Icefields Parkway & Columbia Icefield

We left Peyto Lake and headed towards Columbia Icefield. We had no reception going forwards so I used AllTrails gps to know where we were and how far away the next walk was. We were thinking about walking to Parker Ridge which was about an hour away.

Along the way to the Columbia Icefield we stopped to take photos of the views surrounding us which were filled with snow capped mountains. We stopped at Mystic River which was a beautiful blue colour and the water looked so fresh. We then stopped at Waterfowl Lake which is fed by glaciers and Mystic River, and it was a beautiful Emerald colour. We crossed over the Saskatchewan River where there was a valley surrounded by mountains. We pulled over at another viewpoint that looked across the valley and we could see the Saskatchewan River. It was getting close to lunch and we were both hungry.

We arrived at the Columbia Icefield Centre and we thought we should walk to the toe of the Athabasca Glacier. We had lunch in the car as we looked over at the glacier before walking towards it. The glacier was all roped off as only if you paid to go on the Columbia Icefield Adventure Bus were you allowed on the glacier. We had decided not to do this as the reviews said you were driven onto the glacier and spent about 5 minutes on it before leaving.

As we walked to the toe there were signs showing where the glacier was in different years as it receded. The glacier now recedes about 5m every year, so it made us wonder if it would even be there in 100 years. We also read about the impacts of the glaciers shrinking as it meant water availability will reduce, and some species of animals that rely on the ice will become threatened.

We walked through the visitor centre and grabbed a coffee from Starbucks before deciding to drive back to the accommodation. It was already after 2pm and we had a 2 hour drive. As we left the Icefields Centre we drove past some goats all standing in the middle of the road! They were licking something on the road, presumably a drink someone had tossed out the window.

On the way back to the accommodation we made many stops on the side of the road to take photos. The views were amazing as we drove past many mountain ranges. We arrived back at the accommodation close to 6pm and headed straight to the spa. When we were at the spa we were asked if we would be seeing the Northern Lights. We weren’t aware they would be around so thought we would take a look later that night. We had pizza for dinner and then I read my book in the evening.Läs mer