A journey through time and beauty in the Icefields Parkway

A scenic drive through the Canadian Rockies, featuring glaciers, lakes, and rich history.
Saturday, October 12, 2024

The Icefields Parkway in Alberta, Canada, stretching between Lake Louise and Jasper, is a scenic drive through the Canadian Rockies. This road trip offers an unforgettable experience for nature lovers and adventure seekers, from geological wonders to glaciers.

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Icefields Parkway in Alberta

A Little About Icefields Parkway

The Icefields Parkway, also known as Highway 93, runs for 232 kilometers (144 miles) between Banff and Jasper National Parks. Since its completion in 1940, people have regarded the Icefields Parkway as one of the most beautiful drives in the world. Whether you’re an RV traveler, road trip enthusiast, or hiker looking for your next adventure, this parkway offers spectacular views of mountains, waterfalls, and glaciers along nearly every stretch.

Beginning in Jasper, the northern portion of the parkway takes you past iconic natural features like Athabasca Falls, Sunwapta Falls, and the mighty Columbia Icefield. As you drive south, you will see some of the most gorgeous lakes in the world. This route truly immerses visitors in the raw beauty of the Canadian Rockies. No wonder more than 1.2 million travelers take this road every year.

Icefields Parkway also follows the Continental Divide, where rivers flow in opposite directions—one side draining into the Pacific Ocean, the other into the Atlantic. The route became a well-traveled scenic corridor connecting two iconic national parks.

Historical Highlights of the Icefields Parkway in Alberta

The Icefields Parkway is a geological wonder with a rich history. Its story stretches back millions of years, tying its creation to the region’s natural and cultural heritage.

Geological Time Travel: Driving the Icefields Parkway is like moving through a living timeline of Earth’s history. Many rocks along this route are hundreds of millions of years old, dating back to the Cambrian Period when a shallow sea covered this area. If you’re curious about ancient marine life, you’ll be thrilled to learn that fossil beds in the region still contain remnants of creatures from the era. The formation of the Canadian Rockies began more than 50 million years ago when tectonic forces pushed the ocean floor upward, creating the dramatic peaks we see today.

The Railway’s Role in Early Tourism: When the Canadian Pacific Railway was completed in 1885, it opened up the wild beauty of the Canadian Rockies to eager travelers. By the late 19th century, Swiss mountain guides were leading tourists and mountaineers through the rugged terrain, and the area became an early hub for alpine tourism. The creation of Jasper National Park in 1907 only fueled that excitement, setting the stage for the eventual construction of the Icefields Parkway and making these incredible vistas even more accessible.

The “Wonder Trail” and Road Construction: Before the parkway, explorers, artists, and surveyors used the route known as the “Wonder Trail,” a rough track through the wilderness. Construction of the road began in the 1930s as part of a government project during the Great Depression, employing over 600 men. With manual labor and a single tractor per crew, building the road was no small feat. Ten years later, in 1940, the parkway opened as a gravel road, offering access to some of the most remote and stunning parts of the Canadian Rockies.

Interestingly, during World War II, this area served as a training ground for Allied soldiers, including the American 87th Mountain Infantry. These soldiers practiced mountain warfare, learning to survive in alpine conditions by training on the glaciers you can see from the Icefields Parkway today.

Icefields Parkway in Alberta

The Mighty Glaciers Along the Parkway

If you’re fascinated by glaciers, this drive will leave you in awe. Glaciers have played a crucial role in shaping the landscape of the Canadian Rockies, and many are still visible today, offering a glimpse into the region’s icy past.

Glacial Movement and Erosion: Over the past 2.6 million years, during a period known as the Quaternary, the Earth experienced multiple ice ages. During these cold spells, vast ice sheets covered much of North America. As temperatures warmed, the glaciers began to retreat, leaving behind the rugged mountain valleys and alpine lakes we see today. One of the most famous glaciers you can visit along the parkway is the Athabasca Glacier, part of the enormous Columbia Icefield.

The Columbia Icefield: Covering 325 square kilometers (125 square miles), the Columbia Icefield is one of the most enormous ice masses in North America. It feeds several glaciers, including Athabasca, Dome, and Stutfield Glaciers, and serves as a watershed for rivers that eventually flow into the Pacific, Atlantic, and Arctic Oceans. The Athabasca Glacier, located near the parkway, is one of the most accessible glaciers in the world, and visitors can walk on its surface with guided tours.

Over the past 125 years, it has lost over half its volume and receded over 1.5 kilometers (nearly a mile). Markers along the parkway show just how much the glacier has retreated. Seeing the glacier so close was one of the coolest (pun intended) experiences.

More Glaciers to Discover

While the Athabasca Glacier might steal the spotlight, several other glaciers along the Icefields Parkway are worth mentioning. The Crowfoot Glacier, for example, was named for its resemblance to a crow’s foot, though one of its “toes” has since melted away. Meanwhile, the Saskatchewan Glacier feeds the North Saskatchewan River and is the largest outflow glacier from the Columbia Icefield.

Further west, the Freshfield Icefield and Wapta Icefield offer more remote and less-visited glacier experiences, ideal for seasoned hikers and mountaineers. These icefields play a critical role in the region’s ecosystem, feeding the rivers and lakes that support wildlife and human communities.

A Drive Like No Other

The Icefields Parkway is a journey through time, history, and the raw beauty of nature. As you pass by ancient mountains, retreating glaciers, and turquoise blue lakes, the powerful forces that shaped this land over millions of years will remind you of their impact. Whether you are interested in geology and history or simply enjoying a stunning road trip, this route has something for everyone.

Have you traveled the Icefields Parkway? Share your stories with us on Instagram @TheFaiolas, or leave a voice message.

Until next time, happy travels!

Topics:
Fulltime RV Living, RV Maintenance, Repairs, & Upgrades, The Faiolas Podcast: Off the beaten path but not lost, Travel Planning & Itineraries

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