Maligne Canyon Ice Walk: Closed This Winter, and the Icewalk That Runs

The Maligne Canyon ice walk is not running in winter 2026–27. Parks Canada’s winter page says Maligne Canyon “will remain closed for the 2026 season, as Parks Canada continues to assess conditions and plan the extensive rehabilitation work required to safely reopen” it, and Tourism Jasper lists the canyon as closed until further notice. The operators agree: Pursuit and SunDog Transportation and Tours both list their Maligne Canyon icewalks as closed, and Jasper Hikes & Tours says plainly that there will be no Maligne Canyon ice walks this year. As of October 2026, no reopening date has been announced.

What does run is a guided icewalk in Pleckaitis Canyon, in the same valley.

Why the canyon is closed

The area around Maligne Canyon was badly damaged in the 2024 Jasper Wildfire Complex. When Parks Canada first closed it, its notice cited new hazards along the ice-walk route that made public access unsafe, and said keeping the closure would let the area stabilise and recover. The rehabilitation it now describes is the work needed before the canyon can safely reopen. Updates come through Parks Canada’s Jasper closures page, so check it before you plan around the canyon.

How the Maligne Canyon ice walk worked

In a normal winter the canyon freezes, and guides lead small groups along its icy floor, through what one Jasper guiding company calls “Maligne’s rocky maze of sculptures, ice caves and fossils”, with waterfalls frozen in place. Most walks started at Fifth Bridge, and Jasper Hikes & Tours says that in a typical season its groups could reach the canyon’s big Queen icefall by around 1 January. Locked gates, installed in 2021 according to Jasper Hikes & Tours, limit access to the canyon bottom. Parks Canada’s advice is that the safest way to visit is with a guide; on your own, a helmet and ice cleats are “highly recommended”, and you go at your own risk.

The icewalk that runs instead: Pleckaitis Canyon

With Maligne Canyon shut, SunDog runs a guided winter walk into Pleckaitis Canyon this season, together with Jasper Hikes & Tours, who describe the canyon as “an area only known by locals” and offer it for a limited time while Maligne is closed. Its exact location is not published, which is part of the point: you go with a guide.

It is a three-hour trip with round-trip transport from Jasper, a stop at Medicine Lake (the lake that drains every fall through sinkholes in its bed) and a view over the valley from the Maligne Valley Lookout. The tour includes boots, ice cleats, a helmet and poles. Departures run from mid-December 2026 to 31 March 2027 (15 or 18 December by source), mornings and afternoons; the youngest walker SunDog takes is 6, its winter tours run down to −25 °C, and snow pants are mandatory below −16 °C. The listing marks it unsuitable for pregnant travellers, people with back problems and anyone afraid of heights. From US$64 per person (October 2026).

If you came for the canyon icewalk, this is the one to book this winter.

Check icewalk dates

Can you walk it on your own?

Not this winter: the canyon itself is closed. Parks Canada’s Maligne Valley winter page lists Trail 7 from Sixth Bridge as a 4.8 km return walk that stops short of the canyon, with the note “No access to Maligne Canyon currently”; check its current closures page before you go, because the trail notes change with the rehabilitation work. In normal years, the ice walk can be done independently but at your own risk, and the gates installed in 2021 mean the canyon bottom is easiest, and safest, to reach with a guide.

What to wear

On the Pleckaitis walk the safety gear is provided, so dress for standing still in the cold rather than for a hike: a warm insulated jacket, a toque, gloves or mittens, warm layers and, below −16 °C, snow pants. Bring water and a camera.

More of the Maligne Valley in winter

The icewalk fills a morning. For the rest of the day, and the night, see Jasper in winter: the winter wildlife tour, snowshoeing, the Jasper Planetarium and the lakeshore loops at Maligne Lake. The Maligne Lake cruise returns on 28 May 2027, and both cruise tours on this site already sell 2027 dates on the Maligne Lake cruise page.