Alberta’s abandoned Miette Aquacourt once drew millions of hot-springs visitors

Near the current Miette Hot Springs facility in Jasper National Park are the ruins of the Miette Aquacourt, a hot-springs pool facility that operated from 1938 until 1984.

Parks Canada says the history of the area reaches back to the 1800s, when First Nations people introduced Hudson’s Bay Company and North West Company members to three hot springs on Sulphur Creek, a tributary of the Fiddle River. When it opened, the Aquacourt was an improvement on the log pools and canvas tents previously at the site.

Millions of people soaked in its hot-springs water over the years. After nearly 50 years of operation, the facility closed in 1984 because of unstable rock on surrounding slopes, weakening concrete and aging equipment, overcrowding and poor access.

A photograph at the site indicates the former pool area has been overtaken by nature, with sizeable trees now growing where visitors once swam. Parks Canada provides more information on the history of Miette Hot Springs.