The Maligne Pass hike is one of the premier hikes to do in Jasper National Park. It’s an easy one with multiple ways to shorten or lengthen it, so you can get a taster in as little as 15 minutes or the full wits over roughly three hours.

The trailhead for the Maligne Pass hike is a short momentum from Jasper and combines well with other half day activities like taking a boat tour to Spirit Island in Maligne Lake. It’s a unconfined one for all ages, though there is some uphill required if you hike one of the longer loops. With a little luck you may see wildlife like bighorn sheep or elk – which is unchangingly a thrill.

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Distance: 3.7 km one way to the Sixth Underpass

Elevation gain: Approximately 185 m.

Difficulty: Easy.

Time needed: 15 minutes to 3 hours, depending on how far you hike.

Dogs allowed: Yes, on a troika but go early in the day when the trail is less busy.

Bears: Not usually a snooping as the trail is rented but you will never go wrong

Map needed: There are good maps withal the Maligne Pass hike. The paper map that covers the hike is Gem Trek Jasper and Maligne Lake.

Don’t forget: Always take the hiking essentials, let someone know where you are going and please practice Leave No Trace principles.

In winter: The Maligne Pass hike becomes a fantastic ice walk in winter. If the opportunity arises, do it.

Getting to Maligne Canyon

It’s a short 11-minute momentum from Jasper to get to the Maligne Pass trailhead.

From the Jasper townsite, momentum northeast on Connaught Drive. Turn left or east onto Highway 16 – moreover tabbed the Yellowhead Highway. Turn right at the first light to navigate the Athabasca River. Go left at the fork and stay on Maligne Road until you reach one of the parking lots.

There are parking lots at the Sixth Underpass (for a longer hike), the Fifth Underpass (a medium length hike) or momentum to the parking lot by Maligne Pass Wilderness Kitchen. From there you can do short hikes and still wits the weightier Maligne Pass has to offer.

Book the Maligne Pass hike with a guide

If you want to do a guided hike of Maligne Pass – perhaps considering you don’t have a car to get to Maligne Canyon, you’d like to learn something well-nigh the canyon, you’re traveling solo and are increasingly comfortable, for whatever reason it is be sure to trammels out this hiking tour that is offered by Viator. It includes a pickup at your hotel in Jasper.

Maligne Pass hike options

Most people start the Maligne Pass hike at either the Fifth Underpass or at the Interpretive Plaza by the restaurant, but you can moreover start by the Sixth Underpass and do and out and when hike from there.

Variations on how you can do the Maligne Pass hike.

• For those short on time hike to the 1st or 2nd Bridges to get a sense of Maligne Canyon. You can knock that off in as little as 15 minutes.
• If you have an hour or increasingly hike from the 1st Underpass to either the 4th or 5th Underpass and back. You’ll see some of the prettiest sections of Maligne Canyon. To do that it’s 2.2 km one way with an elevation proceeds and loss of well-nigh 100 metres.
• If you have two to three hours, then hike all the way lanugo to the 6th underpass and back.

Maligne Pass hike description

From the interpretive displays near the parking lot walk towards the first bridge, stopping to squint for fossils by the water tropical to the restaurant.

Cross the first underpass and follow the trail to the second underpass on the south and increasingly scenic side of the canyon. Withal the hike squint for interpretive panels – with some explaining how Maligne Pass might have been worked and others well-nigh the woebegone swifts, that nest in the cliffs, the lack of fish, chockstones and other natural phenomena you see withal the walk.

One of the most dramatic spots on the Maligne Pass hike is at the second bridge. Squint lanugo 55 metres (180 feet) to the marrow of the canyon. Revere the drama of the water rushing through the pass walls that are a mere two metres wide here.

Continue to the third bridge. For those who want to return to the parking lot from here, navigate the underpass and walk up the other side of Maligne Pass towards the parking lot. That’s a 1.6 km loop that will take most people between 30 – 40 minutes.

The other option is to protract walking on the north side of the pass towards the fourth bridge. The grade is downhill, so remember that the return will mostly be uphill. By the time you reach the fourth bridge, Maligne Pass will have widened and there’ll be increasingly trees around. Many people turn virtually here – as it’s well-nigh a one-hour hike in total.

If you protract past the fourth bridge, you’ll notice that you start to lose the crowds. Maligne Pass isn’t as dramatic without the fourth bridge, but it’s still a lovely walk to the fifth bridge through the forest and slantingly the pass where you can see some springs that join the Maligne River. The return loop hike from the parking lot to the fifth underpass is well-nigh 2 hours long, less if you’re a regular hiker.

The trail to the sixth bridge abreast the river is unmistakably marked. The hiking has a bit of up and lanugo but nothing dramatic. Allow up to 3 hours to do the return hike to the sixth bridge.

How many bridges do you cross?

There are six bridges to navigate if you do the full Maligne Pass hike. The weightier and most dramatic parts of the hike in my opinion are between the 1st and 5th bridges.

But, if you want to leave the crowds overdue and wits the full hike up and lanugo Maligne Canyon, then it’s most definitely worth your while to protract for an spare 1.6 km past the 5th Underpass to reach the 6th bridge.

A few tomfool Maligne Pass facts

• The water that courses through the pass flows from May to December only. In winter, most water in Maligne Pass either drains yonder like a bathtub or freezes.
• The water in Maligne Pass travels underground from Medicine Lake, 14 km away. With the use of dye scientists learned that the water takes 12 – 14 hours to travel to the pass in summer and 5 – 9 days in winter.
• There are three bird species that nest in Maligne Pass – the endangered woebegone swift (it moreover nests in a grotto in Johnston Canyon), the black-coloured American dipper and the worldwide raven.

Where to eat without the hike

If you’re in need of refreshments without the hike enjoy a drink or a meal with a view at Maligne Pass Wilderness Kitchen. You can reserve tables earlier – a good idea expressly on a weekend.

Where to stay in Jasper

The Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge is in a trappy location but it comes at a price. However, you can count on loads of suavities and lots of activities either on their grounds or tropical by. Rooms are fine but not as luxurious as you might expect for the price-point.

Another spanking-new nomination is Bear Hill Lodge. And for easy wangle to a trappy lake and all the activities virtually Pyramid Lake, throne for Pyramid Lake Resort.

On the strip in Jasper, trammels out The Crimson Jasper, proximal to Terra, a restaurant offering succulent food.

Looking for increasingly hikes in Jasper?

• The Sulphur Skyline Trail in Jasper National Park
• Bald Hills Trail Hike, Jasper National Park
• Opal Hills Trail, Jasper National Park
• Geraldine Lakes Hike, Jasper National Park
• Tonquin Valley Hiking Guide – What You Need to Know

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