Banff, Jasper and Yoho National Parks II: The Icons Strike Back

I have heard it said the the Icefields Parkway is one of the most scenic drives in all of Canada. The highway follows the valley between two ridges of the Rocky Mountains all the way up from Banff to Jasper National Park and beyond. At about 300 km in total, the drive would only take a typical morning or afternoon except for the shear number of breathtaking attractions, lookouts and and trails along the way. On both trips between Banff and Jasper it took us all day to make the drive, and we probably didn't even cover half of what is there to see.

The Columbia Icefields are massive in a way that difficult to truly comprehend, the vast majority of the ice is not even visible from the various stops, and the glaciers that you can see look much smaller and compressed when viewed from the base. The day we drove up to Jasper was fairly rainy and windy, and it was particularly cold at the base of the Athabasca glacier as the air flowed down the surface of the ice.

Tangle Creek Falls is a small waterfall directly adjacent to the road. Mountain goats frequent the area and you can scale up the waterfall to capture it from a variety of angles.

The Icefields Parkway has a prominent switchback close to the border between Banff and Jasper parks to gain elevation going up into the mountain pass near Parker Ridge. At the top of the switchback is a pullout that gives an impressive view down the valley.

Near the town of Jasper, Mount Edith Cavell is probably the most picturesque of the nearby summits, with its rocky bands alternating with snow standing in contrast to the surrounding peaks. The Angel glacier can be seen half way up the mountain and the Cavell glacier at its base.

Sunwapta Falls is an interesting waterfall that features a small island in the middle of the river before the waters plunge into the gorge below.

Athabasca Falls is a very busy attraction close to the road which features a large and easily accessible main falls and a twisting gorge with attractive rock cuts beyond the falls.

The highlight of our visit to Jasper was a boat cruise on Lake Maligne out to the famed Spirit Island. We booked our tickets for the last ride of the day hoping to catch some warm evening light hitting the small peninsula. I was worried with the overcast conditions that day, that the lighting would be dull, but after a short wait there was a brief break in the clouds that allowed me to capture the image below.

Overall, I like Jasper a lot (especially the sticky buns at the Bear Paw Cafe). The biggest difference compared to Banff was the overall poor condition of the forests. Up to 50% of the trees in many locations were dead and turning orange, largely due to beetle infestations. 

In the third instalment of my trip to the Rockies, I'll share some locations from Yoho National Park across the boarder in British Columbia.