(#6) Driving Icefields Parkway: Toe of the Glacier and Athabasca Falls

July 3, 2024 Kelly W

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Day 6: Toe of the Glacier, Athabasca Falls, and Jasper Town

It’s foggy once more when we wake up, but today, we’re treated to a surprise through the fog — a fresh dusting of snow on the mountains surrounding the Crossing Resort. Snow 👏 capped 👏mountains 👏 are 👏 the 👏 greatest!

I’ve already been thinking about how much I want to return to the Canadian Rockies during wintertime, and seeing just this small glimpse of what it must be like tells me I’d love it here then, too.

Today is our final day along the Icefields Parkway.

We’re checking out of the Crossing Resort this morning, then heading to Jasper. We have a couple of stops to make on the way, but both of us are feeling ready for Jasper since three nights along the Icefields Parkway is plenty of time to see the highlights — and then some — at a leisurely pace.

Once we’re packed up, and back on the road, we pass the Big Bend, then turn the corner to drive past the Parker Ridge hike we did yesterday when we see a handful of cars stopped. People are outside their vehicles, looking at something in the distance. We’ve learned this generally means there’s a wildlife spotting nearby, so we pull over to check it out. This was the spot where a group of hikers encountered a mama grizzly and her two cubs yesterday, so we wonder if they’re still in the area.

Turns out, they are — there’s a mama grizzly and her cubs moving between the trees about two hundred yards away. The trees impede our visibility, but we can see their movement and get a better look through our camera lens.

This is only our second wildlife spotting since we’ve been in Canada for over a month now — and it’s our first bear spotting! So, we’re excited regardless of how far away they are. (As someone who was VERY nervous to see ANY wildlife before our trip to Alaska, it’s wild that I now compare bear spottings to our up close and personal experiences at Katmai… and how phenomenal that entire trip was. 🤯 Read our Great Alaskan Travelogue here!)

Can you spot the mama grizzly and one of her cubs?

Jonathan snaps a few pictures while I look around to take in the same trail we hiked yesterday. The fog’s beginning to clear as the sun rises, and we get our first glimpse of the Parkway in soft blue skies and fluffy clouds.

The Icefields Parkway is grand regardless of the weather, but it’s a more obvious grand when the clouds no longer hide the mountain peaks lining the road. There’s snow along the ridges here, too, and even a light dusting covering the leaves and trees along the trail.

This Parker Ridge area, just before Athabasca Glacier, is by far one of my favorite spots along the Icefields Parkway.

[In case you’re curious and planning a trip of your own… I think the three most beautiful sections along the Icefields Parkway are (1) Parker Ridge as you head toward Jasper, (2) the drive toward Athabasca Glacier from Jasper, and (3) between Sunset Pass and Rampant Canyon driving toward Lake Louise. These areas are absolutely incredible! Peyto Lake and Mistaya Canyon are also not to be missed!]

Unfortunately, the beautiful blue skies don’t last long. It’s been cold, rainy, and foggy for much of our time on the Parkway. Which has meant lots of taking on and off jackets while hopping in and out of the car or heading out for a hike. (It’s cold outside, but warm in the car. It’s cold to start a hike, but warm once you get midway uphill.) But every once in a while, the sun will peek out, blue skies will appear, and the view is stunning in a whole new way!

View of the Icefield Parkway near the Parker Ridge Trail

Next, we stop at the Toe of the Glacier we drove by yesterday.

As previously mentioned, there are a few different ways to view Athabasca Glacier, one of the glaciers fed by the Columbia Icefield. You can view the glacier while driving the Icefields Parkway, from the terraces of the Columbia Icefield Discovery Centre, by booking a guided tour onto the surfaces of the glacier itself, or by following a short, self-guided path to the Toe of the Glacier.

We opt for the latter and find the parking lot for the Toe of the Glacier directly across the street from the Columbia Icefields Discovery Centre.

The ‘Toe of the Glacier’ generally refers to the lower edge of a glacier, where the ice meets the surrounding terrain. We follow a short trail to get closer to where ice from Athabasca Glacier meets the surrounding rock, but paths and rope boundaries prevent you from walking to its very edge. This is a quick, easy stop along the Icefields Parkway to better observe the unique features of glacial ice. And bonus— it’s dog-friendly, so Lincoln gets to join, too!

Our final stop along the Icefields Parkway before reaching Jasper is Athabasca Falls.

Surrounded by mountains and a beautiful forest, the Athabasca Falls are known for their picturesque setting and the force with which the Athabasca River plunges over a layer of hard quartzite.

It’s this raw power that makes the Athabasca Falls worth the stop!

Plus, there are a handful of short, easy trails that offer the opportunity to not only view the Falls but also explore the canyon the Athabasca River has carved over time.

Of course, a photo doesn’t do it justice!

Athabasca Falls is beautiful… and busy! Outside of the Columbia Icefields Discovery Centre, it’s our busiest stop yet. That said, we don’t have an issue with parking, even as we arrive around midday. There are just lots and lots of people on the trails and a bit of waiting to take pictures at the best photography spots.

It’s actually here… while waiting to walk through one of the more narrow sections of the canyon… that Jonathan and I get told we basically have the same hairdo. (He’s been growing out his hair for a while, but this is the first time his “man bun” gets praised and mine gets compared to his… and I feel like I’m losing a competition I never intended to enter 😝)

As impressive as the Falls are, the canyon side of this stop is my favorite. The trails aren’t long, but it’s always jaw-dropping to me to walk through the walls of a narrow canyon.

We spend about an hour at Athabasca Falls, then we’re ready to drive the final 30 or so kilometers to Jasper. The weather continues to worsen the closer we get to town. The clouds almost looking like something out of a Marvel movie or the TV show “Stranger Things,” sort of like large flying saucers with light beams of rain taking over the sky.

Because of this, we postpone our final stop of the day, which would have been hiking one of the most popular trails in Jasper National Park. We decide to reschedule the “Valley of the 5 Lakes” hike for a day when the weather’s hopefully better.

Not much later, we arrive in the charming mountain town of Jasper and find our hotel. We greeted with one of the largest and thickest rainbows I’ve EVER seen!

The weather’s not great for sightseeing, but it is perfect for a cozy night at a downtown brewery, so we head to Jasper Brewing Company after checking in.

We celebrate making it the furthest north we’re going on this trip! Not just the furthest north we’re driving along this 10-day Icefields Parkway Road Trip, but the furthest north we’re traveling this entire season. This is our turnaround point, where we’ll start making our way back toward our home in Dallas. (With plenty of stops along the way, of course!)

So, just for fun, we pull up Google Maps to calculate how far we are from Dallas right now… and we learn we’re only 1 day and seven short hours away from home, ha!

We’re also at the halfway point of our trip, timing-wise. We’ve been on the road for one month and nine days and have exactly that much time to explore on our way back. But first, we have three days here in Jasper to walk the town, sightsee and hike through Jasper National Park, and enjoy one more day of glorious luxury at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge.

Cheers! 🍻

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