Jasper National Park will accept camping bookings from visitors from outside the province - but campers are advised to check in with their local health authority before travelling here.
Camping remains closed in Jasper until at least June 21. Wapiti and Wabasso campgrounds will open once COVID-19 preparations are complete but services will be limited to washrooms and fires, and showers will be closed.
Alberta, B.C. and Saskatchewan provincial parks are restricting camping bookings by provincial residence - but Jasper National Park will be open to all Canadians.
Pamela Clark, visitor experience manager for Jasper National Park, said at a Tourism Town Hall meeting May 29: “We are a national agency. We provide services and facilities to Canadians. These are very much Canadian places and special places for Canadians.”
Clark said Jasper National Park will accept reservations from campers outside the province but will ask travellers to bring a hygiene safety kit, be open to adaptation and change, and follow advice from their local health authorities as to whether or not they can travel outside their area.
She added that usually in Jasper 60 per cent of Canadian campers are from Alberta, so they are not expecting a lot of people from out of province.
All vehicle-access and backcountry campgrounds remain closed in Jasper for now and it is illegal to camp anywhere in Jasper without a valid overnight permit.
Jasper National Park will offer limited visitor access and basic services from June 1.
The following Parks Canada secondary roads and/or visitor facilities including day use, picnicking, washrooms/privies and day trails along these roads in Jasper will open on June 1, 2020:
- Highway 93, Icefields Parkway
- Maligne Road
- Highway 93A (between Highway 93 and Whirlpool group camping)
- Lake Annette Road (including access to Lakes Edith and Annette by vehicle)
- Pyramid Beach Road
- East and West Gates: Parks Canada staff will be available to provide information about services currently available to visitors. Fee collection will resume when it is safe to do so.
Parks staff are working to open the following visitor facilities and services after June 21 once COVID-19 preparations for the safety of visitors and employees are complete:
- Wapiti and Wabasso campgrounds
- Backcountry overnight camping (including Maligne Lake camping)
- Highway 93A between Whirlpool group camping and Geraldine Lakes Road including Moab Lake Road
The following seasonal road closures are still in effect:
- Edith Cavell Road
- Celestine Lake Road
- Geraldine Lakes Road
- Miette Road
The following facilities and services will remain closed until further notice:
- The Glacier Gallery at the Icefield Centre
- Pocahontas, Snaring, Kerkeslin, Honeymoon Lake, Jonas, Icefield and Wilcox campgrounds
- Miette Hot Springs
- Interpretive programs, group activities and public events
Information facilities remain closed until further notice:
- Jasper Information Centre
- Information desk at the Columbia Icefield Centre
- Parks Canada Administration Office
Guidelines for visitors to Jasper National Park
- You are responsible for your own safety
- You can help keep others safe
- Do not visit if you are sick. Do not visit if you were recently exposed to someone with COVID-19
- Follow all public health guidelines. Hand washing hygiene and social distance measures are key to your health
- Maintain physical distance measures of two metres (six feet) between yourself and others
- Wear your cloth mask when you are closer than two metres (six feet) to other people
- Wash your hands frequently
- Bring your own COVID-19 hygiene safety kit. Following recommendations from Alberta Health Services, bring your own hand sanitizer and disposable gloves. Wear a reusable mask when you cannot maintain a physical distance of two metres (six feet)
- Prepare for long lines. Prepare to wait for your turn
- You may need to change your plans
- Be kind and patient to each other. We are in this together
