If you’re going to go to a place famous for mountain peaks, there ought to be a trip up one of them, right?
It says something about a place when the tourism infrastructure is over 50 years old, yet it’s still a huge draw.
That’s the case with this tramway up to Whistler’s Peak southwest of the town of Jasper. It’s been around since 1964, and it’s a standby for tourists in the Rocky Mountain town.
And that’s for obvious reasons, with the huge view it gives to visitors. A panorama that includes rocky peaks, snow-capped mountains, glacial lakes almost glowing and a valley bottom town spread out like a surveyor’s map.
On a clear day you can see Mt. Robson, or so they say. That’s around 80 km away, a huge distance for the unaided eye, especially with all the other peaks obscuring the horizon.
Essentially a part of the city of Jasper, this is only about 10 minutes away (well, at least the parking). Shuttles or cabs are options, if you don’t want to take a car for some reason, but odds are you took a car to get to Jasper in the first place.
At $50 a pop, it’s not a cheap trip up in the tram, but if you’re heading to Jasper, odds are you’re not looking for the cheapest trip.
Crowds and cost keep this from being the top thing to do in Jasper, on TripAdvisor’s list. Instead it lands at 10, but not because of a lack of views. The official tram site is here, wheil the Tourism Alberta webpage is here.