Horse use in Jasper National Park

Jasper National Park

Graze quotas

While horse use is permitted on some park trails, Jasper National Park does not maintain campgrounds or trails for horse use.

Before riding in Jasper National Park

Jasper’s Multi-Use Trail System

Jasper National Park is home to a vast system of frontcountry and backcountry trails. Most frontcountry trails are multi-use. This means that trails open to horse use may be shared with hikers, bikers, and of course, wildlife.

Forces of nature and trail conditions

Every year, forces of nature continue to cause extensive damage to trails and supporting infrastructure. In addition, many trails are no longer actively maintained and it may be several years between trail clearings. Resulting challenges and obstacles can include:

  • Flooding and high water level, making some trails with water crossings difficult or impassible
  • Damaged or washed out bridges
  • Mudslides, rockslides and trail washouts, leaving some sections of trail with no reasonable detour options
  • Trees blown down, especially in areas that have been burned (wildlife or prescribed burn) or areas highly affected by pine beetle damage
  • Impacts to the availability of graze

Some trails are no longer safe to ride on.

Horse use trails highly affected by forces of nature:

  • Fiddle River trail (no horse use between Miette Hot Springs and Slide Creek campground)
  • North Boundary trail
  • Brazeau trail
  • South Boundary trail

Stabling options for visitors

The Cottonwood Corrals Association operates two visitor paddocks. Visit their website for more information.

Where can you ride?

Horse travel is permitted throughout the park except in frontcountry campgrounds, at picnic sites and public beaches, areas off of official trails within the Three Valley Confluence and specific trails where riding is prohibited.

Horse travel is not permitted on the following trails:
  1. Trail 1 from the top of the stairs to the junction with trail 1a and trail 9 (Old Fort Point)
  2. Trail 4c
  3. Trail 4d (Lake Annette Loop)
  4. Trail 4h Lake Edith Shoreline
  5. Trail 5 and 5a (Whistlers Trail above Fast Tracks junction and Whistlers Summit)
  6. Trail 6b
  7. Trail 7 from First Bridge to Fifth Bridge (Maligne Canyon trail)
  8. Trail 7f from Maligne Canyon parking lot to 2nd bridge
  9. Trail 7h between 2nd and 5th bridge
  10. Trail 7i Signal Downhill
  11. Trail 8 from the Cottonwood Slough parking lot to the junction with Trail 8d
  12. Trail 8a
  13. Trail 9a around lakes 2-4 between junctions with 9b, from May 15 through September 15 inclusive
  14. Trail 9c
  15. Trail 10a Flower Trail
  16. Trail 11 Discovery Trail, except section between junction with trail 8a and Pyramid Bench kiosk, and section between trails 3 and 3e
  17. Trail 13 Bighorn Alley Trail
  18. Trail 17 Pyramid Island Trail
  19. Trail 20 Moose Lake trail between Maligne Lake and junction with route to Maligne Pass
  20. Trail 21 Mary Schaeffer Loop
  21. Trail 22 Opal Hills Trail and Trail 22a
  22. Trail 23 Bald Hills Trail and Trail 23a
  23. Trail 25 Lakeside Stroll Trail (Maligne Lake)
  24. Trail 28 Spirit Island
  25. Trail 30 Sulphur Skyline Trail from junction at Shuey Pass to top of Sulphur Skyline including Trails 100a and 100b
  26. Trail 31 Miette Mine Trail and Trail 32 Miette Upper Loop
  27. Trail 33 Jasper House
  28. Trail 34 Miette campground trail and Trail 34a Spur to Punchbowl Falls
  29. Trail 35 Source of the Springs Loop
  30. Trail 41 Path of the Glacier and Trail 42 Cavell Meadows trails
  31. Trail 50 Wilcox Pass Trail and Trail 50a Wilcox Pass Ridge
  32. Trail 51 Parker Ridge Trail
  33. Trail 52 Toe of the Glacier and Trail 53 Forefield Trail
  34. Trail 54 Stanley Falls
  35. Trail 71 Athabasca Falls
  36. Trail 100 Skyline Trail, including the portion of the Curator Trail above the Shovel Pass Backcountry Lodge to the Skyline Junction
  37. Trail 102 Watchtower Trail
  38. Trail 105 Tonquin Valley Loop and all adjacent trails including Trail 106 Chrome Lake, Trail 107 Wates-Gibson Trail, Trail 108, Trail 109 and Eremite Valley.
  39. Trail 115a Moab Lake Spur
  40. Trail 120 Geraldine Lakes Trail
  41. Trail 122 Fryatt Valley Trail
  42. Trail 125 Lower Sunwapta Falls
  43. Trail 131 Jonas Pass Trail
  44. Trail 140 From Miette Hotsprings to Slide Creek campground
  45. Trail 160 Maligne Pass
  46. All park picnic sites accessible by motorized vehicles
  47. All public beach areas at Lakes Edith and Annette and the beaches along Pyramid Beach road

Backcountry camping with horses

Backcountry camping is permitted at horse and horse/hiker campsites. No more than one horse party is allowed per backcountry campground.

Camps may not be left unattended for more than one night.

Bridges and corduroys may not be maintained. Some corduroys have been removed where they presented a danger.

See the backcountry camping pages for general backcountry trail information.

Party size

Private groups: Six people and twelve horses.

Licensed commercial outfitters: Twenty people and thirty-eight horses.

Grazing

Only licensed commercial lodge operations may transport hay into the backcountry.

All backcountry horse campsites in the park have graze quotas that dictate the maximum number of nights a horse party can stay at a particular campsite. These quotas are based on the amount of available graze in each area. Once a graze quota for a campsite has been reached, parties will be directed to other areas.

To reduce environmental damage, it is best if horses are allowed to graze at random. Tying horses to trees overnight is not permitted. If overnight tying is necessary, high-lining (stretching a rope between two trees) is permitted. Please protect the trees by padding the portion of the rope that is tied around the tree and avoiding the trees’ root systems.

Holding corrals

If you need to hold your horses overnight at the start or end of an overnight backcountry trip, you may use one of the holding corrals. There is no charge for the use of these corrals but they must be pre-booked through the Jasper Trail Office - 780-852-6177 ext 2. Reservation fees apply.

Horses may be kept in these corrals for a maximum of 48 hours. Grazing is not permitted. Horses must be fed inside the corrals.

Temporary primitive camps are permitted at holding corrals while stock is being held. No fires are allowed. A backcountry camping permit is required.

Note: Jasper National Park no longer maintains holding corrals for public horse use. Users must check the condition of the corral and be prepared to make necessary repairs. Cutting of standing trees for poles is not permitted.

Corral locations

  • Brazeau Trail System: Nigel Creek/Camp Parker, via gated access road across from Parker Ridge, 120 km south of Jasper on the Icefields Parkway
  • Athabasca Pass Trail: Moab Lake parking lot

How to book

If you want to book or have questions regarding horse use in Jasper National Park, contact the Jasper Trail Office at 780-852-6177 ext. 2.

Related links

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