20 Stops To Make Along The Icefields Parkway: Which to Skip and Which One You Can't Miss

• The Icefields Parkway runs from Banff to Jasper and every stop is worth a look, but if you're short on time, here's the cheat sheet.
• Do not skip: Bow Lake, Peyto Lake, Mistaya Canyon, Howse Pass Viewpoint, Weeping Wall, Big Bend Viewpoint, and Bridal Veils Falls.
• Try not to skip: Parker Ridge, a moderately tough hike with a huge payoff looking down onto the Saskatchewan Glacier.
• If you have extra time (or you're camping at Waterfowl Lake): add on Bow Glacier Falls, Chephren Lake, and Wilcox Pass.
• Skippable if you're tight on time: Herbert Lake, Waterfowl Lake, Goats and Glacier Lookout, and Horseshoe Lake.
• Heading all the way to Jasper: don't miss Sunwapta Falls and Athabasca Falls, but hit them early to beat the coach bus crowds.
• The Columbia Icefield is a must, with several different ways to experience it depending on your time and budget.
• Plan for at least 3 days if you want to fit in every stop, hike, and tour without rushing.

This is a funny one to start with, because I'm actually going to say skip this stop. It is a gorgeous lake, and if you just want to get out on your canoe or paddleboard on an absolutely iconic Canadian lake, this is a great one for that. The lake is just steps from the parking lot and the parking lot is within a few minutes from the start of the parkway. 

But if you're trying to pack in just the highlights, skip it, because we have a lot more gorgeous lakes coming up.

Do NOT skip this one. This is one of my favourite lakes on the parkway, and it can be a pretty quick stop if you're trying to fit a lot into your day.

If you can manage, go for sunrise. We camped nearby on our last trip and went for sunrise, and the conditions were spectacular. The lake was perfectly still and reflected the mountain like a perfect mirror; the sun rose over the mountains on the other side of the parkway, and the light danced along the lake and the mountain in a magical way. 

Also, we were pretty much alone. 

It's a great spot to visit at any time, though. My most important suggestion for this one is to NOT stop at the first lookout and go to the second lookout by the lodge. There is more room to walk around the lakefront down here; it's a better angle for photos, and there is a great wooden bridge that is great for photos. This is also where the Bow Glacier Falls hike starts, so parking can fill up pretty quickly in the summer, but most people are just coming to snap a quick photo and then move on, so if the lot is full, just circle for a few minutes, and a spot will likely free up. 

Don't stop here (or just do a quick photo)

Stop here instead

This is an optional hike that starts from the parking lot near the lodge at Bow Lake. 

I will have to call this skippable if you're trying to fit everything into one day, just because it is a bit of a time commitment, but if you have time for a few hikes, I would HIGHLY recommend this one. I've done hundreds of hikes around Canada, and this one is on my short list for one of my favourites. 

From the lodge you follow a mellow flat trail around the edge of the lake and it takes you down to the tip of the lake where you're looking out at the lake along its longest side giving you a whole new perspective of the mountains that tower of the lake. 

This is around ⅓ of the way in, and up until this point there is not really any elevation gain. Once you reach the other side of the lake, there is a staircase and then a short uphill section that takes you up into the very different landscape that's been carved out by glacial movement and water flows. 

It is about 155m of elevation gain overall, and the terrain is pretty easy, but you will want solid shoes or hiking boots. This uphill goes for about another third of the hike until giving way to a more gradual incline through a rock field. 

The last third of the hike follows a trail through this rock field heading closer to the falls. At some point, there is a warning sign saying you've reached the end of the maintained trail. This sign comes quite a bit before the waterfall.

We went past the sign and saw that everyone else was too. We saw a few people climb all the way up right to the base of the falls. We hung back a bit just to the point where we could get some cool photos, and then we turned around. 

Where you stop your hike is entirely up to your risk tolerance. The sign doesn't say you're not allowed to continue, but just that you do so at your own risk. There was a fatal incident during a rockslide here in 2025, which is what gave us pause in going all the way to the base of the falls. But on the other hand, we saw several groups climbing over boulders to get closer to the water, and they all came out fine. I suggest keeping a pretty big distance between the big rockslide piles and the cliff edges.

Do not skip this one. I mean it. Don't you do it. This is one of the stops on the parkway that some people come all the way for specifically. 

I've seen some nice lakes in my travels around Canada, but boy, oh boy is this a LAKE. 

The lake itself is a stunning shade of blue that pops amazingly against the surrounding green sea of trees. But then towering above the lake is a massive mountain range that is quintessentially Rocky Mountain coded. 

To make it even better, from the viewpoint you're high enough above the lake to look out and see rows and rows of mountains further down the parkway disappearing into the horizon. 

If you have multiple days on the parkway and you don't know when to come to Peyto, I would suggest coming on the clearest day you have available. You are really high above the lake from the viewpoint, which is great for getting the whole lake in frame and for the sweeping views beyond the lake, but from these distances any summer haze or wildfire smoke hanging in the air will stack up fast and can ruin the view a little.

The main viewing platform is a 10 to 15 minute walk from the parking lot, but I suggest doing a quick stop here and then continuing along the same trail out to a better and quieter viewpoint. 

Be careful if you're visiting later in the year. I was here at the end of September once, and there had been a bit of snow already because of the high elevation. It wasn't really sticking on the roads or anywhere else, but the path to the viewpoint is a steep paved path that is shaded by the forest. This, plus the heavy foot traffic, turned it into a bit of an icy hazard. We had spikes strapped to our hiking boots, so we managed okay, but we did see a lot of other tourists in Vans and sneakers slipping and sliding their way down and struggling to even make it up to the viewpoint. 

I'll have to say skip for this one unless you have lots of time. It's an amazing lake and one of the most popular ones for actually swimming in, but it doesn't beat Peyto or Bow, so if you're on a time crunch, pass it by.

If you want to do what we did and spend a few days exploring the parkway slowly, the campsite at Waterfowl Lake is a great base. We camped here for 2 nights while exploring the parkway, and it gave us lots of time to see every stop in depth, and the campsite itself is incredible. 

The campsite is run by Parks Canada, so it's inexpensive (it was 20 CAD a night when we were there but can go up to 30 CAD), and it's professionally run. There are staff going around making sure everything is bear-safe; they are keeping all the amenities sparkling clean, and generally keeping a good eye on things. 

There are 3 big selling points here for me:

1. They have flush toilets and running water. They don't have showers, but having a properly clean bathroom is a rarity along the parkway.
2. They have nice dishwashing stations with hot water. It is so nice to be able to properly clean up after a meal, and it empowers you to make something a bit more complicated than instant noodles.
3. The picnic area is incredible. The picnic area is along the shores of Waterfowl Lake, and there are picnic tables set up alongside a slow-moving, babbling brook that looks like someone designed it and installed it perfectly. Also, from here you're looking up at White Pyramid Mountain towering over the site and the lake. The sunsets from here are straight out of a romance movie and were one of my highlights from the whole 3 days on the parkway.

The campsite is first come, first served, and they split up the campsites between campervan-friendly and tent-only. The signs make it clear which side is for tents and which side is for campers. So show up, find a lot you like that hasn't been reserved yet, and then just fill out one of the forms that you can get at the signpost near the camp entrance. The form lets you put in the dates you're staying (you can stay up to 14 days in a row), and then you can pin that form to the post by your site. The rest of the form is an envelope where you can put in the money you owe for the site, and then that gets dropped back at the deposit box by the entrance where you got the form. 

Surprisingly, you can actually pay by credit card here too. We paid with cash since we had some anyway, and it felt weird to write down your credit card information and drop it in a box in the woods. The camp is so professionally run that I'm sure it's fine to go this route; it just felt odd for us in the moment.

Skip this one unless you're camping at Waterfowl and have lots of extra time. 

This is a great hike with a huge payoff, but I think Parker Ridge and Bow Glacier Falls are better hikes to prioritize if you don't have tons of time. 

If you do have time, definitely do this hike and do it in the morning. The morning light is much nicer on the mountains across the lake and would be better for photos. We went later in the afternoon because we prioritized the morning at Bow Lake. 

It was still gorgeous, and the sun being high in the sky created an amazing sparkling effect on the lake, but the light on Pyramid Mountain and the glacier across the lake was quite harsh and not the best for photos. 

What was amazing here was having a swim. We had the whole lake to ourselves, so there was no one there to be concerned about our shrieking and exclaiming about how cold it was.

The lake is at a pretty high elevation and is a direct glacier runoff, so even at the end of August it was pretty close to 0 degrees. But after 2 nights of camping and 4 different hikes in that time, it was the reset we needed. 

If you do choose to swim, just be careful about cold shock, and be careful on the rocks when getting in because the rock dust from the glacial lake coats the submerged parts of the rock and makes it really slippery. 

The hike itself is actually pretty uninteresting. It's a pretty forest that you're walking through, but you won't actually see much of it, because the wide path is absolutely riddled with roots and you will be staring down at your footing pretty much the whole time. 

The hike is about 7 km round trip with only about 80 m of elevation gain that comes pretty early on. The roots will slow you down a bit, but we managed the hike in about an hour and a half, actually moving on the hike. We spent a lot of time at the lake, but you, of course, don't have to do that.

I'm going to go ahead and give this one a prestigious DO NOT SKIP. It's not the most impressive sight on the parkway, but it is pretty dang neat, and it's not a huge time commitment. 

This is one of the easier stops to get to. There is a decent-sized parking lot along the highway and then a short trail down to the canyon. The trail isn't difficult, but it is steep and rocky enough that you will want shoes with some grip, and definitely no flip-flops.

The small catch with the trail is that it's really easy going down to the Canyon, but then it's an uphill grind on the way back. It's short though, so anyone without mobility issues should be fine doing it at their own pace.

And the payoff is a stunning canyon with a wildly powerful water flow. 

There is a bridge that crosses the canyon and gives you the chance to lean over and see the wild flow below. There are massive curves and big potholes carved into the rocks by the water flow and the rocks and boulders that get caught up in the whitewash. 

And out past the water, the horizon is dotted with trees along the riverside and, of course, stunning mountains rising straight into the sky.

The effort-to-reward ratio is in your favour here, and it's definitely worth a quick stop.

There are fences and signs here trying to keep you away from the cliffside, but the fences are not that effective, and they are generally ignored. When we visited, there was basically no one following the loosely enforced rules, and everyone was going to the cliff's edge to get their photos.

It is one of those odd places that is incredibly dangerous and not dangerous at all at the same time. If you fall in here, you are almost certainly going to die. The water flow is incredibly powerful, and it smashes against the canyon walls at all sorts of hard angles that would absolutely batter you. 

But at the same time, your chances of falling in are slim. Stay away from the edge and keep a close hold on kids and pets, and you should be fine. But please be careful, because one wrong step could be your last, and it's definitely not worth it for a photo.

We went down to the cliffs for a photo and kept a few feet from the edges, and we never felt in danger, but we saw others sitting on the cliffs and goofing off along the edges, and that certainly spiked my cortisol, even though everyone was fine in the end.

Drum roll please…. DO NOT SKIP. This is one of the best views along the entire parkway, and it is literally steps from the road.

I went into this one with pretty low expectations, but it really delivered more than I was expecting. 

This is one of the ones that is just a small parking lot on the side of the road next to a viewpoint. But what a viewpoint. This is probably the most expansive view you will get on the whole drive. 

This is also one of the rare spots along the parkway that gets really nice evening light in the summer. Almost everywhere we went on the parkway, we were either glad we were there for the morning light, or wished we'd come sooner. But you can't be everywhere at once, so some places will be visited later in the day, and this is one of the spots that actually looks better later in the day. 

This is a unique one and the only one on this list that I’m giving a ‘Try To Skip’. 

This is a little outpost (and the only one) between Lake Louise and Jasper. You have a gas station, a small store, and a pub.

They are not scammers, but the location means that everything comes at a premium. 

I stopped here for ice, and it cost me about $8 for a bag, which is about double what it is on either end of the parkway. I took a look around at the prices, and the gas was 2.5 a litre, and 8 Coors Lights would run you about 30 bucks. 

I was scared to ask what a pint and a veggie burger would be, but I’m sure I don’t want to know.

The prices are high because it’s remote, but they are not too crazy. If you’re camping for a few days and want to sit down for an actual meal, this is your best bet (because it’s the only bet). 

But if you’re just doing a day trip or are passing through all the way to Jasper, I recommend loading up on fuel, snacks, and regularly priced Coors before you start the drive.

This one is so easy and quick; you might as well check it out. 

It earns an unenthusiastic do-not-skip.

When we were here in late August, it was weeping more like a few loose tears after a good joke. 

But allegedly, earlier in the year it's a bit more like a heart-wrenching love story.

There is no hike and pretty much no steps involved in this one. If you wanted, you could grab a quick picture from the passenger window and move on. 

Ding Ding Ding, we have a winner. Low effort and high reward; this one deserves a pull-over.

This is one of the zero-effort stops that just makes sense, even if it's just to stretch your legs and give yourself a short break from the drive. 

But if you're interested in views, this spot has got something for you too. 

This is a pull-off right as you start climbing into Jasper National Park. At this point you're still technically in Banff but you're starting to climb towards the glacier-filled higher altitude area and this pull off gives you a chance to get a little look at the stunning valley you were driving into before you arbitrarily switch national parks.

This one also wins a don't-skip, simply because it's so close to Big Bend Viewpoint that you won't even get up to speed before it's time to turn into it. (They are basically next-door neighbours.)

Again, I'm hit by 2 biases. 1 I'm not so impressed by waterfalls, and 2 I visited at the end of the summer when the flow is choked down to a trickle. 

But with how easy this stop is and how little time it takes, I say pull over and take a look, even if it's just a trickle.

This one earns a special reward of 'Try not to skip'

This is a moderately challenging hike so it's not for everyone, and it is a much bigger time commitment than some of the road side stops so it won't fit into every itinerary, but if you can carve out a few hours, please do this hike.

The hike itself is great. It's moderately challenging because it's uphill pretty much the whole way, but it's a steady grind along easy terrain so anyone without mobility issues should be able to make it in their own time.

The payoff is massive, especially if you haven't done many high-altitude hikes before.

This hike reminded me a lot of some of the massive glacial flows we saw hiking (at much higher altitudes) in Pakistan. 

From the viewpoint, you can see the entirety of the glacier and the lake and little icebergs forming below it, as well as the path of destruction that the annual inflow and outflow of the slow-moving ice causes. 

The hike itself is not so bad. It is mellow switchbacks folding up the mountainside that let you climb gently along pretty easy terrain. It's a steady grind, and it will build some sweat on your back for sure, but that sweat will soon be wiped off by the whipping winds that blow through the pass. 

Climbing up, we were in still air (cool at the altitude but still warm in the summer heat). Once we reached the pass, things changed instantly. The old question about where the wind comes from is answered here. Because there is this massive valley filled with glacial flow where the wind originates from and where clouds form above like a cloud factory.

Pack layers for this hike because climbing up you will be sweating through your thinnest clothes, and once you cross the pass, the wind will be tearing you to the bone.

The payoff here for me was the glacier view. The view of the surrounding peaks is great from the parking lot and doesn't get significantly better at the top since you're not actually gaining that much elevation (relative to the mountains surrounding you). The big advantage of climbing to the pass is gaining views down onto the glacier. 

Not only is this cool to look at, but the Saskatchewan Glacier gets its name because it is the headwaters for the North Saskatchewan River.

Navigation Tip

The hike is very easy to follow, and you really don't need a map until you reach the pass and the trail forks off in both directions.

To the right, you climb up a bit higher to where you get some decent views of the same peaks you saw from the parking lot. It's nice, but it's not the showstopper.

I would suggest you fork left and follow the relatively flat trail for 10 to 15 minutes until it starts opening up to these incredible natural viewpoints. There are little rocky outcrops that are perfect spots to pose with a photo of the glacier that is now fully in view.

This is a skippable hike if you don't have the time and if you are checking out the Columbia Icefield in a different way (Check below for your different options). 

This is a steady climb of a hike that has a few ways of approaching it. 

The easy way to approach this hike is to just hike up to the iconic red Muskoka chairs placed at the viewpoint of the glacier. This option takes around 20 to 30 minutes each way, depending on your pace. 

This is a great and free way to view the Athabasca Glacier as well as several of the other nearby glaciers and peaks.

This one is too iconic to skip. I find glaciers really fascinating, so I loved testing out all the different ways you can experience this part of the parkway.

Overall, I think this one is worth a stop for anyone, but how you want to experience this stop is really up to your travel style. There are 4 different ways to visit this area.

• Free Option: Just walk up to the viewpoint at the base of the glacier.
• Tour Option: Ride an Ice Explorer onto the glacier itself as part of a tour.
• Ice Walker Tour: Take a guided tour across the glacier with an experienced guide.
• Higher Vantage Point: Hike part of the Wilcox path to get a free and sweeping vantage point of the glacier.

There is no ‘Best Option’ here. Each choice has its own pros and cons and a few details worth noting. Check out our comprehensive Columbia Icefields Guide for more details on all the options to help you choose which one is right for you.

I'm going to have to be ambiguous on this one. I wouldn't call this a must-see. But it is neat and quick, but it's not easy… let me explain. 

First, let me recognize a bias I have: as a travel blogger, I travel a lot. And when you travel a lot, you naturally see a lot of waterfalls. I'm waterfalled out. I don't get that impressed by even the most stunning cascade. So I need to adjust a bit for what my reader will be interested in.

Full disclosure, I wasn't that impressed by this stop. But there were several other people visiting at the same time as us, and they were loving it. This is a really cool waterfall; I just am not the biggest fan of the genre. 

So is it a skip or no? This depends on a few things. If you like waterfalls, giddy up. Do you not mind getting dusty? Let's keep going. Are you wearing proper shoes? Okay, let's proceed. Do you mind a bit of a scramble? Okay, let's get it.

This isn't a hike, but the terrain to get to the base of the falls is a bit intense. If you hike at all in BC or Alberta, you will be fine, but there are big steps over root sections and steep, dusty descents that are slipping hazards. 

Kids will fly up these hills with no fear, but if you have any kind of mobility impairment, this is just a waterfall to admire from the roadside. It's not a proper walking path up to these, but it's not a crazy rock climb either. 

It takes less than 5 minutes to get up to the base of the falls, so there is no endurance limitation; it's just not the spot to take your grandpa.

The parking lot is on the other side of the highway, so be careful crossing the crosswalk. In Canada, you have the right of way, and cars are meant to stop for you, but most drivers are driving this highway for the first times, and I'm pretty sure this is the only pedestrian crossing on the entire stretch. 

If you're going all the way to Jasper, don't skip this one. If you're just driving up the parkway and back down to Banff, this one might not be worth the time for you, just because of how far up the parkway it is. 

This is one of the more impressive waterfalls on the parkway. There is a wide river with a perfectly placed island in the centre that splits the streams dramatically, almost intentionally so that they reconvene right before plunging over the edge of the cliff with their combined might. 

Sunwapta Falls is about a 2-hour, 45-minute drive from the town of Banff. So if you're planning to rip back down for dinner, this one might be too far afield, but if you're continuing on to Jasper, this is an easy win.

The power of the water is truly impressive, and so is the power of the crowds. We did this as one of our last stops on the way to Jasper so we were probably here around 4pm, and it was swarmed with crowds from tour buses. 

I don't know this with 100% certainty, but I am almost positive that this is the last stop on a lot of coach bus tours, so they arrive around 4 at the falls and aim to get everyone back to town around 7 or 8 for dinner. 

If you're on a similar timeline as we were, it is natural to end up here around 4ish if you're heading out to Jasper, and it really can't be avoided. And that's okay, because the falls are still well worth it with the crowds.

But if you're just day tripping the parkway, head straight here. Rip straight up here and make this your first stop. Then make the rest of the stops on the way back to town. You will be off rhythm with the rest of the tourists and, most importantly, all of the coach bus tours.

Unfortunately, this is another skip. If you're heading all the way to Jasper and you're not in a rush to make dinner plans, it is an easy pull-over, but it is not worth going out of your way for. 

This is crazy to say, because anywhere else in the world this would be the viewpoint on the postcards, but it just doesn't live up to what the rest of the parkway has to offer.

It is a classic roadside viewpoint looking down to the Athabasca River. It is stunning, and there are little islands dotted along the run of the river, and there are incredible mountains rising out of the far side of the valley. But somehow, it's still a skip. This is just a testament to how incredible this parkway is. This is a fairly standard view along this drive, and it's just so far north that I wouldn't suggest going out of your way for it.

This one is honestly interchangeable with Sunwapta Falls. It is a really similar experience with the same type of water flow, the same huge coach bus crowds at the end of the day, and the same paved walkway leading to the viewpoints.

So my advice is the same. If you're headed all the way to Jasper, it is an easy and worthwhile stop, but if you're doing the Icefields Parkway as a day trip and you're heading back to Banff tonight, it's not really worth the extra drive. 

If you absolutely love waterfalls, it might be worth it for you, but the crowds could ruin it. If this is you, head straight up here from Banff, get the whole place to yourself in the morning, and then work through the rest of the stops on the way back down. 

The only downside of this plan is that the light on most of the first stops is actually much better earlier in the day. But that's really up to you at the end of the day. Waterfall to yourself or perfect light for photos at Bow Lake? Choose your priority and craft your adventure around it. 

That's what's so fun about the parkway. It's a real life choose your own adventure. 

Unfortunately, we're ending on a skip. This is a nice lake, but it really doesn't hold up against the others on this list.

It's a great spot for a swim or a picnic, but it's more of a lake that locals from Jasper might come hang out at rather than a tourist photo op. If you've finished your parkway sightseeing and want to end the day with a swim, it's a solid option, but I wouldn't sacrifice anything else on the do not skip list for this. 

This is a popular place for cliff jumping, which was made apparent to us by two strong signals. Right at the start of the short trail leading to the lake, there was a big sign warning about the dangers of cliff jumping. The second sign came about a minute and a half later down the trail when we saw a large group of Jasper locals ignoring the signage and launching themselves off the cliffs. 

Twenty stops and I still don't think I've done the parkway justice. That's the thing about this drive: every single pull-off has something going for it, even the ones I told you to skip. It's less a checklist and more a choose-your-own-adventure, and where you land depends entirely on how much time you have and what you're willing to trade off for it.

If I had to boil it down: don't skip Bow Lake, Peyto Lake, Mistaya Canyon, and Howse Pass. Those four alone will give you a real sense of what makes this drive one of the best in the world. From there, layer in Parker Ridge if you've got a few hours to spare, and push all the way to Sunwapta and Athabasca Falls if Jasper is your final destination. Everything else is a bonus depending on your pace, your patience for crowds, and how you feel about waterfalls.

And if you're building out a longer trip and want to know what to do once you're off the parkway and settled into Banff itself, check out our comprehensive guide to everything to do in Banff. It'll round out the rest of your itinerary so the parkway is just one incredible chapter in a bigger trip.

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