| Valley of the Five Lakes Clear lakes with shades of jade and blue Distance 4.9 km (3.0 mi) circuit Trailhead Park at the trailhead on the Icefields Parkway, 8.9 km south of the traffic lights at the Highway 16 Junction. Options You can hike or cycle the trail. You can also circle Fifth Lake in 25 minutes; the path on the west side is a little rougher than the one on the east. At First Lake, a trail continues on the east side only (a fisherman's route on the west side is for masochists only); it takes 15 minutes to walk to the north end of First Lake. From there, you can carry on to Old Fort Point or double back on a less scenic adjoining trail. Another connecting trail leads to Wabasso Lake.
This is an easy circuit. The undulating trail leads past the eastern shores of three of the five charming lakes filling a north-south depression. The other two, much larger ones, can be seen and visited by side paths. The lakes are numbered from their proximity to Jasper. Part of the way follows a panoramic hillside, the view dominated by Mt. Edith Cavell, Brussels Peak and Pyramid Mountain. At First and Fifth lakes, there are boats that can be rented in advance from sports shops in Jasper. The lakes are reputedly good fishing, but some disappointed angler has scrawled "No fish" on a sign at Fifth Lake. At the trailhead, there is a pay phone and a biffy. Beavers, deer, elk and bears frequent the lakes, especially at dusk. Two centuries ago, bison carcasses were found nearby in an area that fur traders called Buffalo Prairie. In 1817, Ross Cox said it was "a landscape that for rural beauty cannot be excelled in any country." Although no one knows the precise location of Buffalo Prairie, people in Jasper use that name for a meadow a short way south of the bridge at 0.8 km. I think it is possible that Buffalo Prairie was a chain of north-south meadows, including the one surrounding the bridge. As a result of M.P. Bridgeland's 1915 survey the Canadian Permanent Committee on Geographical Names entitled these lakes Wabasso (Cree for "snowshoe hare"). All Park maps use this name. For decades, however, a more southerly lakelet near Buffalo Prairie has been called Wabasso: in 1992, that name was officially recognized and should appear on future maps. Trail From the parking area, follow the wide path through forest over a bridge to a beaver-disturbed Wabasso Creek and climb to a junction with the Old Fort Point-Wabasso Lake trail. Cross this path and ascend to a junction where the route commences a circuit of the three central lakes. I find that by going clockwise (keep left at this junction), views of Third and Fourth Lakes are particularly charming. Cross a ridge; then pass between First and Second Lakes. At the next junction, turn right to make the circuit. Go left only if you intend to follow the shore of First Lake. Continue south past the east shores of Second, Third and Fourth Lakes. Descend to the neck of land between Fourth and Fifth Lakes. (Here, a minor path diverges left to circle Fifth Lake.) The trail ahead climbs over low ridges to bring you back to the circuit junction. Keep left to return to the parking area. Trail Section
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