Every once in awhile you go somewhere so spectacular that it leaves you dreaming of going back. Tonquin Valley in Jasper National Park is one of this places. From the spectacular vistas to the amazing backcountry campsites, this area is a must-do for hikers and adventurers.

My husband and I completed a 3-night backpacking trip into Tonquin Valley in mid-August 2016. We hiked into the Astoria Campground for our first night from the Astoria River trailhead off Cavell Road. We luckily, or unluckily depending on how you look at it, did not see “Grumpy Pants”, the grizzly that has been hanging out in the area since spring 2016. We have yet to run into a bear on any of our day hikes or backcountry trips in the Canadian Rockies, and while I do want to see a grizzly in the wild, my preference would be to see him across a big meadow and not ahead of us on the trail.

Most people start the Tonquin Valley hike from Portal Creek trailhead (off Marmot Basin Road) but I loved the direction we took. No matter which direction you go, the views are spectacular on this 43.5km thru hike. (You can also hike in/out from the same trailhead if you don’t have a shuttle vehicle but I recommend finding a shuttle to do the entire trip)

Astoria Campground is small, with only 4 sites, but pretty as it sits on a plateau and looks down over the Astoria River. A quick piece of advice? Head back down to the main trail to get to the river for water… my husband decided to make his way down the steep escarpment from the campground and got lucky he didn’t slip and fall into the river.

From the moment we left camp, we were constantly amazed by the views along the trail. Along the way you will cross an active rock slide. There is a different route you can take to avoid this but it will add kilometres to your trek, and the trail has a reputation for being very muddy. We decided to take our chances and were glad that we did (I recommend checking with Parks Canada before you go to see how active the slide has been before you go). The tips of the Ramparts teased us, and increasingly amazed us, as we headed down into Tonquin Valley.

We spent our second night at Amethyst Campground, which is situated in Tonquin Valley just off the shores of the Amethyst Lakes. The lake isn’t anything to write home about but the Ramparts that tower over the lake are incredible.

Amethyst Campground is larger with 8 sites, and provides close-up views of the Ramparts, but is also home to more mosquitos than you can count due to it’s close proximity to the lake and the marshy area around it. Although the mosquitos are bad at dusk, once the sun goes down they subside. If you do find yourself camping at Amethyst on a clear night, get yourself up in the middle of the night to do some stargazing. I promise you won’t be disappointed.

If hiking or camping isn’t your thing, there are other options to travel, and stay, in Tonquin Valley. There are guided horseback trips into the valley with Tonquin Valley Adventures and they also run the Tonquin-Amethyst Lake Lodge. There is also the Tonquin Valley Backcountry Lodge at the north end of Amethyst Lake which can also be accessed by hiking or by horse.

On day 3 we hiked up and over Maccarib Pass to Portal Creek Campground. Coming this direction, the climb over the pass was long and gentle and provided great views.

Although there was mud along the Astoria River Trail, it is more significant on on this stretch of the trail. Only one person in our group thought to bring gators which is something I would highly recommend to anyone doing this hike. You are able to rock hop through a few sections of mud but there are some pretty long and deep sections of trail to navigate. Bringing a set of hiking poles will be a life saver for this if you are hoping to keep yourself somewhat dry.

Portal Creek Campground, like Astoria, is quite small with only 4 sites which are scattered up into the hillside, providing fabulous views up into Maccarib Pass. Although typically used as a stopover campground, and not the destination (that would be Amethyst, Surprise Point or Clitheroe Campgrounds), this was one of my favourite backcountry campgrounds I’ve stayed at. Water was easily accessible and the views up the valley were amazing.

The elevation at Portal Creek is 1979m and you are surrounded by mountain peaks so you can imagine our surprise when a thunderstorm rolled in overnight. The thunder shook us awake as it rolled through the valley and we watched our tent light up from the lightning strikes (which was a bit concerning as we were pitched between the 3 tallest trees in the area). The storm rolled through and left us with a soggy tent to pack up in the morning (the only bad weather we had this trip).

Our final day was nearly all downhill to the Portal Creek trailhead. There are a number of rockslides, which meant climbing up to cross them, but well worth the effort as again the views were great. The final five kilometres after the rockslides follows Portal Creek down to the trailhead. This is probably the least pretty section of trail but it’s short and the trail conditions were good.

Although my feet were happy to be off the trail, the rest of me wasn’t. This was an incredible hike and one that I would love to return and do again in the future, but this time with gators.

If you are thinking of doing this hike, just book it. Full details about the hike can be found on the Parks Canada website.