Hot Springs

On my day off last week (before any snow had fallen), me and a friend took a mini road trip out to the Miette Hot Springs. They’re in Jasper, but about a forty-five minute drive from town. It is, however, quite a pretty drive, so we took our time and meandered along.

The road to the hot springs:

We stopped along the way at several lookout points. Fiddle River was in the valley, far below us: 

According to the information sign, the rock in this spot, called Ashlar Ridge, is 360 million years old!

We eventually made it to the Hot Springs. It was very cold out, so the springs felt amazing on our sore muscles (when you work at a horse barn, you have sore muscles, always. Even more so when you spend half the time in the saddle twisted backwards to talk to your guests).

The hot springs are natural, but in order to accommodate a large number of people, they’re pumped into large pools. A lot of people come here expecting to find a natural rock pool, but in reality it’s more like a glorified, oversize hot tub:

The pools do have some nice views of the mountains, though. You’re surrounded by peaks as you soak:

Mountains around the hot springs:

After the hot springs, we treated ourselves to lunch in Hinton at the Folding Mountain Brewery.

After enjoying some beers and the grilled cheese of the week (which had mint aioli, fancy cheese, and peaches in it), we headed back home. A day off well spent.