Wow...just 2 reviews for this Valley of the Five Lakes? That's a crime, lol.
Yes, Valley of the Five Lakes is awesome. To get straight to the point, while hiking about 4.5 kilometers exploring along the 5 lakes, you'll have moments to witness incredible reflections in the waters.
Not only were the settings and hike within the woods so calming and peaceful, but the lakes were colorful and exuded immaculate moments to capture photographs.
I was very happy with my experience.
And I just ventured along the shortest of all the hikes, being the Short Loop! Along the way you'll actually confront the lakes from 5th Lake all the way down to 1st Lake.
My only just eh/okay moment was 2nd Lake not being too scenic. Also, 1st Lake was without a doubt the most colorful in terms of being turquoise blue, but from the trail looking down at the lake, there really wasn't any clearance as to capture perspectives of the lake without being hindered by the extended growth of the trees.
As my photos suggest, there was tremendous potential for the sceneries of 1st Lake but due to nature and the tall growing vegetations, I never found the perfect instance of viewing the lake in its entirety.
Just to back up a few steps...
Valley of the Five Lakes is situated right off famed Icefields Parkway located about 10 kilometers south of downtown Jasper.
In fact, you can't miss the signs for it.
Another interesting note...I had done my research prior to arriving here and
Valley of the Five Lakes is said to be the most popular hiking spot for all visitors and tourists when in Jasper.
I could understand why. The trails aren't really elevated so all families and children can come here and venture about.
Also, there's enough spacing to roam around for everyone to feel like they're far away from reality.
The parking lot was pretty big. When I showed up here in early morning around 9am back in the middle of June, 2022, there was barely anyone here.
But by the time I departed around noon time, the lot had filled quickly.
Before starting out on the trails, there's a trailhead sign stating all the possible hikes you can explore upon.
I chose the Short Loop like I had mentioned and I'd suggest it to everyone else out there. For 4.5 kilometers you'll have enough exposure to the lay of the land and opportunities to take pictures with all the lakes (except for 1st Lake which was difficult to see).
Otherwise, if you choose a longer loop, there's the...
- First Lake Loop - 7.3 kilometers.
- The Outer Loop - 8.4 kilometers.
- Wabasso Lake - 13 kilometers.
Starting out at 5th Lake, there was a wooden platform pier extending out onto the waters. It's here where you'll have time to soak up the setting of the lake.
When I stopped by, I had incredibly good reflections in the lake but due to the overcast and cloudy conditions, this 5th Lake didn't have the most coloring to it that I was hoping for. And btw, the lake was so calm, I could have taken a nap while looking at it, lol.
4th Lake was terrific! Here the waters were clear, clear green and the reflection of the forest trees onto the waters was like a painting from some professional artist! I mean, really, I was loving this 4th Lake. Stunning!
3rd Lake - my favorite lake! The reflection here again...was this unreal, futuristic aspect where the mountainside surrounding the lake converged down towards the middle and the reflection was symmetrical.
You got both angles of the trees coming at you from both sides. And while walking above this 3rd Lake, the center of it was dark green with a light blend of turquoise green on the outer sections of it. It was too good to be true! I was impressed!
2nd Lake was sort of a downer. Weird. Out of nowhere coming across this lake, it was like a pale brownish. But still, it was clean enough at the bottom to where you could still see the reflections of the trees.
So, ultimately, it wasn't too colorful, but the reflections were good enough. And honestly, it was sort of a nice change of pace from the rest of the others.
Finally 1st Lake. This had the best coloring in terms of real good turquoise blue but just unfortunately the trees overtook the perspectives from the trail. If they only did some maintenance around it...1st lake would be everyone's favorite, lol. 1st Lake is the biggest of them all and will take you the longest amount of time to navigate around.
Lastly, I guess I took a wrong turn somewhere and after passing 1st Lake the trail sign said I still had 3 extra kilometers to go.
So instead of hiking 4.5 kilometers, I believe I probably trekked a total of 7 altogether. But it was okay because I was so in awe of the lakes and just thinking about how hypnotic they were...I was happy having a little longer time to keep enjoying them.
Alright, well, this Valley of the Five Lakes. It deserves a ton more recognition! It's beautiful here! And who doesn't love colorful and reflective lakes to post photos of on their Instagram Pages? read more