The Icefields Parkway is a famous road which runs through the Canadian Rocky mountains in Alberta.
This 143 mile road starts at Jasper read about Jasper here in the north all the way to Lake Louise in the south. read about Lake Louise
The Icefields parkway is known as one of the best roads to drive in the world!
Unfortunately the weather wasn’t on our side as we woke to clouds, the mountains were there somewhere.

There’s plenty of stops along the scenic mountain highway, all easily signposted. There’s also plenty of space at the side of the road to stop to look at scenery or any wildlife. We spotted Elk and Moose on the way down, but no bears. We did stop quite a bit, shouting at my dad (who was driving) “STOP we need to take a photo”.
Every twist and turn shows a different view, if the skies were clear it would probably of taken a lot longer to drive!

 first stop Athabasca Falls

These falls are the most powerful and dramatic in the park.

The car park is just off of the road and a short walk later you arrive at the falls. The Athabasca river has cut deeply into the Limestone rock creating potholes, canyons and different channels. You can follow the paths to the bottom of the falls to see all the different formations the water has cut out.

The Athabasca river flows into a small lake of which the water is bright blue. It was very pleasant walking around this place. Best to hang around once the tour buses have left (they only seem to get 10 mins there), once they left it was nice and quiet.

Sunwapta falls

Next stop south is the Sunwapta falls, these are not as powerful as the Athabasca but still worth a stop.

Again a short walk from the car park you can see these beautiful falls from different perspectives. Many hiking trails also start from here. we were lucky and saw some snow.

The Tangle falls are a bit further down the road. It’s a nice stop to stretch your legs, as these falls are on the side of the road.  Be careful whilst crossing the road to get a closer look.

Columbia Icefields Centre

The following major stop is the Columbia Icefields Centre, here you can see the Athabasca Glacier. Either walk to the base of the glacier or take one of the special buses that drive on it.
As we drove nearer to the Columbia Icefields centre the clouds parted and the sun came out. We finally saw the Rocky mountains towering around us,  we took a moment to gaze in amazement at the sight before us.

We decided to just do the Glacier Skywalk, which is a glass suspended walkway over the valley.
A bus takes you down to the start of the walkway. You start by walking on a  short path attached to the inside of the valley walls. This has descriptive boards explaining the wildlife and how they made the Skywalk.

We turned the corner and the Skywalk was ahead of us, my heart jumped as it looked quite scary. Approaching it you can see through the glass floor to the Sunwapta river 280m down below. Holding the handrail with one hand and my husband with the other, I edged out onto the walkway, and without looking down the views ahead were wonderful. My dad was so taken by the view he forgot my mum, so once I was “safe” my husband had to go back for her.

After the Skywalk we decided to sit and have lunch in the car whilst looking out to the mountains, that were still majestically peeking through the clouds.

More stops on the way

Saskatchewan Crossing is next, and there is a petrol station (the only one on the Parkway.) A restaurant and a hotel is also there so it’s a good spot to fuel up and grab a coffee.

Shortly after is Mistaya canyon but it was closed so we couldn’t see it.

Bow summit has an incredible lookout over Peyto Lake, which is one of the most photographed views in the Rockies. Sadly the day we were there the clouds were out again so we decided not to stop as we probably wouldn’t be able to see much.  Lake Louise sits at the end of this amazing road, and even though the weather wasn’t on our side we still had an incredible day.

Some people suggest starting either end, spend one day driving in one direction, stay overnight, then go back the other way the next day. Unfortunately there’s so much to see in the national parks we just didn’t have time.