Road Trip through the Canadian Rockies

Day 6: Icefields Parkway

The Icefields Parkway was another highlight of our trip! Wake up early, as this is going to be your busiest and longest day! This is the beautiful scenic drive from Banff to Jasper.

We stopped at MANY overlooks, and I’m sure you will too, so I am just going to cover the main ones here.

Peyto Lake

This hike is a must! It’s about 3 miles round-trip but with a beautiful view of Peyto Lake below.

Mistaya Canyon

This is just a short walk to the Canyon from the parking lot, and well worth it!

Columbia Icefield

Yes, you can take a bus to go walk out on the glacier here. But because we didn’t buy tickets in advance, it was a 4 hour wait! So if you are DYING to do this, definitely buy in advance! We found a short hike that goes up to the edge of the glacier, and while it was freezing cold, it was also amazing to just feel the wind and power coming off of this giant block of ice.

Sunwapta Falls

The Sunwapta Falls hike was short, but it wasn’t exactly breathtaking. It’s a fine stop if you have the time, but one that I would say can be missed if necessary.

Athabasca Falls

This is another short hike from the parking lot, but I liked it more than Sunwapta Falls. You could feel the power of the waterfalls from several different overlooks and explore different canyons.

As previously mentioned, there are many overlooks just off the side of the road, as well as longer hikes that can be taken. I’d say at most we could have gotten in two 3-mile hikes and the rest of the shorter (under 1 mile) hikes.

Keep a look out for wildlife. Anytime you see a car on the side of the road stopped, it is MOST LIKELY because there is wildlife somewhere nearby. And if there is wildlife somewhere nearby, PLEASE stay in your car.

We arrived in Jasper and set up camp at Wapiti Campground. Almost immediately we were greeted by a very large elk. This would only be the beginning of many animals we’d see in Jasper.

Day 7: Indian Ridge Hike with Jasper Skytram, Maligne Lake

We decided to start the day by taking the Jasper Skytram up to the top of Whistlers Mountain. Tickets can be purchased in advance, but we bought ours on the day of with no problem. Unfortunately, the weather had other plans. As soon as we got up to the top, a blizzard rolled in! We were unable to take the gondola back down and didn’t want to hike in a blizzard, so we had some poutine and hot chocolate in the restaurant to pass the time. It was delicious. 

Once the weather cleared, we hiked up to the summit. It took about 30 minutes and was pretty difficult (especially for those afraid of heights). To be honest, the view wasn’t that much different than it was from the restaurant, but it felt good to say we reached the summit!

Also, there are more hiking trails up there if you have the time. Unfortunately another snowstorm rolled in and we had to head back down before we were stuck.

Next we drove to Maligne Lake. While the lake was beautiful (as always), the most exciting part was all of the wildlife we saw on the drive there. On this drive alone, we saw bears (and baby bears), mountain goats, and even a moose!

We did an easy 3 mile hike that goes along the edge of Maligne Lake and back to the parking lot. Only part of this trail is along the lake and then it goes back through some woods, so keep this in mind if you’re only doing it for lake views. There is also a boat cruise you can do on this lake, but we were too late for it.

Next we headed to Pyramid Lake which has a cute little bridge you can walk over to an island. It was a nice, short stop, but nothing spectacular. Although we did see a Grizzly in this area! There are also a lot of small lakes nearby, which are nice for a quick stop.

Day 8: Mount Robson Park and Jasper Town

We woke to another day of rain so decided to do some driving. We went to Mount Robson Park in search of the highest point in the Canadian Rockies. This is about a half hour drive from Jasper. Unfortunately it was too cloudy to see Mount Robson, but we did enjoy a nice 5-mile out and back hike to Kinney Lake. The entire hike is along a beautiful blue river and ends up at a serene lake.

After the wet hike, we decided to see what Jasper’s downtown had to offer. Similar to Banff (but a bit smaller), there were souvenir shops, cafes and restaurants. We grabbed a drink at several different pubs and headed back to our wet campground.

Day 9: Drive back to Calgary (Icefields Parkway)

We woke up early and took the Icefields Parkway back towards Calgary. We again used the GypsyGuide, and although it was the same information, it was still very entertaining and informative. We stopped at some of the stops we didn’t get to on the way out due to time, and gained a whole new perspective on the Icefields Parkway.

Once arriving back in Calgary, it was time to donate the items that could be donated and throw out the rest. After returning the rental car, we Ubered to the airport for an overnight flight.