Barry and I were blown away last year (2025) with the incredible views throughout the drive from Lake Louise to Jasper. So we didn’t hesitate to let our 2026 journey repeat this highway.
JUNE 17, 2026
Stop #1 – Howse Pass – Hard to believe anywhere around here would have an almost SNOW-FREE area! It is a great area for animals to find food in the winter.
Stop #2 Bridal Veil Falls There are two places where we pulled off to view this falls.
LEAVING BANFF NATIONAL PARK – ENTERING JASPER NATIONAL PARK
Stop #3 COLUMBIA ICEFIELDS CENTRE – Athabasca Glacier
We headed down the road closer to the tongue of the Athabasca Glacier. There were round blue signs that show where the glacier reached at that year. It was quite striking to see the date markers. Really shows visually the melting away of the glacier. In 1860, the Athabasca Glacier was two kilometers longer than it is today (that’s 1.2 miles). The picture below shows the time marker for 1890. It is right after you turn down this road from the Icefields Parkway opposite the Columbia Icefields Center.
Icefields produce their own weather! Most of the time you can notice a cool breeze here coming from the glacier. Air passing over the icefields is cooled by the ice. Cold air, being denser and heavier than warm air, slides downhill creating what is called katabatic winds. Katabatic winds are strongest in the fall. That’s when the temperature difference between the icefields and the lower valleys is the greatest.
Last year it was so cold and windy that we couldn’t get closer than the little rise at the edge of the parking lot prior to the lot we parked in. This road was not open then. We didn’t see anyone out where we are now.
We got to a place where we were climbing up snow/ice. I thought it was the glacier.
We kept walking closer!
The layers of snow and ice below was pretty cool to see.
For safety reasons they had various areas roped off. We couldn’t get any closer to this section, but you are able to pay for a glacier experience.
This was as close as we could get. What a thrill. Today’s weather was so much better than what it was when we stopped briefly last year.
We are spending the night across the street from the glacier in the Columbia Icefield Center RV Parking area. ($19.50 CAD per night – dry camping.)
Views from Sadie:
I thought this was so cool (literally and figuratively) to spend the night right across the street from the Athabasca glacier!
Time for Barry to chill out…
Blue sky was breaking through!
This RV parking area was very large. Many simply park here during a short visit to the glacier area on foot, or if they are on a paid glacier tour from the main parking lot at the Centre.
And then it changed quickly again. This looked more like what it was like when we came by last year.
We had a very quiet night. .We continued north after making our coffee.
June 18.
Stop #4 Athabasca Falls
We stopped at Athabasca Falls since it was so close to the highway and is an amazing falls.
To give perspective for the size of this waterfalls…
The layers of rock are pretty amazing to look at…
An area that was not open last year… Stairs down -The Time Tunnel…
Video of the water flowing through the lower canyon.
Heading back up to Sadie and to Whistler’s Campground right before the town of Jasper. Great location for exploring Jasper and more.