With a name derived from the French word for wicked or evil, Alberta’s Maligne Lake (pronounced muh-leen) offers a scenic and serene face that contradicts its name. Located within Canada’s Jasper National Park, remote Maligne Lake shares its name with a nearby mountain range and the Maligne River. So named by Father Pierre-Jean De Smet in the mid-1800s, the title was likely originally bestowed to indicate the sometimes dangerous rapids of the Maligne River during the spring flood. Certainly, the millions of visitors who have come to admire the 4,900-acre lake haven’t felt it had any malicious intent—just beautiful views, towering mountains, and plentiful wildlife!
The first European to see the lake was Henry McLeod in 1878 while he was scouting routes for the Canadian Pacific Railway. By the early 1920s, Maligne Lake was a widely-visited attraction for wealthy ‘outdoor adventurers’ who were treated to rustic but opulent facilities on the lake while they toured the area on horseback. When Jasper Forest Park was granted national park status in 1930, Maligne Lake became the largest lake within the new park and soon one of the most visited. Because much of the water derives from glacial melt, the lake’s waters usually have the stunning blue hues created by ‘glacial flour’ carried from the mountains.
Three ice fields can be seen from the shores of Maligne Lake: Maligne, Unwin, and Charlton glaciers provide the stunning backdrop along with the peaks of mountains Charlton, Unwin, Llysfran, Mary Vaux, Mount Paul, Samson, and Leah. It was scenery such as this that made the original tourists flock to Jasper National Park. Located 50 miles by car from the Town of Jasper, visitors must make a special effort to get here—an effort eased considerably by the in-park concessionaires who provide services.
There is no swimming beach; the average temperature of the lake is a cool 39 degrees and ice-free only from late May until September. There is also no way to launch large private boats, making it far easier to control the lake’s environment and prevent boat-caused pollution. Canoes, kayaks, and rowboats may be rented from the historic 1928 Boathouse. The original builder of the Boathouse planted rainbow trout and brook trout in the lake in early years, and the trout now reproduce naturally, growing to large size. Trout fishing has become quite popular, although a Mountain Park fishing license is required. The only motorized boats on the lake are the diesel-powered cruise boats operated by the main concessionaire. A variety of cruises are offered, from a 90-minute cruise to scenic Spirit Island, family cruises for families with children (including snacks, hands-on nature activities, and a nature-themed scavenger hunt on Spirit Island), and longer-length photographic cruises especially geared to photography buffs.
