If you're planning an epic road trip through Canada to experience some of its breathtaking National Parks and want to find the best hikes to escape the busy city life, then a visit to the beautiful province of Alberta should be on your bucket list. Canada is known for sprawling landscapes that boast magnificent fresh water lakes, endless hiking opportunities, and outdoor adventures. Alberta is home to the Bald Hills Trail in the Maligne Valley located in Jasper National Park, which offers hikers panoramic Rocky Mountain views as far as the eye can see from the summit.
Just a short 30-mile drive from Jasper, Alberta along Maligne Lake Road, the beginning of the Bald Hills trailhead can be reached in less than an hour. As you make your drive down the scenic road, you'll be in awe of the amount of Lodgepole pine and Engelmann spruce lining the entire route, as the surrounding mountains shyly poke their grey peaks from above the trees. Along the route, you'll also drive along the shoreline of Medicine Lake,聽which disappears in the fall and winter due to its unique drainage system.
Hikers will be happy to know that there's a large parking lot (with toilets) at the end of Maligne Lake Road, which just so happens to be the beginning of the Bald Hills trailhead. The views out onto Maligne Lake, the largest natural lake in Canada's Rocky Mountains, when you arrive are unforgettable, especially on a cloudless, sunny day, when the blue sky really makes the lake shine bright. You may even get lucky and spot some shy and elusive moose聽close to the trailhead before you start your Bald Hills hike.