JASPER NATIONAL PARK

Icefields Parkway (Highway 93) is a popular scenic drive which begins near Lake Louise and take you North to the city of Jasper. Our first day in Banff National Park was a 10-mile hike at Lake Minnewanka so we decided to take a casual drive to The Columbia Icefields on our second day.

Of course, it's a good idea to gas up when you've got a 2 hour and 45 minute drive from Canmore to The Columbia Icefields! Here's a picture of our rental:

Not the Delorean... The silver Buick Regal behind it... on the right. Yeah, that's our baby!

We saw a bear from the car just a few minutes after entering the entrance to Icefields Parkway.

During our drive we saw a larger group of cars pulled over and quite a few people standing by the edge of the road so we pulled over and walked up to find a bear strolling in the woods eating berries. We were less than half a football field away but the bear seemed content eating and no one around us was trying to move closer so we felt very safe. Well, except for Luke who did suggest going back to the car.

A Park Ranger sped up to us about 5-minutes after we arrived and started clearing out traffic and demanding that people get back in their cars. She was handing out wildlife viewing sheets. These sheets had various 'cut outs' for different animals to allow a person to judge the safest viewing for each creature.

Does this bear look too close?

Our first stop ended up being at Simpson's Num-Ti-Jah Lodge which offers views of Crowfoot and Bow Glaciers at Bow Lake.

Simpson's Num-Ti-Jah Lodge has a small cafe, a beach area and rooms for those who want to stay at Bow Lake. It's a nice stop to get out and stretch, have a walk, eat some Elk Chili and enjoy a snack.

Of course, the boys chose "The hard way" during our walk instead of using the small bridges with daddy following behind:

A pleasant break at Bow Lake and if you look close you will see paddle boarders in the water. Hopefully they stayed on the boards because that glacial water tends to be a bit chilly!

Time to head to The Columbia Icefields!

Once we arrived to The Columbia Icefields we parked on the side of the road on the way to the main parking lot since it appeared to be full. It was a bit chilly so after walking down the hill to the restrooms and starting our hike, I realized it was a bit cold and windy.

I decided to get jackets and move the car to the parking lot which had a few spots open. Sure enough, I found parking close to the beginning of the trailhead and me and the boys caught up to mommy (who did not want to hike back up to the car).

The hike to the toe of the Athabasca Glacier and back to the parking lot is just under a mile (1.4 KM) and it is fairly easy with a slight incline. On the way up you will see how much the ice has retreated through the years. My wife went when she was younger so we stopped at where the "toe" used to be in 1982:

Luke The Destroyer: