Athabasca Glacier

Early in this century the tongue of the Athabasca Glacier still covered the whole valley, including where the highway runs today, so explorers and early travelers went over the nearby Wilcox Pass to reach Jasper.

After parking at Sunwapta Lake and climbing up to the debris-strewn tongue of the glacier, it is possible to see from the date-posts just how fast the ice has retreated, leaving clearly identifiable moraine deposits in its wake.

The Glacier is best viewed from the Columbia Icefield Centre. It is also possible to take a snowcoach, a large bus with tires designed for driving on ice, out onto the glacier to walk on it yourself. Visitors can also walk up to the edge of the glacier without a guide. It is not recommended to walk on the glacier without a guide due to the danger of falling into a crevice. Unguided tourists have fallen through in the past and been killed. Today there are ropes indicating a safe viewing distance for visitors.

The Athabasca Glaicer is one of the highlights of the Icefields Parkway and is definitely worth a stop.