We left our cozy cabin in Lake Louise and headed north up the Icefields Parkway towards our next base – Jasper. We stopped at several places along the way; what could be done in 2-3 hours takes much longer just because of all the amazing sights you can stop at and explore.
Bow Lake – Quick stop off the parkway


Peyto Lake and Bow Summit – short 10-15 minute walk to the main viewing platform from the parking lot but if you walk up the trail there’s an amazing vantage point that provides spectacular views of the valley and lake below. We were alone up there! and yes, the lake really is that color. Beautiful.





Mistaya Canyon – short 10-15 minute trek downhill to a small canyon. The trek back up was a bit tiring but well worth it.





N. Saskatchewan River at Howse Pass – picnic area off the parkway and one of the best surprises on the drive up. There are signs explaining how the pass and river were traveled back in the day and it’s a really beautiful view.Β We stopped here for lunch and found a picnic table overlooking the river below.

Columbia Icefield / Athabasca Glacier – some might call this the main event along the parkway. It has all the bells and whistles including a restaurant, cafe, outdoor terrace, huge washrooms, a ticket booth for all kinds of tours, you name it. It also has an amazing view of the glacier and surrounding mountains. We grabbed a coffee and sat outside enjoying the view. If you zoom in and look at the bottom of the “toe” of the glacier, those little specks are people. This thing is big, folks.







Sunwapta Falls – short stop off the parkway to see the waterfalls




Quick pics of the nice view from the road – everywhere you look, it’s gorgeous.

The N. Saskatchewan River – quick stop off the parkway


Athabasca Falls – Lots to see here and lots of little areas to explore.











We saw our first black bear on the side of the road coming into Jasper and I was really excited. We stayed in the car but took some pics (I have a good zoom on my camera – we did NOT get that close):


We arrived in Jasper at around 3:30pm and did our groceries before heading to our cottage for the rest of our stay, at Patricia Lake Bungalows. I can’t believe I didn’t take any pics!Β It was super cute, had everything we needed and was about a 5-6 minute drive from Jasper townsite along a winding road where we saw some elk on our first drive in.

Read Full Post »