Parking
Park at the Jasper SkyTram lower station on Whistlers Road, off the Icefields Parkway, then ride to the upper terminal. Trail 5 from the road is a separate full ascent.
Overview
About The Whistlers Summit Trail
Why go
- A 360-degree summit panorama without hiking the full lower mountain route.
Heads up
- A short but steep, exposed climb at high elevation.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Icefields Parkway map
Full mapElevation2,232–2,449 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
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 The Whistlers Summit Trail, 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 trailhead
Whistlers Mountain: Choose Your Climb0:00 / 0:26
“You're approaching Whistlers Mountain's trail access. The full climb from Whistlers Road is a steep, five-to-eight-hour return hike to views over the Athabasca and Miette valleys.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Icefields Parkway Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Whistlers Campground: A Base Near Jasper
- Wapiti Campground: River Views and Open Sites
- The Bird Inside the Snowbank
- The Orchid Fed Through a Fungus
- 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!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking The Whistlers Summit Trail
The short summit hikeThe Whistlers Summit Trail (5a) is a 1.
The Whistlers Summit Trail (5a) is a 1.7-mile out-and-back from the Jasper SkyTram upper terminal to Whistlers Mountain’s summit. The mapped walk is about 0.8 miles each way, climbing roughly 200 m over rocky alpine ground. Give it 1–2 hours, including time at the top. This is the short upper-mountain route; hiking Trail 5 from Whistlers Road is a separate, much longer full ascent.
The climbFrom the station, follow the short boardwalk and steps to Trail 5a, then stay on the…
From the station, follow the short boardwalk and steps to Trail 5a, then stay on the rock-marked tread across the open slope. The climb is steep for its length and exposed to wind and fast-changing mountain weather. Snow can cover the rough trail markers and make the route harder to follow.
The summitA cairn marks the high point.
A cairn marks the high point. The payoff is a wide panorama over the Athabasca Valley and the surrounding ranges; on a clear day, Mount Robson can appear beyond them. The upper tram terminal is below the summit, so walk the last steep section rather than stopping at the platform.
Getting therePark at the Jasper SkyTram lower station on Whistlers Road and ride to the upper terminal,…
Park at the Jasper SkyTram lower station on Whistlers Road and ride to the upper terminal, where 5a begins. The tram is seasonal; when it is not running, reaching the summit on foot means taking Trail 5 from the road. The upper station’s Summit Restaurant is a separate stop before or after the hike. Dogs are allowed on the trail but must stay leashed; they cannot enter the café.
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.
