump to watch bears scavenge an easy meal. In 1981 an electric fence was installed at the landfill, and garbage bins were made animal-proof. Now tourists look for wildlife as they travel Jasper highways. Most spot elk, bighorn sheep or deer, and some find mountain goats, moose or bears. Consider yourself fortunate if you see a caribou or cougar.

100 years ago, a few Métis families lived in Jasper and almost no-one visited. Now, 2 million people a year come to Canada’s largest mountain park.