Extending over 11,000 square kilometres, Jasper National Park is the largest national park in the Canadian Rockies and part of UNESCO’s Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage Site.

Alexander Mackenzie [1764–1820] crossed through what is now this park on the Continental Divide in 1793 on his way to the Pacific. Simon Fraser [1776–1862] followed the same route in 1805.

Arctic Lake drains northwest into the Parsnip River thence the Peace River and eventually into the Mackenzie River and the Arctic Ocean.

Portage Lake and Pacific Lake are at the headwaters of Bad River (James Creek), which drains into Herrick Creek, thence McGregor River, which empties into the Fraser River on the way to the Pacific Ocean. The park also encloses Little Lake on Bad River.

The lakes are a beautiful turquoise colour, and situated in a very scenic area, with alpine peaks and ridges as a distant backdrop. Situated in an area of limestone bedrock, some watercourses drain underground. Valley bottoms alongside the lakes support wet meadows and mixed forest. Valley sides include extensive avalanche chutes and small, picturesque waterfalls.

The park protects very high value fall and spring grizzly habitat, and year-round caribou habitat. Lakes and streams support diverse fish populations, and provide excellent opportunities for fishing. Diverse fish populations including lake trout, bull trout, rainbow trout, kokanee, dolly varden, mountain whitefish, redside shiner, lake char, and chinook salmon, and arctic grayling in Arctic Lake.

Established 29 June 2000 per Bill 17-2000, Protected Areas of British Columbia Act.

There appears to be a resource road leading to the Parsnip side of the pass, starting at Bear Lake on the Hart Highway.

Jackman Flats Provincial Park was established in 2000. At the end of the last ice age, some 11,000 years ago, winds from the main trench of the Fraser River and from, what is now, Kinbasket Lake, deposited vast quantities of sand in the Jackman Flats area. This created an ecosystem considered unique in British Columbia. Rare plant communities and shifting sand dune structures now exist in this rather small park (614 ha).

Established by Order in Council 1211, 23 June 1982, containing 1930 hectares more or less.

This is the second oldest provincial park in British Columbia, established in 1913, and one of the seven national and provincial parks that together comprise the 26,583 sq. km World Heritage Site known as Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks.

In 1911, the Alpine Club of Canada sponsored an expedition to the Mount Robson region. Expedition leader Arthur Oliver Wheeler became ecstatic about “the vast possibilities of this new alpine paradise” — a combination of “snow-covered mountains, ice-encircled amphitheaters, tumbling glaciers, turquoise lakes and flashing waterfalls.” Wheeler urged the government of British Columbia to establish a provincial park at Mount Robson.

The post office at Mount Robson station was open from 1923 to 1955.