Starting from Parking Lot 3 at the Jasper Activity Centre this route starts with a leg burning steep but non technical ascent up Trail 11 - Town Trail to the junction with Trail 8, where the pitch mellows out a little. The climb will all be worth it when you get to the apex at Mina Lake (the second beautiful lake you see on this loop) Enjoy the view and take a breather before continuing on. Trail 8 past Mina has several ups and downs with some moderately technical descents. Turn right at the junction with Trail 8c and after a short climb it is downhill all the way back to the parking lot.
To make this ride a bit longer consider adding the Cottonwood Slough Loop after descending 8c, or return to town via Trail 2a.
To make this ride a bit easier, ascend Trail 2 and traverse on Trail 8e - Cabin Lake Fire Road to connect with Trail 8 to make the climb to the lakes
Local Trail Association
Jasper Park Cycling Association (jasperparkcycling.com)Stats
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Distance5 miles
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Avg time2 hr 37 min
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Altitude min3,552 ft
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Altitude start3,552 ft
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Altitude end3,556 ft
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Climb727 ft
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Descent-723 ft
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Grade max-30.9%
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Grade min47.1%
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Distance climb2 miles
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Distance down2 miles
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Distance flat4,587 ft
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Trails in Route
| 1 mile | |||||
| 1 mile | |||||
| 1,257 ft |
Details
Directions
- Walk northwest on Trail 2 (Church trail).
- Continue for 50 meters.
- Make a sharp left onto Town Trail.
- Continue for 900 meters.
- Keep right to take Trail 8 (Mina Lake).
- Continue for 2 kilometers.
- Bear right onto Trail 8 (backside).
- Continue for 1 kilometer.
- Walk north on Trail 8 (backside).
- Continue for 100 meters.
- Bear right onto Trail 8c.
- Continue for 2 kilometers.
- Turn right to stay on Trail 8c.
- Continue for 90 meters.
- Walk east on Trail 8c.
- Continue for 400 meters.
- Bear right onto Trail 2 (Church trail).
- Continue for 900 meters.
- Keep straight to stay on Trail 2 (Church trail).
- Continue for 50 meters.
- Unknown
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Recent Trail Reports Along Route
| status | trail | date | condition | description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Jun 13, 2026 @ 12:59pm (America/Edmonton) Jun 13, 2026 | ||||
Nov 11, 2025 @ 6:50pm (America/Edmonton) Nov 11, 2025 | ||||
Jul 29, 2025 @ 6:53pm Jul 29, 2025 |
