Best time to go
The hostel operates seasonally, so check its current booking calendar before planning an overnight around it. It sits directly on Highway 93 North; winter tires are required on the Icefields Parkway from November 1 through April 1.
Overview
About HI Beauty Creek Wilderness Hostel
Why stop
- Sunwapta River setting and a friendly, shared-house atmosphere
Heads up
- No running water, showers or flush toilets
The shared kitchen and common area make this a self-catering stay, so bring food to prepare. Guests often mention the communal atmosphere and evening fires; a few say the shared kitchen can feel busy when the hostel is full. This is somewhere to stay overnight, not a meal stop on the Parkway.
Parkwolf’s verdictPlan to cook for yourselfMap
Where it is
Loading the Icefields Parkway map
Full mapPlan your stop
Before you go
Best time to go
2 active Icefields Parkway alerts
- ClosureWildfire-impacted area closures in JasperStay out of the closed wildfire-impacted areas in Jasper National Park; access is prohibited or restricted to protect public safety.Official details
- ClosureOpal Hills hiking area closed for grizzly bearThe Opal Hills hiking area is closed because a female grizzly bear with two offspring is in the area. - The closure took effect September 25, 2026, and remains in effect until further notice.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Icefields Parkway Tour Guide
Your drive to HI Beauty Creek Wilderness Hostel, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Icefields Parkway (Highway 93). As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Icefields Parkway audio tourRecorded for this area
The Insect That Carries Its Shelter0:00 / 0:30
“A little tube of sand grains moving across a submerged rock may be a caddisfly larva.”
Plays on the road 0.1 km from HI Beauty Creek Wilderness Hostel in the Parkwolf Icefields Parkway Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Mushroom and Diadem Peaks: The Paired Skyline
- Beauty Creek: The Walk to Stanley Falls
- The Lake with an Underground Drain
- A Beak for Opening Cones
- 141 audio storiesacross Icefields Parkway’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Grizzly Bear, Black Bear, Moose, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 54 trails, 57 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
More about HI Beauty Creek Wilderness Hostel
A simple night by the riverHI Beauty Creek is a seasonal, shared-room wilderness hostel on the Icefields Parkway in Jasper…
HI Beauty Creek is a seasonal, shared-room wilderness hostel on the Icefields Parkway in Jasper National Park, beside the Sunwapta River. It suits travelers who want to break the drive with a quiet, social night in a remote setting; it won't suit anyone expecting hotel comforts. There is no running water, shower or flush toilet, and drinking water comes from tanks. Electricity is limited and solar-powered.
Stay for the settingThe river and the quiet are the appeal.
The river and the quiet are the appeal. HI highlights stargazing in Jasper's Dark Sky Preserve, and visitors repeatedly praise the scenery and peaceful location. If you want an evening outdoors between the highway's bigger stops, this is a good fit; if a shower and easy services matter more, choose a more conventional place to stay.
A small solar projectHI added solar panels for year-round LED lighting and to power two refrigerators and staff…
HI added solar panels for year-round LED lighting and to power two refrigerators and staff communications in summer. The project write-up said the system cut propane use by about 240 litres a year, a useful glimpse of how a remote hostel makes a little electricity go a long way.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Icefields Parkway
12 sightingsGrizzly BearMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
127 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
16 sightingsMooseMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
100 sightingsElkMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
34 sightingsMountain GoatMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
53 sightingsBighorn SheepMost seen around 6 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Icefields Parkway. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
