Photo Sequence of a World Famous Road - Canada's Icefields Parkway

This is a photo sequence of one of the world's most scenic roads, a heavenly 230km along the continental divide of North America, passing majestic glaciers, brilliant turquoise lakes, and sweeping valleys cutting between the wild jagged peaks of the Canadian Rockies. If I have only one day to bring an friend from overseas to see the best of Canada, this would be my pick.

And it's not only my pick -- National Geographic has it listed among the 50 best drives in the world, as well as the Top 10 ski trips in the world; Lonely Planet ranks it among the world's top 10 cycling trips; UNESCO protects the entire surrounding area as a World Heritage Site. Welcome to Icefields Parkway.



0km from Jasper
Our journey started from the Jasper Townsite. Pictured is the Jasper Information Centre, one of the finest pieces of rustic Canadian architecture and a National Historic Site in itself. Constructed of cobblestones and timber nearly 100 years ago, the relatively small structure originally housed a plethora of park functions, including a fish hatchery in the basement. Most visitors no longer arrive at the rail station across the street, but the old building still serves as the town's most recognizable landmark.



31km from Jasper
The Athabasca Falls is the first of several major waterfalls and canyons along Icefields Parkway. Glacial water originating from the Columbia Icefield carves a narrow canyon through the soft limestone here to continue its way towards the Arctic Ocean.



Dramatic flowing lines were once scribed on these limestone walls by the mighty Athabasca River, which has since carved out a new channel underneath. A well-maintained trail now leads visitors through these passages, ending at the other side of the rocks with a sweeping view of the river valley.



55km from Jasper
A 15 minute drive to the south, the turbulent waters of the spectacular Sunwapta Falls plunges down another chasm and will eventually join the Athabasca River. Just below these waterfalls is the launch point of a Class 3 white water rafting course, a 2-hour journey costing less than CAD$100.



100km from Jasper
At the legal speed limit of 90km/h the entire drive from Jasper to Banff can theoretically be covered in less than four hours. It took us no less than eight -- and it was eight hours of breathtaking scenery and short hikes launching directly from the roadside. Pictured is a view of North America's continental divide from a roadside pullover with no name.



103km from Jasper
The 300-plus-metres-thick Columbia Icefield marks the boundary between Banff National Park and Jasper National Park. Directly accessible from the side of the highway is the Athabasca Glacier, one of the six toes of the icefield and the most visited glacier in North America. If you've come this far to the Canadian Rockies, don't miss the chance to set foot on the ice pack. Please see our Athabasca Glacier page for a quick glimpse of what you may see on a guided hike up the glacier.



160km from Jasper
A 40 minute drive into Banff National Park leads to yet another spectacular valley. The Mistaya River carves a winding path through stratified layers of limestone and creates a narrow slot canyon on its way towards Edmonton, and eventually the Hudson Bay.



175km from Jasper
At about 100km north of Banff the Icefields Parkway starts entering the heart of lake country. The pictured Lower Waterfowl Lake is just one of hundreds of lakes in the region, all endowed with the brilliant turquoise waters that made the Canadian Rockies famous.



182km from Jasper
This well-signposted trail starting from the roadside is one of the most popular short hikes in Canada -- which leads to one of the best viewpoints in Canada. We had to contend with hordes of multi-national tourists on the 20-minute hike, but the view, 300-metres above the brilliant Peyto Lake and its magical surroundings, alone makes visiting the Rockies worthwhile.



Aside from boasting one of the most breathtaking views in the Canadian Rockies, this viewpoint area, known as Bow Summit, is also famous as the highest point along the Icefields Parkway at 2,069m. Time your visit in July to September if possible, as the best and brightest colours are typically brought out by when summer's glacial melting peaks.



192km from Jasper
Yet another brilliant turquoise lake alongside the highway, Bow Lake is the source of the Bow River that flows through Banff and Calgary. This trademark opaqueness of blue and green is caused by what the local guides call "glacial rock flour," a suspension of microscopic clay particles filtering out part of the blue from the visible light spectrum.



232km from Jasper
At the southern end of the Icefields Parkway, the world famous Lake Louise and the classy Fairmont Chateau beckons with its well manicured garden and the unbeatable view of the Victoria Glacier across the lake. In better weather we would have loved a romantic excursion on the emerald-coloured lake in one of these bright red canoes, rentable for about CAD$45 per hour. Hiking up to the Lake Agnes Teahouse is also a popular option in good weather, but on this day we opted for the leisurely Lakeshore Trail.



248km from Jasper
A 16km turn-off from Lake Louise village leads to an unbelievably blue lake, mysteriously opaque and bright and gracefully set beneath a series of majestic peaks. The view of Moraine Lake and the Valley of the Ten Peaks is one of the most-photographed locations in all of Canada, with obvious reasons -- the lake really is as blue as pictured above, and it is well-known locally as the image on older $20 banknotes. Do not expect a serene mountain surrounding when taking your obligatory photo though, as we had to hike past hundreds of tourists to the top of the rockpile for this shot.



260km from Jasper
Although the "Icefields Parkway" designation officially ends at Lake Louise, the highway keeps pointing southeast for another 56km before finally reaching Banff. Visitors have a choice of 2 roads -- the newer, faster throughfare of Highway 1, or the old, winding and more scenic Highway 1A, also known as the Bow Valley Parkway. The Bow Valley Parkway is supposed to be one of the prime wildlife-viewing areas in the Canadian Rockies, but we saw nothing bigger than squirrels along this road. The best wildlife-viewing area on our trip IMHO was Maligne Lake Road in Jasper National Park.



288km from Jasper
Banff, the mother of all Canadian resorts, awaited at the finish of our 8-hour-drive through the magnificent mountain scenery above. This would serve as our homebase for exploring the surrounding area for the next three days.



What better way to celebrate a great alpine drive than warming our hands around a bubbling cheese fondue in Old World tradition? Fairmont Banff Springs hotel's German restaurant, the Waldhaus, featured an excellent Gruyere fondue with generous shavings of black truffles for CAD$56 for a two-person serving. The pungent flavors of truffles was heavenly to my tastebuds, though my wife found it to be somewhat overpowering. This was one of the three best meals on our 15-day trip.

Up Close and Personal with Athabasca Glacier

This may be the closest to an Antarctic landscape that one can visit and photograph, without actually going to Antarctica.

It has so many elements befitting the most exotic of expeditions. Crystal clear glacial water carving deep blue streaks through a barren, lifeless world. Incredible blue caves born within virgin ice deposits untouched for millenia. Bottomless crevasses waiting to devour the inexperienced (or unequipped). The only things missing are a few penguins, or perhaps an old Roald Amundsen camp.

But no, it's only the Canadian Rockies ... no more than a couple kilometres from the highway in fact.



The Athabasca Glacier is one of the major attractions of the Jasper National Park, and is one of the most accessible glaciers in the world. It's so easily accessible that a visitor centre has been built across from it, next to the highway connecting Banff and Jasper.

Half a million visitors every year would admire the glacier from the comfort of the visitor centre's viewing deck, several hundred metres away. Those who desire to see it up close would typically board a giant Snowcoach to a mechanically flattened, carefully manicured parking area in the middle of the icefield. This makes the icefield safe, sterilized and accessible to virtually anyone, but it also shields the visitor from the natural ruggedness of the ice formation, the chutes and crevasses, and the icy blue creeks.



The raw beauty of the glacier is normally reserved for experienced mountaineers -- numerous deaths have resulted from unsuspecting visitors falling into crevasses and sinkholes, and Parks Canada discourages going across the safety barriers at all. For inactive 9-to-5 office people like myself, the only (relatively) safe way is to join an ice walking tour led by experienced guides.



We joined a small-group tour organized by Athabasca Glacier Icewalks, taking us up the lower third of the glacier on a 3-hour hike. We booked two months ahead online, but the tour is also bookable at the visitor centre if spaces remain available. More than 20 people showed up when we visited in mid July, and the group was split between two guides to keep group sizes manageable and participants safe.



Arriving at the height of summer (both Vancouver and Calgary hit 30 degrees Celsius that week) we greatly under-estimated the bone-chilling cold of the Rockies, even in July. I showed up in a flimsy windbreaker, jeans, light walking shoes, and my wife wasn't any better equipped. Luckily all necessary clothing and equipment were provided by our guides, including 3-in-1 waterproof jackets, waterproof pants, waterproof hiking boots of various sizes, fleece toques and gloves, but most importantly, crampons to provide traction on the ice surface.



The 300 metres or so of elevation that we gained in our 3 hour hike was much slower than I anticipated, not because of any extraordinary physical demands or steepness of grade, but because of the slipperiness of the surface. As we zigzagged our way up the glacier, every step was taken with the apprehensiveness of treading through an enormous uphill skating rink with winding creeks and bottomless abysses.



The 6km long Athabasca is only one of the many glaciers flowing out from the 300km2 Columbia Icefield, situated on top of the continental divide of the North American continent. The icefield is claimed to be one of the hydrological apexes of the North American continent, meaning that ... and I did NOT personally attempt this ... if you take a piss at the top of the icefield, your fluid would possibly split and drain into the Pacific Ocean, the Arctic Ocean, and the Hudson Bay.



At the midpoint of our hike we came across one of the metal poles pounded vertically into the ice sheet by scientists to measure the movement and health of the glacier. At the beginning of the tour we learned that the glacier had already retreated 1.5km over the past century, but it was only a trivial piece of statistics ... until we witnessed the evidence first hand. A thickness of 3 metres had already melted between April and our visit in July, and even more would dissipate before the start of winter.



That's the cold reality facing every visitor in this age of global warming. The Athabasca Glacier is currently retreating at a rate of 10 metres per year and accelerating. Some alarmists even go as far as predicting its complete disappearance within the next century, though not every scientist agrees. The only thing we know for certain is that by the time of our next visit, whether it will be next year or after several decades, the mighty glacier will be a smaller remnant of its current self.



Visiting the Athabasca Glacier was one of those rare, deeply haunting experiences for me as a traveler. Do I absolutely need to take long flights to faraway destinations every year? What will be my own carbon footprint in my lifetime, and how much of that will contribute to glaciation shrinkage in the Rockies, the submersion of the Maldives, or the breakup of the Bering Sea ice packs?

These questions are too heavy for a lazy midsummer roadtrip, yet it pains me as a Canadian that one of our great natural treasures may not even last the entire 21st century. I seriously debated whether I should even promote the Athabasca Glacier as a tourist destination here, but arrived at the conclusion of yes -- if only to heighten each visitor's awareness of his or her own carbon footprint. Perhaps our glacier will breath just a little easier with each carpool trip we take, until we as a human race can find a solution to global warming.

Entering Jasper National Park

The word Jasper alone evokes all kinds of inevitable comparisons.

Jasper. The Canadian Rockies' other park. Jasper. Banff's quieter sibling. Jasper. Just like Banff except with more glaciers and less lakes.



Many visitors, faced with limited time and budget, are bound to ask the question of "how much time should I budget for Jasper while I visit Banff?" That's quite unfortunate of course, as anyone who has spent more than a couple days in both parks can tell you that each has many unique things to offer. We were fortunate to spend three nights in the town of Jasper, yet the vast expanse of the surrounding wilderness seemed like it would take at least a couple of weeks to properly appreciate.



While both Banff and Jasper offer spectacular, world class views and adventures, I feel that the main difference between the two parks is due to geography. Banff is 1.5 hours from Calgary (and thus from a major international airport) and an easy day-trip destination; Jasper on the other hand requires much more time and effort to visit and deters many casual tourists. This advantage leaves Jasper with a less commercialized townsite, less crowds to get in the way of great pictures, and most importantly to most visitors, an amazing abundance of wildlife.



And we didn't have to travel far to start running into these locals. Note the wires at the top of the picture -- these white-tailed deer were foraging at the edge of the townsite. In fact during our three days in Jasper, we could hardly travel an hour without running into some species of deer, elk, bighorn sheep, hoary marmot or ground squirrels.



We were enjoying the scenery somewhere between Medicine Lake and Maligne Canyon when we saw this pair of massive antlers sticking out from a bush on the roadside. I was able to walk within 5 metres from this gentle giant of a bull elk, and he was too busy scratching his forehead against a small tree to bother even looking at me.



In fact, the Maligne Lake Road was the most prolific wildlife viewing area on our entire trip. The rock face above Medicine Lake's north shore seems to contain certain mineral deposits, known locally as a "salt lick," which attracts herds of bighorn sheep from higher elevations. We came across at least two different herds, lounging along the grassy roadside and licking at the natural salt deposit. This huge ram in the picture stared down the oncoming traffic, while its harem of ewes congregated to taste the rocks in salty bliss.



The 48km drive along Maligne Lake Road is just packed with wildlife, spectacular views, as well as easily accessible scenic walks. The grey limestone cliffs of the Maligne Canyon, polished for millenia by the glacial water of Maligne River, is only one of the many beautiful canyons and falls within Jasper National Park.



Following the canyon upstream leads to the rocky shores of Medicine Lake, which drains into the canyon through an extensive underground cave system. During our visit in July it looked just like any other emerald-colored lake in the Canadian Rockies, but will soon start to drain and turn into a large mudflat in a matter of months.



The reflection of Spirit Island in the deep turquoise of Maligne Lake is no doubt the quintessential image of Jasper National Park, and one of the most recognizable images of the Canadian Rockies. Be prepared though, to fork out a steep CAD$55 for the 90-minute boat tour (or to paddle about 40km roundtrip, which is near impossible to do in one day). So we were content with strolling the well-maintained footpaths on the lake shore, and opted for the panoramic view from the Bald Hills which was free.



The Parks Canada brochure described the Bald Hills trail as medium intensity, 10 km round-trip, 4 to 6 hours to the lookout and back. Now I have to admit that we're novice to intermediate hikers, physically unfit (we're both office workers and don't regularly work out), and it was our first hike in about a year. It took us only 2.5 hours to reach the lookout, and 4 hours round-trip including lunch and wandering around the lookout for 30 minutes. I figure if we can do it as a half-day hike, any reasonably fit person can do it, as a great addition to a day at Maligne Lake.



The panoramic view of snowy peaks crowning Maligne Lake from the Bald Hills lookout was definitely worth the 4 hour round-trip. A complete 360-degree panorama can be gained by means of a further 45-minute hike to one of Bald Hills' peaks, for those more adventurous (and more physically fit) than us.

These are only some of the sights along the Maligne Lake Road -- I haven't even started with my photos of the wildly scenic and more famous Icefield Parkway. That will come in the next couple of posts.


THE TOWN OF JASPER


The only real settlement within a vast 10,000km2 national park, the town of Jasper is a true gem of a Canadian small town -- large enough to cater to the demands of modern tourism, yet small enough to remaining peaceful, unpretentious, and authentically Canadian. This is a quality that the now internationally-flavored "village" of Banff has lost forever.

You won't find any major retailers like The Bay or even a neighborhood Safeway -- the largest store in town is a locally owned, 90-year-old grocery store (Robinsons Foods). The major bank (CIBC) occupies a beautifully maintained heritage house, as does the Parks Canada information centre. The two main drags (Connaught Drive and Patricia Street) are filled with small eateries and watering holes, nondescript souvenir shops, and a high concentration of outfitters and outdoor equipment stores. Fast food franchises like McDonalds and A&W are marginalized to the edge of the commercial district.


CHEAP EATS AND CHEAP SLEEPS IN JASPER


No disrespect to the dining scene in Jasper and Banff, but we would have chosen Montreal and Quebec City for our vacation if the best Canadian cuisine was our focus. Here in Jasper we chose to spend more of our time in the great outdoors, and sought recommendations by locals on where they would go out for inexpensive, quality food.


BEAR'S PAW BAKERY
Address: 4 Cedar Avenue, Jasper
Hours: 06:00-18:00 Daily
Website/Map: Official Website
Directions: Corner of Cedar Avenue and Connaught Drive, half a block from the train station.


We sampled a number of eateries based on our guesthouse host's recommendations -- a steakhouse, a pizza and taphouse, and a sushi restaurant among them. Here I'm passing on to you the number one worthiest recommendation -- a tiny, extremely popular bakery widely considered to Jasper's best.

We were first introduced to this little bakery by a fellow blogger, secondly by our guesthouse, and thirdly ... most importantly ... by the incredible amassment of 40 or so customers lining up within the tiny shop for fresh-off-the-oven baked goods in the morning. Some were tourists, but many were locals walking down the block in shorts and sandals for their daily dosage of freshly brewed coffee and muffins.


Prices were very reasonable for a small town -- around CAD$1.5 for bakery items such as scones, sausage rolls or cinnamon rolls. Pictured above is the shop's signature item aptly named ... what else ... Bear Paw. It's actually a cutely shaped cinnamon roll -- not too flaky, not too sweet, but filling enough to power our mid-morning hike up the Bald Hills. I regret not taking a photo, but the sausage roll was definitely one of the best I've ever had.

For budget travelers like us, Bear's Paw also sells decent sandwiches for a measly CAD$4.5, probably among the cheapest in town (Robinsons Foods has a different selection, but costing a little more). We made them our designated lunch supplier for our daily hikes and excursions in Jasper.


SELDOM IN GUESTHOUSE
Address: 123 Geikie Street, Jasper AB
Price: $95 including tax in high season; double room with ensuite bathroom; breakfast not included
Website: http://www.bbcanada.com/11539.html


The entire town was nearly fully booked during July's peak season, and there just weren't a lot of options when it came to inexpensive lodging -- cheaper hotels in town generally charged $150 and up for double rooms, guesthouses charged anywhere from $90 to $120, the town's HI hostel charged $71 for a private double with shared bathroom, while dorm beds ran around $30.

We booked several months ahead at a little guesthouse on the northern side of the town, run by a Canadian couple with the help of a couple of Japanese assistants. Seldom In Guesthouse gave us a smallish but spotlessly clean room, with a huge ensuite bathroom and shower, for $95 including tax. Breakfast was not included, but coupons for complimentary coffee at Bear's Paw Bakery was provided.


An advantage of staying at guesthouses is of course the use of the living room, fridge, microwave and other conveniences of staying in a fully functional home. The clear view of the mountain peaks from our room window was just an added bonus.

15-Day Slow-trip through Canadian Rockies and Prairies - Itinerary

A Spanish travel companion once asked for my personal recommendation of Canada's best destinations.

Niagara Falls? Oh please ... it's not even the best of Ontario in my opinion. The old towns of Quebec City and Lunenberg? Now that's world class ... but my European friend would feel just like vacationing at home. The northern lights, walruses and Inuit people of Nunuvut would make the ultimate Canadian adventure ... but the cost of CAD$4000+ per person isn't affordable for most. So I came up with my definitive answer ... the Canadian Rockies, pristine, majestic and easily accessible.



To me, touring the Rockies is a very Canadiana thing that every self-respecting Canadian should do at least once in his/her lifetime. But it was painfully embarrassing that although I lived only a day's drive from Banff and Jasper, I had never spent more than a half-day in the Rockies. That, of course, doesn't fit anyone's definition of "touring" -- this is a world-class destination that deserves more than a week's time.



Not anymore! Finally I've put together a proper vacation in my own Canadian backyard, to slowly savour the worthiest destination of my own country on a 15-day slow-trip. This would be a long, long road trip, covering 4,500 km through the interior of British Columbia and southern Alberta, through immaculate river valleys, chilling mountain passes, and boundless prairies under the scorching summer sun.



The Rocky Mountain national parks of Banff, Jasper, and Yoho are of course this trip's star attractions, but southern Alberta is jam-packed with three more lesser-known UNESCO World Heritage Sites, separated by only a day's drive. Dinosaur Provincial Park and Waterton Lakes National Park are highly underrated and unknown to most Canadians, but that's where some of my favorite photos were taken.



After much planning, our final itinerary evolved to something like this:

Day 01: Vancouver - Yellowhead Highway - Jasper National Park
Day 02: Maligne Lake - Maligne Canyon
Day 03: Columbia Icefield
Day 04: Icefield Parkway - Banff National Park
Day 05: Sunshine Meadows
Day 06: Lake Louise - Bow Valley Parkway
Day 07: Calgary
Day 08: Drumheller - Dinosaur Provincial Park
Day 09: Southern Alberta's Prairies - Fort MacLeod - Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump
Day 10: Waterton Lakes National Park (Canada) - Glacier National Park (USA)
Day 11: Waterton Lakes National Park
Day 12: Bar U Ranch - Banff - Yoho National Park
Day 13: Yoho National Park
Day 14: Yoho National Park - Mount Stephen Hike
Day 15: Golden - Vancouver



I'm currently planning about 10 posts over the next few months, with a couple hundred photos in the works. Many readers and friends have prodded me for new materials after more than a year's hibernation ... so it is. Stay tuned!

A Canadian's Favourite Spots in Canada

This is the index page of my favorite places to recommend to readers planning on visiting Canada.

As a Canadian traveler I’m sometimes asked to recommend places to visit in Canada. To make things accessible for most readers, I usually keep my recommendations:
- easily accessible by rental car or public transport
- reasonably economical, or at the very least provide a good value
- most importantly ... an authentic local experience

I hope the following articles will provide some useful info for future visitors to Canada. This page will keep expanding as I upload more of my past trips within my own country. Enjoy!



15-Day Slow-trip through Canadian Rockies and Prairies - Itinerary
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Photo Sequence of a World Famous Road - Canada's Icefields Parkway
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Banff's Spectacular Sub-Alpine Meadows
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Yoho - Banff's Scenery with a Tenth of the Crowds
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Canada's (Almost) Unknown World Heritage Site
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Entering Jasper National Park
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Up Close and Personal with Athabasca Glacier
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A Guided Hike to Canada's World Famous Fossil Site
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Crown of the North American Continent
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A World Class Museum in the Middle of Nowhere
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Our 2,000 km Drive across the Alberta Prairies
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Adams River Salmon Run - Mini Guide
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On The Road Again!

Yes, it's that time of the year again. You can expect some fresh stories and photos from our mystery destination when we get back. But the downside is ... I won't be answering emails and comments for quite a while!

Ciao!