The Maligne River got its name from the fact that it was such a troublesome
river to cross in fact the lake got it's name from the river.
In 1845 Father Pierre Jean de Smet, a Jesuit missionary from Belgium, named
it the Maligne (French for wicked) River after his tricky crossing of it.
Maligne lake was actually called "Chaba Imne" meaning "Great Beaver Lake" by local Stoney Indians in the area. Then in 1875 Henry McLeod, a CPR Surveyor, reached it calling it "Sore-Foot Lake" but it became famous when in 1908 Mary Schaffer explored it and wrote a book about her travels.
The Maligne River is a difficult whitewater river for 12 km from where it
flows from the Maligne Lake to Medicine Lake (which is actually a giant
flood plain. The river disappears into a system of underground caves and
cracks at the north end of Medicine Lake until it reappear in springs in the
Maligne Canyon which is 50m deep narrow limestone gorge. At the end of the
gorge all the water is back together and the river is steady white water
till it reaches the Athabasca. This would be a challenging paddle.
The top 12kms were popular with whitewater rafting companies but it is now
closed to them because of some Harlequin ducks that make there home there.
The little duckies were getting scared by the rafts and their screaming
passengers.
The lake is a very scenic paddle! In 1999 it took us 3 hrs to canoe to Fisherman's Bay which is 13km. We took it easy but had a tail wind. The next day it took us 2 hrs to go the 9km to the end but it was like a mirror.
The fishing is awesome if you like to catch big fat Rainbows. Ha!
There are only two campgrounds and they only hold a dozen people each so
book early. They are big sites so it's private.

For an easy paddle:
I recommend paddling to Fisherman's Bay tent site (13km approx 2.5 to
4.5hrs). Which is in a calm little bay with beach and incredible view of Mt.
Unwin (3,300m) and Mt. Charlton (3,260). When going through Samson Narrows stop at Sandpiper Cr. (east side of lake) point for drift wood for the fire.  Or unload and paddle back to the point and load up. The winds stock piles the wood on this alluvial fan. The next morning you can be the first at
Spirit Island for some private pictures as it is just around the corner.
Then fish your way to the end of the lake and take a walk up the flood
plain. Good views of Mt. Paul (2,874) to the north and Monkhead Mtn. (3,219) to the south. If you walk a couple kilometers up stream you will see Maligne Mtn. (3225) and it's glaciers to the north. Check out Coronet Creek camp site for future reference then fish back to Fisherman's Bay. Paddle out the next day.

Longer paddle with hike to Coronet Glacier
Paddle the 20 km to Coronet Cr. campsite in one day then do day hikes and
paddles from there.  From the Coronet Cr. camp you can hike the 10km to Coronet Glacier or break  up the hike by camping at the Henry McLeod site which is 4.3km up the trail.  There are some big mountain back there including Mt. Brazeau, which at (3,525m) is in the top three for height in the park.

The best map to get is Jasper and Maligne Lake by Gem Trek Publishing.
www.gemtrek.com
The best book to read is Mary Schaffer's.
The best reference is Ben Gadd's "Handbook of the Canadian Rockies

Call 780 852-6177 for Backcountry Reservations or visit www.pc.gc.ca/jasper