Length of stay: 1 day
Visited: June 2022
Icefields Parkway is one of the most scenic highways. Ever. It is 233 kilometres in length and connects Jasper National Park with Lake Louise in Banff National Park. The road winds through the rugged mountains, runs parallel to the Continental Divide and provides sweeping views of glaciers, valleys, waterfalls and turquoise lakes. There are plenty of overlooks and hiking trails along the way to better soak in the views of the surrounding area.
After spending the past couple of days in Jasper, it was time for us to head to Banff. We planned to spend the entire day driving along the Icefields Parkway. It turns out that one day is not nearly enough time to hit up all (or many) of the points of interest along the way. But we tried.
We first stopped at Athabasca Falls, which is one of the most powerful falls found in the Canadian Rockies. There’s a short path that’s paved that leads to a few viewpoints on either side of the falls. It also winds through the lower canyon along an abandoned channel with ancient potholes to the Athabasca River.
The next stop on our itinerary was at the Goats and Glaciers viewpoint. From the parking lot, there’s a super short path through the forest that leads to a nice overlook.
We were back on the road for a minute or two until I spotted a bear, which naturally we had to pull over for. It was my ideal bear encounter with us inside the safety of our car.
A few kilometres after we pulled over at Mount Christie where there’s a small picnic area and a pair of the Parks Canada Red Chairs, which overlook the river and snow-capped mountains. We took a small break here to just admire the views.
At the next viewpoint at Sunwapta Falls, we decided to stretch our legs and go for a hike. There’s a few viewpoints of the falls, which we scoped out first.
We then found the trailhead for the Lower Sunwapta Falls Trail (2.8km, rated moderate), which passes by three more waterfalls. The trail is wide and gradually descends through the forest down to the river. At the third waterfall, we turned around and walked back the way we came to the trailhead.
We stopped for lunch at Jonas Campground as it was quiet and shaded. It’s a relatively small campground with only 26 sites, 12 of which are walk-in sites. It seemed like a nice campground and you could even hear the sound of the nearby river.
We hit the road again and pulled off at a few more viewpoints, including of the Mushroom and Diadem Peaks, Stutfield Glacier and Tangle Falls.
We then stopped at the Icefield Centre to admire the views of the Columbia Glacier and to check out the gift shop. We couldn’t resist buying some swag to represent the Canadian Rockies.
We were back in the car for a short stretch before pulling off to hike Wilcox Pass, or at least to the mid-way point that leads to the Red Chairs (3.4km round trip, rated difficult). The trail is predominantly uphill and weaves through the forest to an overlook of the Columbia Glacier and valley below. There were a few snow patches on the trail and we encountered some muddy conditions, but overall it wasn’t too bad. Nothing our hiking boots couldn’t handle. The trail continues for a couple kilometres to an alpine meadow, but according to the trail conditions online, it was still in rough shape with lots of snow. So we turned around and hiked back the way we came.
After driving just over 100km along the Icefields Parkway, we had reached the Banff boundary at Sunwapta Pass. We stopped at a few more viewpoints, including at Bridal Veil Falls, Weeping Wall and Cirque and Chephren Lakes.
We then stopped at Peyto Lake, a super colourful glacier-fed lake. There were a few huge snow piles in the parking lot, which gave us a preview of what to expect along the trail. There’s a paved path that’s predominantly uphill that leads to a viewing platform of Peyto Lake. The trail itself was in good shape, but there was a lot of snow in the forest and on either side of the path. From the viewing platform, the trail continues to the Bow Summit, but it was completely covered in snow. We turned around and walked back to the parking lot.
We weren’t in the car for long before stopping again at Bow Lake. From the parking lot there’s a short trail that leads down and around part of the shoreline.
From Bow Lake we had 37km to go to Lake Louise. We made a few additional detours to check out the remaining viewpoints at Crowfoot Glacier, Hector Lake and Herbert Lake.
By the time we arrived at the Lake Louise Campground, it was just after 7p.m. Thankfully we still had a few hours of daylight left to set up our tent and make dinner. We went to bed shortly after as we planned to wake up early the next morning to visit the incredibly scenic (and extremely busy) Lake Louise.
L
Great post! We went there years ago. This area of the Rockies is strikingly beautiful. Belongs to the most spectacular I have seen.
Thanks for your kind words. I couldn’t agree more about how majestic the Rockies are. It was neat to visit early in the summer when a lot of the mountains still had snow at higher elevations. We weren’t able to hike all the trails we wanted to because of this, but the views were very beautiful.
Very beautiful pictures. I absolutely have to go there.
Thanks! The Icefields Parkway is such a lovely drive. It’s nice that there are a lot of viewpoints, overlooks and trails to help break up the drive and admire the scenery. I highly recommend visiting.
👍
So many beautiful photos, incredible!! ❤️🇨🇦
Thanks for your lovely comment. We couldn’t have asked for better weather during the drive through the Icefields Parkway. The scenery was spectacular with those snow capped mountains. I must have taken at least a thousand pictures.
Red Chairs all over majestic Canada. Superb!
Parks Canada started the Red Chairs program just over a decade ago. They are often placed at a nice viewpoint and a great way to encourage people to explore a trail or overlook that are off the beaten path. We went on a bit of scavenger hunt to try to find as many as we could. Plus they are really comfortable and a great spot to take a break to soak in our surroundings.
Icefields Parkway is without a doubt the most amazing highway. It’s like driving through a postcard. How great you saw a bear, while in your car! You did some wonderful hikes. So many gorgeous waterfalls.
For sure. There’s nothing better than driving through the mountains with blue skies. The scenery was simply stunning. Seeing a bear while we were driving is my ideal bear encounter. I’m not sure how I would handle seeing one while out on the trail!
Wow! Wow! Wow! Wonderful place! Great photos! Love your red chairs!
Thank’s for share , Linda. Keep well.
Elvira
Thanks for your kind words. We had a beautiful drive through the Icefields Parkway and couldn’t have asked for nicer weather. We tried to find as many of the Red Chairs as we could. They are such great spots to take a break and admire the views. Take care. Linda
Wonderful place 😍😍
The scenery in Jasper and Banff is gorgeous. We had a fabulous time driving through the Icefields Parkway and exploring some of the trails. Plus we saw some wildlife, which is always an added bonus. Thanks for reading and leaving a comment.
This has surely got to be one of the most stunning drives on earth. You guys seem to be getting quite accustomed to capturing bears 😉
You bet. I’m pretty sure we spent more time stopping at the overlooks and viewpoints than we did driving. It’s always awesome to see some wildlife along the drive. We really did luck out with the bear sightings. We actually saw another bear while we were in Banff.
Just wow! What incredible scenery, that view from your chairs is just spectacular – a perfect stopping point. I’d be terrified to see a bear but how amazing you did 🙂
The drive along the Icefields Parkway is gorgeous. It’s hard not to stop to soak in the views. Seeing a bear while we’re driving is my ideal bear encounter as we’re in the safety of our car at least. I couldn’t imagine how I’d react if I came across one while on the trail.
What idyllic scenery along the Icefields Parkway Linda and how wonderful you spotted a bear from the comfort and safety of your car. We were also lucky to spot a bear when we visited Grand Teton National Park in the US.
For sure. I’m glad we were in the car and that I had my phone out so I could quickly take a picture of him. He looked enormous. It’s always nice to spot some wildlife in the national parks. How fun to see one when you went to Grand Teton.
Looks like you hit all the highlights Linda. I call this highway the most beautiful road in the world and we have travelled it many times. Our favourite hike is Wilcox Pass and the best comes on the other side of the Red Chairs. We hope to hike it again soon. Thanks for sharing and Happy Saturday. Allan
I completely agree that the Icefields Parkway is the most beautiful road in the world. It’s sometimes hard to even pay attention to the road with such gorgeous scenery. It’s too bad that we visited too early in the summer and that many of the trails at higher elevations were still snowbound. I guess this means we’ll just have to return someday to complete the rest of Wilcox Pass. For now I’ll just have to patiently wait for you to hike it and then write a post about it. Hope you had a wonderful weekend. Linda
Thanks for the memories.
Glad to hear that this brought back memories of your time out west. The mountains are so majestic. Cheers. Linda
Superb! Thinking I need to stow away in your suitcase. 😂
You are too kind. Most of the time when we travel we actually don’t check a suitcase. It typically saves us some hassle at the airport, especially these days.
Completely understand that. 😊
We flew into Italy last week for a wedding. One of my friends was on our flight and said it took them over two hours to find their bags. They were also on the wrong carousel. What a mess! We were very happy with our decision to just travel with carry on!
Oh, no! I haven’t had the experience of lost baggage yet.
Same. Knock on wood it stays that way!!
Absolutely gorgeous views of mountain. The red chairs still fascinates me. I want to know why they chose the color. Beautiful waterfalls and glacier. Peyto lake is absolutely amazing with that color. Canadian landscape is stunning. Thanks for sharing! We love your outdoor adventure!
Thanks for your lovely comment. The snow capped mountains were stunning. It was nice that there were a lot of overlooks along the drive so we could pull over, take some pictures, and just admire the scenery. The colour of the water in Peyto Lake was gorgeous. I’ve never seen a lake quite that blue before.
What a breathtaking views it is…we were there in early 2018 and plan to visit again early Summer next year. I had been in many exotic places in the world but ” Icefields Parkway” is something pretty special. So much to explore from the memory lane now! What a scenic drive!
How wonderful that you’ll be returning to Western Canada. It was extremely busy when we visited earlier in the summer, but that’s true with most places these days since everyone is travelling and making up for lost time during the pandemic. I couldn’t agree more about how the Icefields Parkway is special and very memorable. We’ve taken a lot of road trips, and this stretch of highway is easily the most scenic spot that we’ve driven through.
Wow..wow..suberb!! What at beautiful scenic drive!!
It was a very pretty drive through the Icefields Parkway with amazing views along the way. It was also nice that we could stretch our legs and go for a few hikes as well to better explore the mountains and turquoise coloured lakes and waterfalls.
Oh my goodness, what a beautiful and iconic drive, Linda! This is on my bucket list for sure. It’s like there is not one single bad angle or shot!
Those gushing and rushing waterfalls are wonderful and the glacial rivers and that turquoise Bow Lake at the end of your trip are stunning. I also love how the Parks Canada folks put red Muskoka chairs at each scenic lookout to greet you.
I can only imagine how busy the Lake Louise campground was at the end. What a truly marvelous trip you had – and bear sighting too!
We couldn’t have asked for better weather for driving along the Icefields Parkway. There wasn’t a single cloud in sight to obstruct the views of those snow capped mountains. Parks Canada started the Red Chairs just over a decade ago. It’s been a fabulous way to encourage people to visit some of the viewpoints that might otherwise have been overlooked. Plus they are super comfortable for taking a break in.
The Lake Louise Campground was full the entire time we were there, which was for 4 nights. I’m glad we visited just before the Canada Day long weekend, as I can only imagine how much busier it would have been then. We had to wake up suuuuper early a few days just to guarantee a parking spot at some of the popular trails.
Early bird always get the worm as you and K keep demonstrating. 🙂 Hope you’re enjoying your week. Last week of summer vacation for us! 😭
For sure. We’re currently in Italy where getting an early start to the day is the only way to beat the crowds and the heat. It’s been stinking hot here and the number of tourists has been overwhelming. Enjoy your remaining week of vacation. Best of luck with the drive back home.
Oh wow! How exciting to be in Italy! I can’t wait to read all about it. I was wondering why you were commenting on posts at 2 am. 😆 Safe travels and enjoy the rest of your trip.
Thanks!! We’re currently in Venice at the moment. What a beautiful city. It’s amazing how there are no cars or bikes here. It sure makes walking around much more pleasant.
Wow, Venice sounds amazing. You and K are making up for two lost years of travel. 😊 Can’t wait to read up all about it. And yes, enjoy that European quality of life!
You bet! We actually came to Italy for a wedding and figured we might as well stay for a couple of weeks to make the most of it. The sights and food (and wine) have been amazing. It’ll be tough to leave (and go back to work).
Wow!!! You’re doing it ALL Linda!!! So happy for you 💓 💗 ❤️
Guess what? I’ve been to Bow Lake and the glacier above about 20 times over the last 20 years – all in the winter! Never been in the summer. I got married at Num-ti-jah Lodge on the shores of Bow Lake – you guessed it! In the winter 🤣
Can’t wait to hear about your Louise adventures. Keep em coming!
That sounds incredible to have gotten married at the lodge on the shores of Bow Lake. I bet it was even more beautiful in the winter with all that snow. Your pictures must be gorgeous. No wonder you come to Bow Lake and the glacier so often! The scenery along the entire Icefields Parkway is stunning. I wish we could have stayed for longer.
Absolutely amazing photos! It made me feel a bit cooler just looking at them while i sit here sweltering in hot and humid Toronto today.
Thanks for your kind words. We visited the Rockies early in the summer during a bit of a heat wave. But the nice thing about the mountains is that it gets chilly at night, which is great for sleeping and hiking in the morning. We’re currently in Florence, Italy where it’s 39C!!! Stay cool out there.
I also loved the scenery around Icefields Parkway. Unsurprisingly this made me arrive late at my accommodation to enjoy it as long as possible. Thanks for making me relive those moments so beautifully.
Thanks for your lovely comment and glad to hear that it brought back fond memories of your time out west. The Icefields Parkway is an incredibly beautiful drive, even more so with blue skies and sun. I’m still thrilled that we even saw a bear.
I echo everyone’s sentiment here. Wow! Just wow! I can see why you said this is the most scenic highway ever. It’s really hard to top all those breathtaking views! Thank you for taking us to this incredibly beautiful part of Canada, Linda.
Thanks!! The scenery along the Icefields Parkway is spectacular. I’m glad there are a lot of viewpoints and overlooks for us to pull over to better enjoy the views. And we couldn’t have asked for better weather. There wasn’t a cloud in sight.
These views are spectacular! I especially like the falls – so dramatic. I like your comment about the car being your favorite place to spot a bear – that would be me too!
The scenery along the Icefields Parkway was simply stunning, especially with such bright blue skies and sun. I was thrilled to spot a bear by the side of the road. Thankfully we were in the car as I’m not sure what I would have done if we were on the trail.
Thank you for sharing your photographs once again. It is so lovely to be able to see them and hear about your adventures.
You are too kind. We couldn’t have asked for nicer weather for driving through the Icefields Parkway. The scenery was a feast for the eyes.
I am so glad you got to experience it. 🙂
We actually drove along the Icefields Parkway back in 2016, but had such crummy weather and weren’t able to fully appreciate the beauty of the mountains. I’m glad we were able to return and see what we were missing.
I am so glad. 🙂
Now … what is there not to love here? Stunning waterfalls and to spot a bear (from the inside of your car of course). And the view over the snow covered mountains from those two red chairs – amazing! I’m looking forward to read about your visit to Lake Louise 😊.
Right!? The scenery along the Icefields Parkway is sublime. Good thing there are plenty of overlooks and viewpoints for us to pull over to better appreciate the views. And those Red Chairs are the perfect spot to take a break. Lake Louise was another highlight during our road trip, but oh boy was it busy!
The mountains and waterfalls look so beautiful! That is also pretty neat that you could see a bear from your car!
For sure. The views along the drive were phenomenal. We visited early in the summer when there was still a lot of snow at higher elevations, which limited our options in terms of hiking, but it made for such a pretty sight. And yes, it’s always exciting to see a bear!
What an amazing trip! It just keeps getting better and better!
For sure. The only downside is that it became more and more crowded as we neared the Canada Day long weekend.
Excellent post! These Icefields are on my husbands bucket list so I sent him your post to read. He called 10 minutes later saying that he was looking at flights to Canada and seeing how possible it would be for us to get up there. 🙂
Thanks for your kind words. I can see why the Icefields Parkway is on your husbands bucket list, but it should be on yours too!! Hopefully you’re able to visit as the Canadian Rockies are spectacular. It was incredibly busy when we went the beginning of summer though, as is most places now that all the travel restrictions are lifted.
well after seeing your beautiful pictures I would say it is definitely on my bucket list now too 🙂
Amazing!! The scenery really is breathtakingly beautiful.
Just gorgeous – as are all of the photos you share. I wouldn’t have been hopping out of the car to sit on those red chairs right after seeing the 🐻.
Thanks so much! Thankfully there was a bit of distance between the bear sighting and the Red Chairs. There were also a few people around at most of the viewpoints. That’s one case were a crowd isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Safety in numbers.
As long as it is not a number of bears…🙄
Stunning! I love that the red chairs are provided. Your blog has increased my desire to hike in Canada. What a beautiful country!
Thanks for your lovely comment. Parks Canada started the Red Chairs program about a decade ago and they are usually placed at a nice viewpoint or overlook. It’s been fun going on a scavenger hunt to try to find them all. Plus it gives us an excuse to check out spots that weren’t even on our radar. Canada really is a beautiful country and I love how drastically different the landscape is across the different provinces. The hiking is never boring.
Wow, it really is one of the most scenic highways. Mountains, lakes and glaciers. Three big draw cards are found in one jaw-dropping scenic drive. It’s a life-changing alpine journey into the very soul of Mother Nature. Thanks for sharing and have a good day 🙂 Aiva xx
The drive through the Icefields Parkway was incredibly beautiful. I’m glad we had such clear skies to enjoy the lovely views of the snow capped mountains. It’s amazing how vibrant the water is because of the glaciers. Thanks for reading. Have a wonderful weekend. Linda
These photos are stunners ! I love the one with the rainbow spouting about the water 🙂 , gorgeous. I enjoy the perspective in your photos. You have a great eye for angles ☺️
Thanks for your kind words. It helped that we had fabulous weather for being outdoors and for taking pictures. Every single viewpoint and overlook was postcard picture perfect.
Weather being nice helps a lot when it comes to pictures . I’m glad that the weather was ideal for you 😊🙂. I love when overlooks are stunning like these
For sure. Having nice weather also helps a lot when camping!
It does ! I loved camping at world’s end state park because the nights would always cool down, no matter how hot the days were
That is one of the benefits of camping in the mountains during the summer. The cooler air is definitely great for sleeping. It can make getting up in the morning a bit challenging. That was actually one of the reasons (besides trying to avoid the crowds) why we hit the trails so early, because by the mid-afternoon it would get too hot.
Exactly !! Earlier is always better when it’s hot. I love the cool mountain air. I sleep like a baby. You were smart planning it like you did ☺️
Thanks! We’ve had a lot of practice to see what works and doesn’t when it comes to travelling and dealing with the crowds!
I hear that !!! 🙂 You guys definitely do a great job 🙂
Aww thanks 🙂
Awesome photos! I love this highway, and I love that just when you think it can’t get more beautiful, you go around a curve and it does. Also, your photos of the rainbow at Athabasca Falls is gorgeous!
Thanks!! It was hard to concentrate on the road when we’re being bombarded with all these fabulous views of the mountains. Good thing there are a lot of overlooks and viewpoints for us to pull over to better admire the scenery. Needless to say, it took us much longer to drive through the Icefields Parkway that we anticipated on account of all the random detours and stops we made along the way.
Stunning photos and landscape! Makes me think about taking a road trip north some time…
The scenery was spectacular and the views just kept getting better and better. It took us much longer to drive through the Icefields Parkway than we thought because of all the stops we made to take pictures or go for a hike to soak in the views. You should definitely take a road trip through the Canadian Rockies someday!
Oops. I missed this post earlier, but it is such a good’un! The drive is always good, but it looks like you visited on the most perfect day!! I love that you squished sooo much in!
We did the hike up to Wilcox Pass, but it was smoky, so the views were not quite so fantastic. If you go again…there are some extra, really cool waterfalls near the Big Bend (one is called Panther falls) I am not sure why, but it doesn’t show up on most of the tourist maps, but it is gooorgeous. (and only about 500m walk from the car park!)
Thanks for your lovely comment. We’ve driven through the Icefields Parkway before, but the weather was overcast and cloudy. It’s funny how the weather can make such a huge difference in terms of how the landscape appears. I’m glad we had such nice weather this time to fully enjoy the scenery. The only downside was that we weren’t able to hike some of the trails that were at a higher elevation because of the snow. I’ll have to add Panther Falls to the list for next time. There’s just never enough time to see it all!
Beautiful and spectacular.
The scenery along the Icefields Parkway is breathtaking. It was nice being able to pull over at all the various viewpoints to better appreciate and admire the views. We also couldn’t have asked for better weather.
My wife and I drove the Icefields Parkway this spring in mid-May on our way to Alaska and then on our return trip in late June. Peyto lake and Lake Louise were frozen in May. Your photos reflect the tremendous beauty of the Parkway. The Parkway’s beautiful scenery changes with the seasons. We visited many of the sites that you photographed. As a fellow photographer I would love to visit the Parkway again soon.
Thanks for your lovely comment. The scenery along the Icefields Parkway is gorgeous. I must have taken at least a thousand pictures along the drive. It’s neat that you drove through here twice and could see how much the landscape changed in the late spring to early summer. I would love to visit Alaska someday. It’s high up there on my travel bucket list.