Last updated on July 25th, 2023
Beauty Creek Trail in Canada’s Jasper National Park offers a short, easy hike along a scenic mountain stream. There’s a waterfall at the end (Stanley Falls), but the walk is worthwhile even if you don’t go that far. (Post updated summer 2022.)
Hiking the Beauty Creek Trail
There are so many hikes in Jasper National Park (and all of the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks) we didn’t have time for, but Beauty Creek was an opportunity for one last jaunt as we headed south out of the park.
On the hunt for Beauty Creek
We tried to hike here a few days earlier, but couldn’t find the trailhead. Now, having consulted our trusty copy of Parkways of the Canadian Rockies, we know to look for it across the road from the tangled section of the Sunwapta River where I had stopped to take photographs the other day. (We were so close!)
The first part of the trail follows the top of a berm to an abandoned roadway, but even here the creek and surrounding wetlands offer plenty to see.
This section is well marked!
Once you reach the creek, you turn away from the road (it ends at the creek where evidence of a washed-out bridge remains) to follow a wooded path up along the creek.
It’s clearly a path used by a variety of visitors, not just hikers.
(We decided we were sharing the trail with a wolverine this morning. Fortunately we didn’t run into him along the way.)
Hiking along the creek
Beauty Creek itself twists and tumbles through a narrow canyon filled with cascades and small waterfalls. (Apparently eight waterfalls, but I’m not sure how you’d count them.)
However, in most spots the river is nearly invisible unless you stand at the very edge of the canyon and peer straight down.
It’s gorgeous and we had it all completely to ourselves!
Stanley Falls is at the end of the trail
The trail leads to Stanley Falls, but – even though it isn’t very far – we turned back before we reached it.
We couldn’t stop thinking about how many miles we had to travel that day to reach our evening’s destination. With all that driving on our minds, we severely restricted our hiking time. (And we kept stopping to wander along the ledges and take pictures, which made our short hike take waaaay longer than it should have.)
If you go, do continue on to Stanley Falls, as it looks gorgeous.
Stanley Falls (photo by newsummits.wordpress.com, used with permission)
Tips for visiting Beauty Creek
Beauty Creek has at least eight waterfalls of various sizes and most of the river cascades over rock as it races along. The trailhead is located along the Icefields Parkway in the southern half of Jasper National Park. However, the park website doesn’t mention this trail.
A Canadian Park Pass is required to enter Jasper. You can buy either a day pass or an annual pass, depending on how many parks you plan to visit and how long you will spend in each. Passes are available online or as you enter most parks. If you are entering early or late in the day, buy your pass in advance.
Jasper National park is located in Treaty areas 6 and 8, as well as on the traditional lands of the Anishinabe, Aseniwuche Winewak, Dene-zaa, Nêhiyawak, Secwépemc, Stoney Nakoda, and Métis. The indigenous people who lived in this area were forcibly removed from their ancestral lands when the area became a Forest Reserved (the precursor to designation as a national park) in 1907. You can read some of this history on the park’s website.
Where is Beauty Creek?
Beauty Creek is located along the Icefields Parkway toward the southern end of Jasper National Park. The trail starts about 10 miles or 15 minutes north of the Athabasca Glacier parking area.
The trailhead is located at a small, unmarked parking area on the east side of the Icefields Parkway. It’s almost on top of a huge culvert just south of the Beauty Creek Hostel. There may be a sign there now, but don’t let the lack of one stop you from checking it out — when I visited in 2014 very few trailheads had signage. From the parking area, follow the dike to reach the old road, then take a right to follow the road to an old bridge. A left will take you can follow the trail along the creek.
Stanley Falls is about one mile in. The trail just sort of dies there, but there are plenty of places to explore right around the falls. Return the same way you came in.
Trail notes
Once you find the trail, it’s slight uphill along the river going in. It’s an easy trail, but with lots of tree roots and some exposed rock. The trail is well enough used to be be clear, but you basically just follow along the top of the canyon above the river. There are no trail markers, signs, or railings.
The trail runs near the canyon edge high above the water. It is not a good hike for anyone with a fear of heights, as most cascades are only visible when standing at the canyon edge. Likewise, it’s not the best place to take small children.
As is the case everywhere in Jasper, watch for wildlife and be bear aware. This is a wilderness area.
Parkways of the Canadian Rockies (affiliate link) is a great guide to Banff, Jasper, Kootenay, and Yoho. We never would have found Beauty Creek without it. First written by Brian Patton in 1975, it hasn’t been updated and republished since 2008. But I’d still recommend it. Just maybe not as your only guide to this area.
Jasper National Park is part of the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks UNNESCO World Heritage site.
Amazing!!! <3
Thanks, Suze. It’s really a gorgeous place.
Thanks, Gunilla. Yes, it was very lovely and not many people go there.
Gorgeous! What a wonderful place to go for a hike.