Alberta · Canada
Icefields Parkway
AB 93Lake Louise to Jasper
Lake Louise to Jasper past the Columbia Icefield, over Bow Summit and Sunwapta Pass, with glacier-fed lakes and 3,000-metre peaks for company the whole way. Completed in 1940 and still the benchmark for what a mountain road should be.
Completed in 1940, this parkway threads the Continental Divide past the Columbia Icefield, glacier-fed lakes and peaks over 3,000 metres. The mapped section runs the full length from the Lake Louise junction to Jasper, climbing over Bow Summit and Sunwapta Pass, passing Bow Lake, Peyto Lake and Saskatchewan River Crossing. Mind the wildlife on the road, sudden alpine weather and a Parks Canada pass requirement.
Long, easy sweeps between walls of rock and ice, glaciers overhead and turquoise lakes flashing past. An unhurried glide that turns the windscreen into a moving postcard.
Why we picked it
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Where it runs127.0 mi · point to point
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Character
Corners
busiest around mile 54Elevation
under 4%4–8%over 8%1,041 – 2,079 mFrom the road
Points of interest3 stops
- Crowfoot Glacier ViewpointViewpoint6.4 mi in
- Snowbird Glacier LookoutViewpoint15 mi in
- Mount Wilson OverlookViewpoint29 mi in
Hazards
- Wildlife on road
- Sudden alpine weather
- No fuel for long stretches
Sources
“one of National Geographic's Drives of a Lifetime”
Verified route: mapped from real road geometry and fact-checked by a human editor. How roads get checked
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