The Icefields Parkway: A Day of Mountains, Glaciers and Gorgeous Views

Our day started out in the rain.

Not exactly what I was hoping for when we were about to spend the day driving through the Canadian Rockies.

We were heading from Canmore to Jasper, taking the Icefields Parkway through some of the most spectacular scenery in the Rockies. I had been looking forward to this drive, but as we headed out in the rain, I was beginning to wonder if the mountains were going to cooperate.

Driving through the Rockies in the rain can mean very little visibility. Instead of towering mountains and dramatic views, we ended up looking at a whole lot of grey.

For about the first hour, we drove without seeing much around us at all.

Then, slowly, things started to change. We began to see little patches of blue sky between the clouds. The rain eased, and the mountains started to appear through the mist.

By the time we were about halfway through our drive, the rain was gone and the visibility was much improved. Suddenly, the mountains were appearing all around us, and we could finally appreciate the incredible scenery we had come to see.

The Icefields Parkway, or Highway 93 North, runs for about 232 kilometres between Lake Louise and Jasper through Banff and Jasper National Parks. It’s considered one of the most scenic drives in the world, and it’s easy to understand why.

There are so many places to stop along the way - lakes, waterfalls, viewpoints, glaciers and hiking trails. We made quite a few stops, and there were plenty more that we simply had to drive past because we couldn’t stop everywhere.

Peyto Lake

One of our favourite stops was Peyto Lake.

There was a bit of a hike to get to the lake. It was about a kilometre in, and mostly uphill. Some parts were pretty steep, giving us quite a workout.

It was worth it.

When we reached the viewpoint, the first thing that caught my attention was the colour of the water. That incredible turquoise blue almost doesn’t look real.

Peyto Lake gets its distinctive colour from glacial rock flour - tiny particles of rock carried into the lake by the melting glacier. When the sunlight hits the water, it gives the lake that brilliant blue-green colour it’s famous for.

It is absolutely gorgeous.

We spent some time taking it all in and, of course, taking pictures. After the rainy start to our day, standing there looking out over that beautiful lake and the surrounding mountains felt like a pretty good reward.

The Columbia Icefield

Our next big stop was the Columbia Icefield.

The Columbia Icefield is the largest icefield in the Canadian Rockies, covering about 200 square kilometres. It feeds several major glaciers, including the Athabasca Glacier, which is the one we were able to walk toward.

I’ve seen the Icefields before, but it’s still a pretty amazing place to spend some time.

We stopped for about an hour and walked the trail toward the base of the glacier. As we made our way along the trail, we were walking across the rocky landscape that has been exposed as the glacier has retreated.

The Columbia Icefield is getting smaller.

Between 1985 and 2024, it lost about 13% of its ice. And between 2017 and 2024 alone, it lost another 1.5 cubic kilometres of ice. Parks Canada says that’s equivalent to almost 590,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools of water.

The Athabasca Glacier has been retreating for more than a century, and today it is receding by several metres a year.

Standing there looking at it, I found myself thinking about how different this landscape must have looked years ago. And how different it may look years from now.

I’ve been here before, and I’m glad I had the chance to see it again. But knowing that the glacier is changing so quickly makes me appreciate the opportunity to see it while it’s still here in its present form.

Back on the road

From there, we continued on toward Jasper. We stopped at a few of the viewpoints along the way, taking our time and enjoying the scenery.

I’ve driven the Icefields Parkway several times before, but it never gets old. The mountains, the lakes and the glaciers are just as impressive every time I’m here.

Eventually, we made it to Jasper in time for dinner. We were tired. It had been a full day of driving, walking and hiking, and we were definitely ready to sit down and eat.

But looking back on the day, I think what I remember most is how close it came to being a completely different experience.

We started out in the rain, wondering how much of the scenery we were actually going to see.

Instead, the clouds lifted, the sun peeked through the clouds and the mountains gave us exactly what we had hoped for.

It was a pretty spectacular way to arrive in Jasper.