The drive on Hwy 93 from Lake Louise north to Jasper is 144 miles and is called the Icefields Parkway.  It “is a world-renowned scenic drive” with views of the mountains, lakes, and to the Columbia Icefield.  And it does not disappoint.

We had two stops planned along the parkway, the Columbia Icefields Adventure Tour and the Columbia Icefields Skywalk.  First the tour.

The glacial fields are just about halfway up the parkway, and we were happy to find a large parking lot with pull-through spots for long RVs at the Visitor Center.  We didn’t have to worry about parking!   We had the tickets as part of the Pursuit Pass and got checked in for our tour. 

This requires taking a bus to another lot and then transferring to an all-terrain Ice Explorer vehicle to the Athabasca Glacier.  While this glacier is the easiest for visitor access, the Columbia Icefield is made up of 6 glaciers and is the largest icefield in the North American Rockies at about 125 sq mi in area and 328 to 1,198 ft in depth.  You can’t see the vastness of the field because of the mountain peaks!

The Explorer transport is a 6-wheel all-wheel drive “bus” with huge tires!  It holds about 46 people and is designed for the glacier.  Two things are important.  First, it has to go down a hill with a 32º decline!  This, in itself, is a trip!  As an example, most steep roads that we have encountered while driving in the mountains have between a 10-15º slope, so this is over twice a steep!  And it’s not paved!  Hold on!  And second, it goes through a cleaning stream to remove as much dirt and debris as possible from the tires before driving onto the glacier surface. 

We are allowed to get out of the transport for exactly 20 minutes!  If you are not back, the bus will leave (or so we are warned!).   The area is cordoned off and hazards are marked so there is a limited space.  There are 6 vehicles on the ice so there are about 300 people wandering around.  And of course, it’s very cold.  But don’t get me wrong.  It is amazing. 

The ice where we are standing is about 500 ft deep!  You can’t see the whole glacier, but it is rising above you into the mountain. The ice that you are walking on is clear, blue-ish and is drinkable!  Many people brought cups to sample the water, but we didn’t read the fine print to tell us that before the trip.  Anyway, it was still a majestic adventure!   And, of course, you still have to go back up the hill.  Hold on, again!  FYI, in both directions the driver only went about 2-3 mph so it was always under control (I think!).

Back at the “terminal”, we transferred to another bus to go a few miles on the highway to the Icefields Skywalk.  This is a viewing platform with a glass floor that is supported out over the canyon.  Yes, you are looking down over 900 feet through clear glass.  And there are a lot of people on the glass looking down at the same time.  Needless to say, the engineering is very strong, and you are reminded of that several times!  You are looking down into and across the Sunwapta Valley at the Sunwapta River with waterfalls and the “likelihood” to see mountain goats and other animals.  And you have unlimited time to stay.  When ready, you go get on the next bus and go back to the visitor center and parking. 

Let me just say here that Pursuit does an amazing job with their tours. They move a lot of people.  They have a large staff and, when necessary, the crews are trained and certified.  For example, I talked to the icefield transport driver, and he said that every driver has to spend time in Churchill, MB getting certified.  Kudos to them.  And we have more Pass tickets left!

Back in the RV, we headed on to Jasper.  You may remember that Jasper was in the news last year due to the massive forest fire that swept the area.  About 20 miles south of town, we started seeing the effects of the fire with complete hillsides of burnt trees!  It is hard to describe. And such a sad picture.  As we got closer to town, it just got worse. 

Jasper itself was mostly spared.  One major result was that one of the three gas stations in town was destroyed and has not been replaced.  And the other two are small with difficult access.  So, as you might imagine, the lines were long.  We needed diesel for the RV and luckily got in the right line and in and out with minimal wait and angst! 

The RV park was unique as the RV sites were all pull-through and in a circle.  So, imagine a small road around the outside of the circle to pull in and a second around the inside so you can pull out.  That left a small circle in the center that was unused.  And the “landscaping” for the entire park was like a grassland-like prairie!   Unfortunately, most of the trees were burned.

And an interesting side story is that most parks require you to purchase firewood from them to prevent you bringing in wood contaminated with insects.  And to make some extra money.  Here, they had at least two huge stacks of firewood, and they said, “go help yourself!  Take all you want!”   We took advantage of the offer and made some nice smores!  Thank you!

And there were about 20 of these circles.  It is a very large park!  We got a nice spot on the very outer edge of the outer “circle” so we could not even see the whole area.  But the view was great, if not still sad.

The next day we had tickets for the boat tour on Maligne Lake which is about a 20-mile drive out of town.  The first few miles were through some of the fire area, so the view was again very sad.  The photos we took just cannot show the extent of the damage. 

But closer to the lake, the forests were untouched, and the view was beautiful.  The boat tour is again part of the Pursuit Pass and was highly recommended.  The company runs about 6 tour boats that hold about 40 people each.  There is a captain and a tour host, both were young ladies, Kat and Evie, and both were very personable.  We got seats on the front row next to the captain, so we had a great view and direct access to ask questions!  And I offered to drive if they needed help! 

The lake is 14 miles long, a mile wide at the widest, and can reach over 300 ft deep.  Its claim to fame is as the largest glacier fed lake in Canada and with multiple glaciers feeding it.  The tour goes about halfway up the lake to Spirit Island (or since the lake was a little low, it was actually Spirit Peninsula!).   The tour company was grandfathered in to be allowed to use motorized boats on the lake but limited to only going to the island.  The rest of the lake is designated a pristine area.  The tour was slow and peaceful, and the views were, again, “majestic”!   At the island, we got off the boat for a quick walk around and to take photos. Then again, we headed slowly back to the dock.  And just a side note, since the little bay where Spirit Island is located Is not named, we (Kat and I) decided to name it Kat Bay and submit the name to the agency that keeps track of chart changes!   Or she can just use it on her tours in the future!

After the tour, we took a quick hike around the lake on the Mary Schaefer Trail.  She was the first to find the lake in about 1908 using directions that she got a map hand drawn from memory by an indigenous man who had seen the lake when he was a boy!   A good story!  The trail went along the lake and then through the woods.  Nice hike.  Good photos!

After all that, we shared a burger at the Lakeside Café and relaxed for a bit longer enjoying the view!   Found Gail’s lost phone using a note left on the Jeep! 

On our way back to the park, we took more photos and found a group of goats grazing in the gravel of a picnic area. We found later, that they like the salt left from the winter. We also stopped in Jasper to shop around, take some more photos, and pick up a few groceries.

This was our last day in the parks but to get to our next campground we “had” to drive back down the Icefields Parkway to Lake Louise.  So, I’ll finish up here and start again with the drive back in the opposite direction.