62km hike around the Tonquin Valley Loop | Jasper National Park

This is one of our biggest hikes of the year as we explore Tonquin Valley in Jasper National Park. We completed the loop from Mount Edith Cavell to the Portal trailhead clockwise and spent 3 nights in various campgrounds along the way. I've made an extensive video showcasing all the different camping sites in the valley.
Tonquin Valley Campgrounds: • ALL the campgrounds of...
Enjoy this amazing 4 full day adventure of one of the greatest hikes in Jasper National Park.

[@charlesvantanajal4253]

Thanks for sharing. You have inspired our family to have our own Tonquin Valley experience.

[@EricTremblayAdventures]

That is awesome!

[@dupreemottley7320]

This video is amazing..Amethyst like is gorgeous and those panoramic views are spectacular. You did an excellent job here as usual. Looks like Jasper is giving Banff a fight for its money 😂

[@EricTremblayAdventures]

thank you, I would try and get into that area ASAP if you like backpacking as I feel within the next couple of seasons they will ban us from going there. It's already banned to human access for about 6 months. Check out the VLOG related... kzbin.info/www/bejne/g6vOmXRmq6eXgrcsi=5S-W3LRziBYFH7so

[@dupreemottley7320]

@@EricTremblayAdventures Thank you.

[@GDIX48]

Awesome video! I've wanted to do this hike for so long, haven't been able to find other people to go with yet. Someday though. Looks amazing!

[@EricTremblayAdventures]

The issue with planning these popular backpacking trips is you have to reserve sites and sometimes booking for multiple people doesn’t work. I suggest booking your site or two to suit your schedule and you’ll be able to find someone to accompany you.

[@sonal1909]

Your videos are a visual treat and an inspiration to go out in nature! This Backcountry trail is still on my wishlist. I'm running out of adjectives to describe the natural beauty captured in this video. It takes a lot of effort, skills and passion to make such beautiful videos. I wish you 10 million subscribers!!!

[@EricTremblayAdventures]

Thank you, very kind. These hiking videos over 4 days do take a ridiculous amount of time to edit but it’s worth it if it helps others.

[@marcoKrb]

This amazing footage makes me wanna return to Jasper so badly. It's so hard to capture the real beauty on camera. But in this video (and a lot of your others) you really nailed it. I just discovered your channel recently and I'm pretty sure I'm gonna watch all of your videos. You've your one style of filming and composition plus the extra information you're giving about the area and things to notice when going out there are so interesting and useful. Never considered doing a multi-day-trip i mosquito country but this is really tempting... Anyways: Thank you so much for your great and intensive work! It's inspiring and very much appreciated. Just streamed it a second time on the big TV for my wife. I guess we're returning to Canada next year 😅

[@EricTremblayAdventures]

Thank you! Glad you enjoy it, I have so many places I've created videos for, if you watch them all you may not be able to make a decision on where you want to go! You can also avoid the mosquitoes by planning your trip later. With snowfall/melt being constantly changing year to year, its probably best to book your backpacking visits from end of August to end of September. Cheers!

[@marcoKrb]

@@EricTremblayAdventures We were actually discussing coming in larch season. We've been two times to Alberta and always only gotten a taste of it. In late september 2022 the trees just started turning yellow when he had to return to Europe. But the impressions were already amazing. Finally got something to see that the thick smoke from the big wildfire near Jasper couldn't hide away :-) There were almost no mountain vistas so we went for lakes, woods and (unintentionally) some grizzlies near Maligne Lake instead. And that's the beauty of your videos: Your viewers can from a distance kind of experience these locations they only got a taste of but weren't able to explore by themselves. Four weeks just aren't enough to cover all of the beauty your area has to offer. As you said about the campgrounds: The amount can be pretty overwhelming for people who have never been there before or don't know everything. Same about all these different hiking trails. Your work provides a lot of orientation and helps getting focused on the things you really wanna enjoy during the precious time abroad.

[@EricTremblayAdventures]

@@marcoKrb Very true! I have changed my approach to cover areas this year. I planned all my backpacking trips to head to ONE camp, spend 2 or 3 nights at the same camp while doing day hikes around the area. We're finding alot of cool things deep into the mountains that most backpackers don't have time to check out because they're too busy hiking to the next camp.

[@marcoKrb]

@@EricTremblayAdventuresSounds like a great idea! There is so much all over the internet when it comes to the really well known places. If you as a local are digging out some hidden gems, that's gonna be so useful and inspiring. For example your latest video about 'How to explore Lake Louise Area' was so interesting to me because in 2022 we experienced the same thing you mentioned in the video: There are so much more crowds out there than some years ago. Our first time in Alberta was 2016 and six years later the numbers have really spiked. So as a visitor who's actually not only into these social media photospots it was frustrating to see the parking lots blocked and having no chance to get out on a hike. Closing the road to Moraine Lake is in my opinion the best decision Parks Canada could have made. The shuttle solution was absolutely necessary. One question about your backcountry tours: Do you a video about bear safety during overnight trips? We have educated ourselves intensively and handled our few bear encounters okay so far. But imagining to sleep outside in bear country - that feels kind of intimidating to be honest.

[@EricTremblayAdventures]

@@marcoKrb I feel like they should allow backpackers to use their own vehicle in Moraine Lake Rd. But they banned it to everyone. Oh well. I’m likely to never return to this area, as I’ve done all my videos already. As for bears, I don’t even think about it, the likely of getting injured by ticks is 100s of times better than a bear! 🤣 make alot of noise, carry bear spray & don’t sleep where you eat. Bears are 100% focused on food & unless you smell like something edible, they leave you alone, most attacks are from getting too close and surprising them.

[@czemeres13]

Awesome video

[@EricTremblayAdventures]

Thanks! It's one of the most beautiful spots in Jasper!

[@TravelAdventurePassions]

Magnificent mountains🤩

[@Carma4001]

Jasper is my favourite place!

[@nikolajquaade9050]

Hi Eric:-) Did you see any larger wildlife on the hike? Were there many other hikers? This area should apparently be crowded with humans.... Best regards - Nikolaj.

[@EricTremblayAdventures]

There are Caribou in that area and if you’re planning on doing this hike, I would do it sooner than later. I have a feeling that once parked, Canada starts putting more caribou in this valley that they might actually close down it to humans altogether. There is seven campgrounds spread across 60 km or so, so that may be 50 to 100 people in that area on the average day. But since there’s spread out so far that on average, you might see three or four groups of people of maybe three or four people each.

[@adventurousbec]

With horse outfitters banned from Tonquin, perhaps they might move the campground?

[@EricTremblayAdventures]

I have a feeling they will either rent those builders to the highest bidder or just spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to remove them with helicopters lol

[@Carma4001]

I never knew?

[@bradleywebster1173]

Great video! would this hike be possible in 3 days, 2 nights for 3 experienced ladies?

[@EricTremblayAdventures]

Absolutely, I would try to go directly to Amethyst Lake or Surprise Point for two nights.

[@EricTremblayAdventures]

I would also check out... kzbin.info/www/bejne/jKK2o6CEhtyVqtU

[@paulhiebert382]

Great Video ! thanks for sharing. What time of year did you go on this hike ?

[@EricTremblayAdventures]

Thank you! These are always fun to record but very lengthy to edit properly. We did this hike July 29 to Aug 1st 2022. I hiked 61km, 1700m gain, moving time 19 hours, total time 27.5 hours.

[@HikerSteve]

Thanks for sharing. What time of the year did you do the hike? What are the tent pads like, could someone put two 1p tents on one pad? Thanks!

[@EricTremblayAdventures]

This is a two part video, check the video about only the campgrounds. kzbin.info/www/bejne/jKK2o6CEhtyVqtUsi=ub4PasVUrL1QPk3U

[@EricTremblayAdventures]

I think this was in July or August. This hike is best done in September to avoid trillions of mosquitoes. Tent pads are all the same all across the national parks… generally 5m * 5m

[@HikerSteve]

@@EricTremblayAdventures Yes I have heard there are lots of mosquitoes in early July.

[@EricTremblayAdventures]

@@HikerSteve yes in June, July & August. Its a huge marsh land filled with water and breeding ground for bugs. I’ve never actually seen that many & unintentionally swallowed several dozen over the 4 days. lol

[@headinthemountains1666]

Just wondering how hard was it to get permits for this hike???.....ie how far ahead did you book.??? Second was it difficult to find parking at the Astoria River trailhead and what time of year was your Tonquin Hike.??? Thanks for sharing. Enjoyed the video

[@EricTremblayAdventures]

Booking systems open on Parks Canada over a two week period in January/February & usually most of the popular back country sites get all booked then. That's when I booked my Tonquin trip & I think this year it opened on January 30th. You might be looking into 2025 if you want to backpack there & I would suggest you go as soon as possible... I have a strong suspicion that humans will be banned in that area once they start dumping caribou into the valley. (Human traffic is already banned there 1/2 the year) Those trailhead parking lots aren't an issue because its only used by the backpackers & the odd day trail use hikers but you will get there early in the morning to start so it doesnt matter. We recorded this hike at the end of July 2022, I wouldn't recommend anyone do this hike before September, its 20 square km swamp, breeding ground for millions of trillions of mosquitoes. We also have another video of JUST the campgrounds & I also offer one-hour consultations on my website for those wanting prep experience for trips in Jasper, Banff, Yoho & David Thompson Country.

[@EricTremblayAdventures]

I just looked onto Parks Canada website & there's some tentpad openings here & there... middle of the week might be best & the campgrounds slighty further from the lake seem to have some openings. also check out www.campnab.com to scan for cancellations.

[@headinthemountains1666]

Thanks for all the info!😃@@EricTremblayAdventures

[@TruemanDean]

WTF did you do with the colour correction of your video? You wreaked the footage. That is not what Tonquin looks like.

[@EricTremblayAdventures]

Sorry Dean you’ll have to be more specific in which parts of the video you’re referring to. This video has clips from 4 different video manufacturers. So the pairing is near impossible but the only thing I adjust is exposure when clips are too different. The video from the GoPro would be worse than the DJI & worse than the Apple & worse than the Sony.