Do you love scenic drives? If so, driving the Icefields Parkway is an absolute must if you’re visiting the rockies. It’s a 232km highway that connects Jasper & Banff National Parks, and it will be one of the most beautiful drives you have ever been on! Be prepared to stop a million times for pictures along the way, driving across mountain ranges, valleys & past glaciers. Make sure to leave at least one day to drive along the parkway, this will give you time to stop at most of the key sights along the way.
I’d recommend starting fairly early in the morning as many of the stops get busier throughout the day. We left Jasper at around 6:30/7am to avoid crowds and it was well worth it. In the morning we had beautiful weather, the sun was shining, it was fab! However, after about 2pm the weather took a turn for the worse. It started heavily raining which meant we had to miss all the stops after Cirrus mountain. When the weather was better a few days later we drove back to Peyto Lake as this was something I didn’t want to miss!
Below is a list of some must see places along the Icefields Parkway driving from Jasper to Banff. If you’re driving from Banff to Jasper the order of the stops will be the other way round!
Athabasca Falls
This is the first stop as you’re driving on the Icefields Parkway. Athabasca Falls as the name suggests is an amazing waterfall with a huge mountain in the background. From the car park it’s a short 1km hike along a paved trail lined with information boards to the Falls. The colour of the water here depends on what and how much rock flour is in the water from the Athabasca Glacier!
Distance from Jasper: 32km
Time from Jasper: approx 30 minutes
Sunwapta Falls
Again Sunwapta Falls is another beautiful waterfall. It that has an upper and lower viewpoint, and is split by the island in the middle of the river. There are 2 waterfalls here, Upper Falls & Lower Falls, both are worth walking along and they’re easily accessible from the car park.
Distance from Jasper: 55km
Time from Jasper: approx 40 minutes
Athabasca Glacier/Columbia Icefield
Columbia Icefield is the largest icefield in the Canadian Rockies and feeds 6 glaciers! I’d recommend buying a Columbia Icefield Adventure ticket to have a full glacier experience! Included in the ticket is the Glacier skywalk and the Ice Explorer Tour. On this tour, you’ll board a huge Ice Explorer which will take you onto the glacier. Remember to fill up your water bottle with free flowing glacial water. Afterwards, you’ll be taken by a shuttle bus to the Glacier Skywalk. The Skywalk provides you with another amazing view of the huge glacier and valley below. This really is an amazing experience which I’d totally recommend! Visiting the glacier and seeing where it used to start, makes it really hit home how important climate and global warming is and the devastating impact it is having on glaciers around the world. I’ve written a post with more detail about the glacier experience here.
I’d recommend booking your tickets a couple of days in advance once you know the weather forecast otherwise you may not get the time slot you want and if you buy a ticket when you get there you might have to queue for a long time!
Distance from Jasper: 103km
Time from Jasper: approx 1 hour 15 minutes
Parkers Ridge Trail
After leaving the Icefield Centre, drive 10 minutes down the road and you’ll find the Parker Ridge Trail. A 5km trail through forest up to the top of the ridge, along switch backs most of the way up. This hike will reward you with stunning views of the Saskatchenwan Glacier, one of Columbia Icefield’s six glaciers!
Distance from Jasper: 115km
Time from Jasper: approx 1 hour 25 minutes
Weeping Wall, Cirrus Mountain
Cirrus Mountain is stop alongside the road, it’s also known as the weeping wall due to the small streams of water running down the cliff face! There is parking signposted where you can stop off to snap a picture of the beautiful weeping wall.
Distance from Jasper: 125km
Time from Jasper: approx 1 hour 30 minutes
Mistaya Canyon
At Mistaya Canyon you can watch the water rush and twist down the canyon. From the car park, it’s a short walk to reach the canyon. This makes Mistaya Canyon an easy stop whilst driving along the Icefields Parkway.
Unfortunately we were unable to stop here or any subsequent stops due to very bad weather!
Distance from Jasper: 158km
Time from Jasper: approx 2 hours
Peyto Lake
This is one of the most recognisable pictures of the Rockies and I can tell you the photo doesn’t even do it justice! To reach the lake it’s a short 2km uphill walk from the car park. Before you reach the viewpoint there is a small path through the trees taking you to an area in front of the viewpoint. Here you’ll get the best photos rather than at the viewpoint! Peyto Lake is very popular so expect a lot of people! You may have to wait for a parking space, but it definitely is worth it though! We came back to see Peyto Lake as this was one I definitely didn’t want to miss!
Distance from Jasper: 188km
Time from Jasper: approx 2 hours 20 minutes
Bow Lake
A small lake offering breathtaking views of various mountains & glaciers, with a beautiful turquoise blue colour. Bow lake is one of the largest lakes in Banff National Park and it’s water flows from the Bow Glacier. Unfortunately we couldn’t stop here because of the weather but from the images on Google it looks really serene and great place to stop off.
Distance from Jasper: 194km
Time from Jasper: approx 2 hour 25 minutes
Herbert & Hector Lakes
Now this is another opportunity to visit more glacial lakes and add to your ever growing list! It’s also the final stop along the Icefields Parkway before you reach Lake Louise. Herbert Lake is next to the road and is a short 5 minute drive from Lake Louise. Whereas Hector Lake is a 5km one way hike from Herbert Lake. This makes Herbert lake much more popular due to it’s easy access! We had several days of bad weather so we were unable to go to Hector lake but it’s on the list for next time.
Distance from Jasper: 226km
Time from Jasper: approx 2 hours 50 minutes
These are the key stops along the Icefields Parkway, it really is a fantastic drive and was a highlight of our road trip through the Rockies! Each stop along the way is amazing in it’s own way and you can stop at as many or as few as you like depending on how much you want to walk and what you want to see. Even looking out the car window sometimes you really do think you’re looking at a green screen!
