Jasper National Park

The kind of place that makes a trip worth it

Banff-Jasper

Yesterday (July 8, 2025) I got new tires in Lethbridge. I had ordered them weeks in advance, and the shop knew I would be stopping by. They were extremely gracious and put me in front of the line. However, the tire change took much longer than I expected. I was not able to leave Lethbridge until about 1 PM.

I quickly booked different accommodations from what I had planned. The lodge was more expensive than I wished, but there is not a lot to pick from around Banff and Jasper. The lodge was located as far along the road as I thought I could travel given my departure time. (I have been afraid that if I get off schedule, and I do not return to work on time, my bosses will demote me from the widget factory back to the widget mines—where they only serve cold porridge and, infinitely worse, coffee brewed from pre-ground beans.)

I rode fast and barely stopped. That is partly why the pictures I am posting are absolutely mediocre. Nevertheless, I am not sure I could have done much better even with more time. The road through the Canadian Rockies is obviously reminiscent of the Colorado Rockies—but it is massive. The roads in Colorado travel through narrow valleys, and often go up the side of the mountains. The road here seems to stay at the very feet of the mountains, so they tower before you. The valley itself is so large, it seems to swallow you whole. No picture would do it justice. Any one feature, like a turquoise lake, is beautiful and worthy of sharing, but the real beauty is in the grandeur of the entire scene. That, I cannot capture in a photo.

Here’s my travel advice. Banff is beautiful—no hot take there. But if you only make it to Banff, then you have missed the best part. The road up to Banff feels like a highway, mostly straight and fenced on both sides. It is the curated Disney version of the Canadian Rockies. Once you take the turn to Jasper, though, that’s when the adventure begins. You immediately lose phone signal. The road becomes narrower as it winds down a gigantic valley. The experience is emotional. It feels as if you are entering a vale so colossal, surely it has no end. And if it has an end, surely no man can know its bounds. You suspect you are entering a land from which you can never return, like Anodos walking into fairyland.

If I had to return home today, my motorcycle journey would have been quite worth it. If, like myself, you are addicted to motorcycles, the road from Banff to Jasper is the fix you are after. The sights, the smells, the perfectly maintained road—oh yeah, this drug hasn’t been cut with anything. Whatever I say about it is not enough. You must come snort this yourself.