Pocahontas, Alberta facts for kids
Pocahontas is a former coal mining community in Improvement District No. 12 (Jasper National Park) within Alberta's Rockies. It is on Highway 16, approximately 38 km (24 mi) northeast of Jasper, at the junction that provides access to Miette Hot Springs.
The community was named after Pocahontas, Virginia, also a coal mining town, which itself in turn was named after Pocahontas the person.
Currently on the area of the former community is a campground, a hotel, and a trail through the last remaining structures of the former community. The campground formerly known as Pocahontas Campground is operated by Parks Canada, reservable online. It has 140 sites, allowing units up to 27 ft (8.2 m). In 2022, the Jasper Indigenous Forum and Parks Canada announced that the campground would be known as Miette Campground in the interim, while discussions continue to "find an acceptable, permanent campground name that properly honours Indigenous cultures and connections to Jasper National Park."
