Jasper with two elderly
 

Hi there,
I will be spending a couple of days at Jasper National Park this summer with my parents. They are 88 and 80 years old. They are not up to hiking and walking and I was hoping to do something out of the car with them. Do you know of any activity that might be appropriate for them? Does not have to be a full day activity either. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated.

Cathy

Bring your swimsuits for the hot springs.
http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/voyage-trave...te/miette.aspx

What do you mean by "out of the car"? Can they walk for 5 minutes? 10 minutes? Or not at all? If the latter, you are going to be very limited, but if they can do even 5 minutes, lots of places to see.

For one, you can easily drive along the Icefields Parkway and enjoy the views from the car & pullovers. The Icefields Explorer glacier tour can be done without any walking - and is handicapped accessible so should be fine if there are mobility issues.

With a few minutes walk, you can easily see the sights at places like Maligne Canyon and Athabasca Falls. Both have some stairs, but good railings, and a short walk gets you to the key sites. Maligne Canyon has a restaurant/cafe/gift shop, so a place to sit & rest as well. For Maligne Canyon, arrive early as parking is quite limited.

You can also drive up to Maligne Lake - and if you want, do one of the boat trips. Neither seeing the lake nor the boat trips would require more than absolutely minimal walking. I'd book that in advance in the summer.

In Jasper, you could head out to Jasper Park Lodge - have lunch or dinner there, and even enjoy the spa. Again, I would book in advance given how busy it's likely to be this summer.

The hot springs are nice, but they can be quite crowded. Also, hot springs may not be a good idea for elderly people with certain health issues (they are quite hot). I'd go at an off hour so it's less crowded,and be aware that they would have to deal with a pretty basic change area & walk out to the pools.

Thank you very much for your replies. My dad LOVES hotubs and springs so I will definitely take him there, and dinner at the Jasper Park Lodge sounds very nice.

Something that may interest the 2 elderly people is the story of Project Habbakuk that took place in 1944 at Patricia Lake. http://ships.bouwman.com/1943.html
Sir Geoffrey Pyke actually threw a chunk of Pykrete into a bathtub that Winston Churchill was sitting in.
The theory was that an aircraft carrier made of Pykrete would not sink even if struck by a torpedo from a Uboat.
The formula for Pykrete is 14% wood pulp or sawdust and 86% ice.

trust you have your accommodations booked already