Icefields Parkway

Icefields Parkway

Length: 230 km (143 mi.)

Driving time: at least 4 hours

Icefields Parkway (Highway 93) crosses the northern part of Banff National Park and southern part of Jasper National Park, and forms a link between TransCanada Highway 1 and Yellowhead Highway 16. Unlike the busy TransCanada Highway, the Icefields Parkway is purely and simply a sightseeing route through magnificent high mountain scenery.

Between Lake Louise and Jasper the road follows a narrow valley running north-south for 230 km (143 mi.) between the glaciated peaks of the main range of the Rocky Mountains. Originally built as a project to create work during the Depression, the highway was extended and completed in 1960. It passes first along upper Bow Valley, and winds over Bow Pass (2068 m (6787 ft)) to the Mistaya and North Saskatchewan River valley, then over the Sunwapta Pass, only marginally lower at 2035 m (6679 ft), and close to the Columbia Icefield it reaches the Sunwapta/Athabasca River and Jasper. Frequent lay-bys and parking places provide opportunities to enjoy the breathtaking views and there are interpretive panels to fill in the background about the landscape and local history.

Bighorn sheep and mountain goats - down at the roadside or on the mountain tops - romantic waterfalls, the shimmering turquoise waters of mountain lakes, looming icefields and snowclad mountain peaks all make for a journey of infinite variety.