Icefields Parkway — Jonas Creek Flats Dispersed Camp

The Jonas Creek drainage cuts down off the eastern flank of the Colin Range and crosses under the Icefields Parkway about 60 km south of Jasper townsite. Roadside gravel pull-offs here have long been used by overlanders and climbers for a night before heading deeper into Jasper National Park. The creek provides a steady ambient backdrop, the spruce and fir canopy is real, and on clear nights the Milky Way overhead is genuinely stupid. No facilities, no signage, minimal foot traffic in shoulder season. Keep it clean — Parks Canada wardens patrol this corridor regularly and will move you on if camp looks like a circus.

Access is paved off Highway 93 — no clearance needed to reach the pull-off. Dispersed camping in Jasper NP is restricted; a backcountry permit is technically required for any overnight stay outside a designated campground. Shoulder seasons (May–June, September–October) see fewer Rangers and better solitude. Campfires are typically prohibited within the park — carry a stove.

Creek-side pull-off deep in Jasper backcountry.