Icefields Parkway to Jasper

We wake up to another beautiful day in Banff and set off just before 9 a.m. Our plan today is to head to Jasper via the Icefields Parkway. First, a bit about the Icefields Parkway.

The Icefields Parkway, often hailed as one of the most scenic drives in the world, stretches 232 kilometres (144 miles) through the heart of the Canadian Rockies, connecting the towns of Jasper and Lake Louise in Alberta. It runs along the Continental Divide and offers breathtaking views of towering peaks, vast icefields, sparkling turquoise lakes, and ancient glaciers, including the famous Columbia Icefield. The parkway was officially completed in 1940, with construction beginning during the Great Depression as a relief project to create jobs and stimulate the economy. Built by hand with pickaxes, shovels, and dynamite, its purpose was to link Jasper and Banff National Parks while showcasing the stunning natural beauty of the Rockies. Since then, it has been upgraded and improved, becoming a world-renowned scenic route that attracts millions of visitors each year. Not a truck in sight—it's a designated tourist drive with wide shoulders for pulling over if you spot something exciting.

Will it really be that great? How can we possibly improve on what we’ve already seen? I mean, really—won't it be more of the same? The answer is a BIG FAT NO!

There is no cell reception on the parkway, and both Sue and I are useless passengers who get carsick, so navigating the old-fashioned way will be a challenge. To make things easier, I did some research ahead of time and found an app called GuideAlong. You download the app and then purchase tours. I think we paid USD 19.99 (a little less as I managed to get a promo code). Once you’ve purchased a tour, you download it, and the app uses GPS to track your location, providing a running commentary. We named our guide Chuck. Chuck was very informative—he didn’t talk too much but emphasized the “must-do” stops and the “not worth it” ones. He also provided information on hikes, including their difficulty and timing. It was fantastic and well worth the purchase.

As Chuck would say, “Well folks, let’s get started.”

You are right in thinking that those pictures look familiar - because this is the same road we took to get to Lake Louise.  Even driving it for the second time, you still have your mouth open as you gasp at the majestic scale.  Once we pass Lake Louise we enter new territory.

Crowfoot Glacier, located alongside Bow Lake, Crowfoot Glacier is a hanging glacier and looks like it is stuck to the side of the mountain.  It was named Crow Foot because it had three toes, but as the glacier has shrunk it now only has two.

Then we have Bow Lake, Bow Lake is fed by the Bow Glacier which sits above it.  And all of the water running out of the lake becomes the Bow river which runs through Banff National Park and Calgary and beyond.  The drive we did back from Lake Louise was in the Bow Valley alongside the Bow river, this is where it starts!  Cool...  The red building you can see in the last picture of the lake is the Lodge at Bow Lake, which was built by Jimmy Simpson, one of Banff's legendary early guides.  Because only relatively small trees were available, the hand built log building was constructed in an unusual hexagonal shape to begin with.  In its time it was the largest log building in the world.

Next up Chuck says "this is a must see stop", so we stop at Peyto Lake.  Bow Summit, located along the Icefields Parkway, sits at an elevation of 2,088 meters (6,850 feet). which is where the lake is.  Like Lake Louise and Moraine Lake, Peyto Lake is Glacier fed so it has glacier dust in it which makes it a superb turquoise colour on a sunny day.  Guess what, the weather gods have blessed us again and we have sunshine at Peyto Lake.

Next we have Snowbird Glacier, Rampart Creek and the North Saskatchewan River.

The weather is starting to close in - we must be getting close to the Columbia Icefield.  Icefields are different from glaciers, icefields are the lakes and glaciers are the rivers.  We go past the weeping wall which in Autumn is not as spectacular as in the Spring.  The Mistaya River makes it way through this narrow gorge and it is a great and humbling example of how water shapes our planet.

Another glacier (I have forgotten the name), the sun is trying to peak through but that snow is coming thick and fast.

When we get to the Columbia Icefield it is snowing quite heavily, having all been on plenty of glaciers we decided that a look-see from the car was good enough.  Tomorrow we back track, so you never know it could be sunny.  Then we go across or should I say around Big Bend, which is the beginning of the North Saskatchewan river which flows to the Columbia Icefield.  Then up up and to the viewpoint and Bridal Veil falls.

Then we get to the majestic, curvaceous, powerful Sunwapta Falls.

We have crossed from Banff National Park into Jasper National Park, and we begin to see the southern edge of the fire devastation. The 2024 Jasper wildfires, which began in July, severely impacted both Jasper National Park and the surrounding town. By the end of July, the fires had consumed over 6,000 hectares, causing massive destruction. Approximately 30-50% of the town's structures were either destroyed or heavily damaged, including historic landmarks like the Maligne Lodge and the St. Mary & St. George Anglican Church. More than 25,000 people were evacuated, and the fires resulted in $880 million in insurance claims, marking it as one of Canada's costliest natural disasters. Despite the efforts of hundreds of firefighters and numerous air tanker drops, the fires persisted for weeks due to challenging weather conditions, including strong winds that rapidly accelerated fire growth.

Your heart starts to get a bit heavy thinking of the wildlife that must have perished. Then we reach the mighty Athabasca Falls, as you walked to the falls you were walking amongst the destroyed forest.  The falls themselves were spectacular, there were two memorials of young boys in their early twenties who lost their lives climbing on the rocks. As if it wasn't sad enough...

We are now reaching Jasper, and the devastation is striking. Jasper has a population of around 5,000 residents and serves as a hub for tourism, accommodating up to 10,000 additional visitors during peak seasons. The town features various hotels, restaurants, and historic landmarks. In contrast, Jasper National Park boasts a wide range of campgrounds, offering over 1,800 campsites across several locations, like Whistlers, Wapiti, and Pocahontas.

As we drive in, we can see the destroyed campgrounds and feel for all the residents and visitors who had to be evacuated. It must have been terrifying. I have purposely refrained from taking photos of the town out of respect. Tears roll down my cheeks as I write this because the mangled, wrought-iron remnants of what were once thriving shops and restaurants are heart-wrenching.

Some buildings that escaped damage are still closed, leaving us to wonder why. The town had to be evacuated at a moment's notice, so restaurants and hotels with perishable food had to leave quickly. Imagine the state of their unburned buildings, with no electricity and all that food, left unattended for three weeks. Our fridge went off for a week, and that was so bad!

I am wracking my brain to find a cheery note to end on, but nothing comes to mind. All we can do is reflect and hope that the people of Jasper, who have lost everything except their lives, can be resettled soon, and that the town can return to operation as quickly as possible.