The Upper Falls on the Sunwapta River are one of the most popular tourist draws in the Athabasca Valley in Jasper National Park. The Sunwapta River is channeled into a crack in the bedrock, dropping about 8 meters, then constricts even further, and is shot an additional 10 meters out of a slot into the canyon below. The falls are viewed from several developed viewpoints as well as a bridge crossing the river (the trailhead for Fortress Lake and Athabasca River Basin). When I visited the falls, there were not as many people there as I thought would be there (blame it partially on some sproratic rain), but as populated as it was, not many people were taking notice of the lower tier of the falls (for whatever reason). Lower Sunwapta Falls occurs about 1 1/2 km downstream.

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Located in Jasper National Park. Drive south from the Jasper Townsite for 52 km, or north from the Icefields Center for 48 km, to the signed turn to Sunwapta Falls, next to Sunwapta Falls Resort. Parking is reached in about 200 meters. The upper tier is best seen from the bridge over the gorge, and the lower tier is best seen from the canyon rim near the sign for the Lower Sunwapta Falls trail.

This area is pretty wide open. I've seen some pictures of Sunwapta Falls which were taken during very drastic lighting conditions. I wouldn't be surprised if the lower tier of the falls is often shaded due to the canyon's shape.

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