Teary eyed, I boarded a plane for the first time alone when I was 19 years old, promising to text my mom as soon as I landed. I was headed to Edmonton Alberta, where I would then take a bus for five hours to the tiny town of Jasper. Prior to leaving I Googled pictures of Jasper daily, shocked at the green lakes and white snow capped mountains. I had signed a contract to work for four months at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge.

Every winter the Jasper Park Lodge hires hundreds of young people eager for an adventurous summer in the mountains. Spending three summers living and working in western Canada was one of the best experiences and decisions that I have ever made. I still think about my mountain summers daily, and I want to tell you WHY it was such a good decision, and an opportunity I feel every travel bug should pursue!

You get to live like a tourist while making money.

I worked in the lakeside dining room, and you would not believe how many times daily guests from around the globe would tell me how incredibly lucky I was. Many told me that they had worked their entire lives to live out their retirement dream. Numerous people were baffled by how I was able to land such a good gig, especially Canadians. Canadian couples my parents age would shake their head and say they wished that they did that when they were younger.

This was my daily work view. Come on!

Jasper is perfectly situated in the heart of the Rockies, not far from other beautiful towns including Canmore, Kananaskis, Lake Louise and the popular Banff. I had the opportunity to visit many of the surrounding towns on my time off. Being a tourist or visitor with limited time, it’s more likely that you only have the chance to visit one or two towns.

Emerald Lake Lodge, Field, BC. My home for 9 months.

Working at a hotel comes with great perks. Tour companies offer local staff discounts in hopes that they will promote their company. Because of this I had the opportunity to walk on a glacier, go white water rafting and horseback riding. For a more extensive list of activities to do in Jasper, besides simply taking in the stunning scenery, click here.

Little Beehive, Lake Louise, AB. There’s a secret tea house 3.6 km into the hike!

You gain invaluable independence.

For many of the young colleagues I worked with, it was their first time leaving home or living alone. In many ways it’s like summer camp for adults (not always a good time but more often than not it is). At times I felt like Johnny Castle from Dirty Dancing.

Wapta Falls, BC.

You meet friends of a lifetime.

Pursuing a unique opportunity like this, you meet so many like-minded people, which makes forming connections natural and easy. I was fortunate enough to meet my lifelong best friend, Emma-my bestie! Fate brought Emma and I together when we were paired as roommates. Nearly six years later and we have been inseparable since. Emma is the keeper of my secrets, the Gayle King to my Oprah Winfrey and my biggest support system. I was lucky enough that Emma was from Toronto, so maintaining our summer friendship was effortless. We still joke that we would go back to living in a cabin sleeping in bunk beds in a heartbeat.

You get to escape city life.  

The population of Jasper is just over 4,000, significantly less than the nearly 2.7 million of Toronto. Although the remoteness may not be for everyone, for myself, spending a summer outside really hit the refresh button and put many things into perspective.

Top of Whistler Mountain, Jasper AB.

You make connections around the world.  

You can bet that anywhere in the world I might be, I have a friend of a friend of a cousin of a cousin to stay with, all of which link back to Jasper.

If this video can’t convince you to spend at least one summer of your youth living and working in western Canada, I’m really not sure what will.