Icefields Parkway: 11 Must-See Attractions & Our Best Tips

Attractions on the Icefields Parkway

The Icefields Parkway begins just past Lake Louise in Banff National Park and ends at the gateway to the town of Jasper in Jasper National Park.

Along the route there’s a whole host of incredible stops that make it one of the most beautiful places in the world. We’ll walk you through all of them in this article.

We’ve listed the highlights in chronological order, starting in Banff National Park.

For each stop, we’ve included the distance from Lake Louise and from Jasper so you can better plan your road trip along the Icefields Parkway.

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Bow Lake

Distance from Lake Louise: 37 km; Distance from Jasper: 195 km

Bow Lake is the first large lake you’ll hit on the Icefields Parkway coming from Lake Louise. In summer, it’s a lovely spot for a picnic.

During our visit in October, a cold wind was whipping around us and we just snapped a quick photo before moving on.

A nice hiking route along Bow Lake leads to Bow Glacier Falls — the round trip takes about three hours.

Also worth seeing is the Crowfoot Glacier, which you can get a great view of from an unassuming roadside pullout just before the parking area for Bow Lake.

Peyto Lake

Lake Louise: 37 km; Jasper: 188 km

Peyto Lake is probably the most beautiful lake along the Icefields Parkway, located just a few kilometers from Bow Lake.

From the visitor parking lot, it’s about a ten-minute walk up to what’s known as Bow Summit. From this viewpoint, you look out over the valley and see Peyto Lake shimmering turquoise in all its glory.

If you have a little more time, it’s really worth following the marked hiking trail onward. It leads to a second viewpoint that you won’t have to share with nearly as many people — and definitely not with tour bus groups.

Allow about 45 minutes of walking time for the loop to the second viewpoint.

Waterfowl Lakes

Lake Louise: 58 km; Jasper: 174 km

The Waterfowl Lakes are about 20 kilometers from Peyto Lake. Coming from Lake Louise, there’s a small parking area on the left side of the road that offers a lovely view of one of the lakes.

Mistaya Canyon

Lake Louise: 74 km; Jasper: 158 km

Mistaya Canyon was one of our absolute favorite stops on the Icefields Parkway — and we were genuinely surprised to find hardly any other tourists there.

From the small visitor parking lot, it’s about a ten-minute walk to a bridge that offers a stunning view of the canyon. Over thousands of years, the water has done remarkable work here, carving out a seriously impressive rock formation.

If you cross the bridge, you can climb down onto the rocks via a small path. Just be very careful — it drops off steeply beyond the edge.

Wilcox Pass Trail

Lake Louise: 126 km; Jasper: 106 km

The Wilcox Pass Trail is the most popular hike along the Icefields Parkway — and it’s easy to see why.

It’s relatively easy to walk, doesn’t involve huge elevation gains, and the views are absolutely breathtaking.

The full trail, out and back, is 8 kilometers long and takes about two and a half hours.

The first spectacular viewpoint comes after just 1.2 kilometers, which makes Wilcox Pass a great option even if you’re not a big hiker.

During our visit, the wind was so bitterly cold that we unfortunately had to skip it.

Columbia Icefield

Lake Louise: 129 km; Jasper: 103 km

The Columbia Icefield is one of the largest accumulations of ice south of the Arctic Circle — and it’s an absolutely awe-inspiring sight. You can walk right up to the edge of the ice field on foot and get a great view from there.

The Columbia Icefield is fully set up for tourism. A massive visitor center welcomes countless busloads of travelers every day.

In specially designed buses fitted with enormous tires, you can ride out onto the ice field for **85 CAD (about 60 euros)** and spend a good quarter of an hour walking on the ice.

For an additional **40 CAD**, you can also book a visit to the Glacier Skywalk — a glass-floored bridge located a few kilometers from the Columbia Icefield. You can’t drive there in your own car; you can only reach it by shuttle bus from the ice field.

Both experiences have received very mixed reviews, and some visitors describe them as tourist traps. We didn’t try either ourselves, as the season was already over during our mid-October visit — operations don’t resume until April.

Tangle Creek Falls

Lake Louise: 135 km; Jasper: 97 km

Tangle Creek Falls are right alongside the road and nearly impossible to miss. There’s a small parking area on one side, and directly across from it you’re standing right at the waterfall.

Stutfield Glacier Viewpoint

Lake Louise: 137 km; Jasper: 95 km

Just two kilometers from Tangle Creek Falls, there’s a somewhat larger parking area. From there, you get a magnificent view of the impressive Stutfield Glacier.

Sunwapta Falls

Lake Louise: 177 km; Jasper: 55 km

In the final stretch of the Icefields Parkway heading toward Jasper, two impressive waterfalls await you. The first stop is Sunwapta Falls.

The Sunwapta River first flows around a small island before plunging 18 meters into the depths below. Seriously impressive!

Athabasca Falls

Lake Louise: 200 km; Jasper: 32 km

Even closer to Jasper are Athabasca Falls, which draw even bigger tour groups than Sunwapta Falls.

The water tumbles over several tiers, rushes through narrow rock crevices, and drops a total of 23 meters.

At the base of Athabasca Falls, the water flows into the turquoise-shimmering Athabasca River.

Make sure to walk all the way to the back — that view is honestly one of the most impressive things about the falls.

Horseshoe Lake

Lake Louise: 204 km; Jasper: 28 km

A few kilometers further along is the last highlight on the Icefields Parkway: Horseshoe Lake, named for its distinctive horseshoe shape.

You’ll hardly encounter any other tourists here, yet it’s totally worth the stop. Horseshoe Lake is a popular cliff-jumping spot in summer — though officially it’s prohibited, as there have been several serious accidents in the past.

Roadside Attractions

We’ve only listed the absolute standouts of the Icefields Parkway here.

There’s so much more to discover, and it’s well worth keeping your eyes open as you drive along.

Every so often, a small lake, a stunning vista, or maybe even a deer will appear by the roadside.

Tips for Your Road Trip on the Icefields Parkway

The pure driving time for the Icefields Parkway is about three hours. If you’re planning a road trip that takes in both Banff and Jasper, it makes perfect sense to hit the attractions along the Icefields Parkway on the way.

For a single day, though, that’s a pretty packed schedule — getting an early start is a must.

The waterfalls in the north are easy to reach from Jasper, and the lakes in the southern section are also fairly quick to get to from Banff.

So if you can’t fit everything into one day, you can always come back to those things to see on a separate trip.

There is only one gas station on the Icefields Parkway, at the Saskatchewan River Crossing. Gas there is relatively expensive, so it’s worth setting out with a full tank.

Food is only available at this crossing — at a restaurant — as well as at the Columbia Icefield visitor center. Be sure to pack plenty of drinks and snacks for the road.

For much of the Icefields Parkway, there is no cell service or radio reception. If you’re navigating with Google Maps, download the maps in advance — and if you can’t drive without music, make sure you have an offline playlist ready too.

Especially during the shoulder seasons of September/October and April/May, sudden weather changes can hit at any time. On our first attempt to drive the Icefields Parkway in October, a heavy snowstorm rolled in after just a few kilometers, making it impossible to see anything at all.

Shortly after us, the road was actually closed. Our complete drive from Banff to Jasper ended up taking eight hours, as at times we could barely do more than 20 km/h.

Our second attempt went much better. During the shoulder season, though, you should always be prepared for the possibility that the Parkway may be impassable or very difficult to drive. The same goes for winter, of course.