Hike the bottom of Maligne Canyon

There are several hiking options at Maligne Canyon. Parks Canada has developed a series of self-guided interpretative trails along the canyon’s rim, with signs describing the geology and other aspects of the natural history. There are 4 bridges across the gorge proper, each with its own special view. A short hiking trail loops around the upper reaches of the canyon (20-40 minutes), while a longer trail follows the entire gorge (30 minutes to an hour return), and another exits at a fifth and sixth bridge below the gorge (2-3 hours return).

This adventure, though, focusses on the walk along the frozen river at the bottom of the canyon. 

Maligne Canyon (pronounced “mah-leen”) is a karst formation in the Palliser Formation, a layer of limestone deposited in a shallow tropical sea by lime-secreting plankton about 365 million years ago. This is thought to be one of the largest karst formations in the world, though little of it has been explored. Some geologists speculate that parts of the canyon were originally deep caves that have since been uncovered by glacial scraping and water erosion.

The canyon is only 2 metres (6.6 feet) across at some points, and attains a depth of more than 50 metres (164 feet). At various places the canyon opens up, but the access to the winter route is at the downstream end of the canyon.

Although having ice cleats on your boots makes the walk easier, it can be done without them. There are companies in Jasper that offer guided tours of the winter walk, if you would like to get much more information as you walk or need extra equipment.  

For a photographer, hiking back up the frozen river is slow. Make sure that your camera battery is powered up and that you have plenty of space left for photos and/or videos. No lens can capture the full height of the canyon - several of the accompanying images are stitched panoramas.

There are icefalls of all sizes up to over 100 feet, and caves large enough to walk into add even more interest. Near the end of the walkable part of the canyon, the walls of the canyon are close to its maximum height of 50 metres (164 feet), and the top is nearly closed. 

While Maligne Canyon gets extremely busy during the summer, it is very quiet through the winter, making it much more of a wilderness experience.

The canyon and surrounding area experienced significant damage from the Jasper Wildfire Complex in 2024, but it is one of the most popular areas in the Canadian Rockies so getting the trails re-opened and the bridges and other infrastructure rebuilt are high priority projects.