Icefields Parkway, Banff and Jasper National Parks, Alberta, CA

I love mountain scenery and so I had dreamed of driving the Icefields Parkway in Alberta for years. Known as one of the most beautifully stunning drives in the world, the Icefields Parkway (Hwy 93) traverses sections of both Banff National Park (starting near Lake Louise, AB) and Jasper National Park (ending at the town of Jasper, AB). The total length of the Parkway is 145 miles (234 km).

Ideally, plan two days for the Icefields Parkway, staying overnight at or near one terminus or the other, depending on your direction of travel. We first drove north from Lake Louise, spent the night near Jasper, then drove back south the following day.

Our drive, which began in Banff National Park, started out with a bit of sun peeking through clouds, but it wasn’t long before it was clear that visibility would be less than ideal. The glimpses of mountain scenery we caught confirmed the enthusiastic reports of the grandeur and majesty seen along this Parkway. Even with poor weather, we enjoyed our two days of mountain vistas, lakes, walking on a glacier, hiking and waterfalls. We will definitely go back!

Recommended Icefields Parkway Stops, Banff and Jasper National Parks (includes Maligne Canyon area)

There are many beautiful viewpoints and hikes along the Icefields Parkway. Below is a list of our detailed Icefields Parkway itinerary, including recommended stops and driving and hiking distances and times. The stops we enjoyed are in bold. Choose hikes based on your allotted time, interests, and skill level. 

This spreadsheet is downloadable as Open Document Sheets and can be used in Excel or a cloud spreadsheet tool (e.g., GoogleDrive or Office 365). (embedded are automations/equations to make a few things quicker).

Since we had planned two days for the Icefields Parkway and Maligne Canyon area, we did not do all of our stops in order. Rather, we thought through what made sense for each day considering the activities and time needed at each stop, and our need to be off to our next adventure (Glacier National Park – add internal link) by early afternoon on Day 2. However, below we have laid out the stops in order from south to north.

Driving South to North on the Icefields Parkway

The day dawned softly with sun peeking through clouds. We headed out to the Icefields Parkway around 6:45 AM from our previous night’s stay at the Lake Louise Hard-Sided Campground in Banff National Park. (See our Banff post for information on visiting other areas of the park.) We were treated to a gorgeous sunrise over the mountains as we made our way onto the first leg of the drive.

Herbert Lake

Just 4 miles (7 km) north of Lake Louise is Herbert Lake. There is a day-use parking lot here. The lake is hidden from the road and is barely spotted from the parking lot. Walk downhill to the lakeshore for a chance to see wildlife, especially in the early morning and evening. Spend a few minutes enjoying the serenity of this lake.

Crowfoot Glacier

The aptly named Crowfoot Glacier is 22 miles (36 km) north of Lake Louise. Pull into the parking area here for pictures. This retreating glacier still resembles a crow’s foot.

Peyto Lake

At about 43 km north of Lake Louise, Peyto Lake is a much-visited stop on the Icefields Parkway. Its awe-inspiring turquoise waters reflect the surrounding mountains. There are two platforms from which to enjoy the views.

Athabasca Glacier / Columbia Icefield, Jasper National Park, Alberta

Athabasca Glacier and the Columbia Icefields Discovery Centre lie 80 miles (129 km) north of the town of Lake Louise.

Splurge: A guided Ice Walk on the Athabasca Glacier, part of the Columbia Icefield, with Ice Walks. We chose to do a 10:00 AM Classic Half Day Tour (cost ~CA$120/pp).

Tip: When we have a “must-do” item on our itinerary like the Ice Walk, we don’t want to arrive to find out that our desired time is already fully booked. We reserved our spots on this tour online several weeks in advance. Booking in advance also helps the tour operator quickly check us in and provide for any necessary gear.

Ice Walk

We arrived about 30 minutes early as instructed and checked in with the tour operators, who were organizing outside of their vans in the parking area of the Columbia Icefield Discovery Centre. Ice Walks will set you up with waterproof rain pants and crampons. After gearing up, our small group loaded into a van for our drive across the street to the foot of the glacier.

Once back out of the van, we hiked about 45 minutes over sometimes steep, rocky terrain up to the ice. The hike is not strenuous, but we watched our footing. Along the way, our guide showed us fossils and striations in the rock at the foot of the glacier caused by smaller rocks and sand embedded in the base of the glacier moving over the rock.

Finally, we crossed a couple of wooden plank “bridges” out onto the ice. This was a thrilling walk as we could look down into brilliantly blue-colored crevasses and pools. Our guide was great, sharing interesting information and helping each tour participant get good looks down into crevasses. He also took photos of us on the glacier with our cameras.  We experienced a rain event on the glacier and temps were cold, but this walk was not something we could have done on our own. It was definitely worth a splurge to walk on the Athabasca Glacier!

Columbia Icefield Discovery Center and Icefield Skywalk

We chose to skip the touristy offerings of the Columbia Icefield Discovery Centre (although we did stop in for a quick look, and a Starbucks coffee to warm up after our Ice Walk). The Center offers Ice Explorer excursions on large red and white buses out onto the glacier. The buses travel up the steep moraines of the glacier and stop for a few minutes for passengers to get off and stand on the glacier.

Included with your CA$100 ticket for the Ice Explorer is admission to the Columbia Icefield Skywalk. The Skywalk is a .6 mile (1 km) long, elevated glass platform over the Sunwapta Valley (note: the views are of the valley, not the Athabasca Glacier).

Shuttle buses leave the Discovery Centre for the Skywalk every 15 minutes (you cannot drive your vehicle to the Skywalk). The overall experience at the Columbia Icefield Discovery Centre is time-consuming and underwhelming, not worth the price.

However, if we were traveling with young children or others who could not participate in the Ice Walk, we might have opted for this though. Children would love the bus ride up the glacier, standing on a glacier, and walking out onto the Skywalk.

From Athabasca Glacier, North to Jasper, Alberta and Maligne Canyon

After warming up and drying out, we were ready to press on up the Icefields Parkway. On Day 1 of our Icefields Parkway adventure, we made three waterfall stops north of the Athabasca Glacier: Tangle Falls (viewing only), Sunwapta Falls (2 mile hike), and Athabasca Falls (.6 mile hike) before driving furrther north past Jasper, off the Icefields Parkway to Maligne Canyon. However, we have laid out our recommended stops in south-to-north order for your convenience.

Tangle Creek Falls

Located 85 miles (137 km) north of Lake Louise, and less than 1 mile north of the Columbia Icefield Skywalk, Tangle Creek Falls is visible from the Icefields Parkway. There is a parking lot across the street from the falls. Traveling north, the Falls will be on your right with the parking lot across the street. Flowing over multiple cascades, the Tangle Creek Falls are a pretty sight and a quick stop to stretch your legs and take photos.

Stutfield Glacier

The viewpoint for Stutfield Glacier is 85 miles (137 km) north of Lake Louise, AB on the Icefields Parkway. If visibility is good, pull in here for photos of the glacier and the valley below it.

Beauty Creek to Stanley Falls

Beauty Creek / Stanley Falls is a must-do stop along the Icefields Parkway. Note that the roadside sign only says “Beauty Creek.” Located 89 miles (144 km) north of Lake Louise, AB, this 2.4 mile out-and-back hike first parallels the road and Beauty Creek on an old service road before turning left into the woods, rising up into a canyon, and ending at Stanley Falls. After turning left into the woods to walk up to the waterfall, you will pass smaller but pretty cataracts before reaching the main attraction, Stanley Falls. Walk a bit past the green “Stanley Falls” sign to see the impressive waterfall plunging into the canyon.

Sunwapta Falls

These beautiful and dramatic falls, located 177 km north of Lake Louise, are one of the most popular waterfalls stops on the Icefields Parkway in Jasper National Park. The Upper Falls are easily seen from viewing platforms near the parking area. However, the platforms were crowded when we visited.

We opted to hike down to the Lower Falls to get away from the crowds. From the Upper Falls, you hike downhill on a gently sloped path. This is an easy hike, and you are rewarded with more and more wonderful views of the Sunwapta River crashing through the unbelievably deep gorge it has formed here. Between trees, shrubs, ferns and mosses, the flora here is a riot of greens. The uphill return includes an elevation gain of 480 feet, but the climb is gradual.

The roundtrip hike, including both the Upper and Lower Sunwapta Falls, is 2 miles (3.2 km).

Athabasca Falls

Athabasca Falls is the most visited waterfall stop in Jasper National Park. Located 126 miles (203 km) north of Lake Louise, the falls here are not high at only 23 meters, but make up for height in impressive power. It is only a .6 mile (1 km) hike from the parking lot to the roaring falls. You can move between viewing platforms for different angles on the falls.

Horseshoe Lake

This beautiful alpine lake is 126 miles (204 km) north of the town of Lake Louise, AB. The u-shaped lake is surrounded by cliffs and was once overused by swimmers and cliff divers. Parks Canada has removed the sign marking the lake to discourage overuse. We arrived in the early morning to silence and tranquility at this lake. Park on the pullout along the road to hike the easy 1-mile out-and-back trail, which first follows the lakeshore before rising above the lake on the cliffs. Check out the unofficial sign “The Toe” marking a purported depth of the water below at 29.5 feet. (Never dive into unknown waters.)

From Horseshoe Lake, it is only a 17 mile (28 km) drive to the town of Jasper, AB. But we were headed off the Icefields Parkway to Maligne Canyon. Then we would head back south of Jasper to overnight at Wabasso Campground on the Icefields Parkway.

Wabasso Campground, Jasper National Park

We booked the Wabasso Campground in March for our September stay. It seems this campground rarely fills up. Located about 18 km south of Jasper, AB in Jasper National Park, the campground has 231 sites on 4 loops, with electricity, fire pits and access to free firewood. We were in Site A29, which was exposed and a bit noisy. Since we still had some daylight, we enjoyed a campfire using wood provided by the campground and using chairs included in our RV rental.

Maligne Canyon, Jasper National Park, Alberta, CA

We detoured off the Icefields Parkway, through the town of Jasper, AB, and further north and east to Maligne Canyon. The deepest canyon in Jasper National Park, 50 meters at its deepest point, is a must-see.

The views deep into the canyon from a series of five (5) bridges are breathtaking. (There are a total of six bridges, but we opted to stop at the 5^th one as the day was getting late and the 6^th bridge requires almost 2 more miles of roundtrip hiking).

As you move from bridge to bridge, you are treated to jaw-dropping views of the Maligne River running deep inside the canyon. Pictures cannot do it justice! The roundtrip distance to the fifth (5th) bridge and back is 2.7 miles.

Tip: Making Decisions on Stops over Two Days – Icefields Parkway & Windermere Highway

In our overall trip itinerary, we had allocated one long day and one half-day for the Icefields Parkway and the Maligne Canyon area. We had carefully scoped out and researched stops along the way and had accepted that we would not be able to do all of them. This is a trade-off when packing a lot into a trip; careful planning is a must.

Constraints when planning the Day 1 stops were: 1. our reservation for the Ice Walk on the Athabasca Glacier; and 2. that on Day 2, we would need to drive from the Wabasso Campground all the way back down the Icefields Parkway, through Lake Louise, and south to Radium Hot Springs, British Columbia on our way to Glacier National Park. At Radium Hot Springs, we needed time to do laundry, grocery shop, and reorganize.

Since Maligne Canyon is north of the Icefields Parkway, we decided to go up there on Day 1 so that on Day 2, we could drive south. Hence, our Day 1 stops were: Herbert Lake, Crowfoot Glacier, Peyto Lake, Athabasca Glacier (including 1/2 day Ice Walk), Sunwapta Falls, Athabasca Falls and Maligne Canyon.

After visiting Maligne Canyon on Day 1, we had been on the go for more than 11 hours, including 152 miles (245 km) of driving, 7 stops, a half-day Ice Walk, and 5 miles of hiking. We were tired! We backtracked 17 miles (27 km) south through Jasper and to the Wabasso Campground, where we had a campsite reserved for the night, arriving around 8 PM.

Day 2 required an early start; we were up and on the road by 7:30 AM. This was an ambitious day, as we planned additional stops on the Icefields Parkway, and in Kootenay National Park on the Windemere Highway, before arriving in Radium Hot Springs, BC. Our Day 2 Icefields Parkway stops were: Horseshoe Lake and Beauty Creek / Stanley Falls. From there, we made a beeline for Kootenay National Park on the Windemere Parkway (Highway 93).

Tip: Including Glacier National Park

The second half of our trip would be to Glacier National Park in Montana, US. Combining bucket list destinations like Banff, Jasper and Glacier National Parks into one trip fits with our travel philosophy. Getting to any of these parks would require an expensive flight. And Glacier National Park is isolated and a long distance from any major airport. Getting there from anywhere was going to require a serious effort. We decided to fly into Calgary, take a longer trip, and hit several destinations.