We drove between Lake Louise and Jasper along the incredible Icefields Parkway. The weather was perfect for both our trip north and return south a few days later. Going north we took us roughly nine hours to drive 150 miles, although that did include stops at many lookout points and one tourist attraction.

Peyto Lake was an early stop on the trip. We hiked a short way into the hills to come to this beautiful lookout point. The intense blue of the lake waters in this area is due to the glacial silt that enters the lakes and reflects colors in the turquoise-blue spectrum.

All along we found gorgeous scenery. Each turn was exciting as it could yield a setting even more spectacular than the last. We followed a special map along the way that identified mountains, rivers, lakes, and lookouts. Although, I can’t quite remember which is which in my photos now. Please note that we have spared the reader many, many pictures of mountains and hillsides. We picked the best of the best for you. We saw some wildlife along the Icefields Parkway. There was a herd of bighorn sheep in one valley. Also, a viewpoint marked “Goats and Glaciers” was on our map. Sure enough, as we drove around the corner, there was a mountain goat on the hillside next to the road. We stopped at the viewpoint and saw two of them wandering around.

The Columbia Icefield is the largest icefield in the area. Imagine several mountains forming a ring and the jagged peaks are the rim of a bowl. That bowl is filled with layers of snow and ice that stay frozen for hundreds or thousands of years. This is an icefield. Fingers of this snow and ice ooze out of the gaps between the peaks. These are the glaciers. The Athabasca Glacier is the closest glacier to the highway. We stopped here at the interpretive center and took the “Snocoach” tour onto the glacier and were able to get out and walk around. In the photo above there are two Snocoaches on the glacier circled in red. It was quite cold on the ice and I was glad I had picked up some gloves while shopping. Dan was daring enough to drink the more than ice cold water the guide claimed was clean. Again, it was hard to believe this was our summer honeymoon.

The Dome Glacier is very close to the Athabasca Glacier and you can see both at the same time. They are separated by a ridge (left side) that contains a triple continental divide. Water here flows into the Pacific, Atlantic, and Arctic Oceans depending on exactly where it starts. The snowy, brown-striped mountains reminded me of Breyers Chocolate Crackle ice cream. Note the thick layer of ice on top of the mountains. We saw this a lot and it gives new meaning to the term “icing.”

In the northern part of the Icefields Parkway are additional viewpoints for waterfalls.

Sunwapta Falls pictured above and the Athabasca Falls at another stop below.

More beautiful scenery.

Continue to Jasper