The Icefields Parkway is a 230km stretch of Highway 93, which is one of the main roads running through the province of Alberta, Canada.
Linking Lake Louise with Jasper, the Icelands Parkway passes through both the Banff and Jasper National Parks and provides ample opportunity to embrace some of Canada’s most impressive landscapes.
In fact, if it’s natural beauty you are after, the Icelands Parkway is hard to beat…
Round every turn, you can expect to see ancient glaciers, stunning waterfalls, towering mountains and glittering, clear lakes that will leave you pulling over to the side of the road simply to marvel at the views that are waiting for you.
Amongst some of the highlights as you travel along the road is the Weeping Wall, a huge waterfall that comes down the side of Cirrus Mountain, the Columbia Icefield and glacier-fed Peyto Lake, which is best viewed from Bow Summit; the highest point on the drive.
If you have a head for heights, you could also pay a visit to the Glacier Sky Walk, a special glass-floored observation platform that takes you out above the Sunwapta Valley below.
When travelling along the Icefields Parkway, there is also the possibility of seeing some of the wildlife for which Canada is most famous, with a wide array of mammals and birds being found in the two National Parks.
That could include everything from grizzly bears to caribou, mountain goats and elk.
It should be noted that if you do want to take a trip along the Icelands Parkway, you’ll need a Canadian National Parks permit and will also need to have either chains or winter tyres fitted during the winter months to deal with the conditions.
Coming next, we head across the border for the USA...
