Icefields Parkway, one of the world's most scenic drives, is a 232 km highway linking Lake Louise with Jasper, Alberta. This guide will list all the stops we made along the highway from Banff to the Columbia Skywalk to help you plan your trip and enjoy the jaw dropping scenery along the way, including all important info you need to know before you go.

Banff

Lake Louise

Saskatchewan River Crossing

Jasper

Improvement District No. 12

Improvement District No. 9

Columbia Icefield Skywalk

Icefield Parkway Stops in One Day- Banff, Alberta

We started our drive in Banff National Park at 10am towards Jasper, Alberta. You will need a Parks Canada Pass to drive the Icefields Parkway. This can also be purchased beforehand for $10.50 CAD per person:

Parks Canada Pass

Before heading on this beautiful drive, make sure your gas tank is full as there are no gas stations until about half way through the highway, and the price is usually a lot more expensive. Same thing with rest stops and using the bathroom. There is only one rest stop along the way. We brought plenty of snacks for the road and made sure to use the bathroom beforehand. 

The order of the stops are from Lake Louise to the Columbia Skywalk. You can easily do the route from the opposite direction too.

Another thing to note is that there is no cellphone reception once you start the drive. We made sure to download google maps offline and marked all the stops to take on our map to not miss any along the way. The stops are hard to miss but there are a few where you will need to pay attention as the entrance might not be too obvious. You can see all the stops mentioned in this guide on the map.

Most of the stops are quick viewpoints where you will spend 10-15 minutes, but there are a few that require a short hike to get to, where you'll spend around 30 min. I would plan a whole day to enjoy all the stops on the way.

Distance from Banff National Park: 51km (30 min drive)

Distance from Crowfoot Glacier: 1.4 km (1 min drive)

Distance from Bow Lake: 7.3 km (7 min drive)

Type: short hike to viewpoint (30 min total time needed)

One of my favourite stops. We spent more time here enjoying the calming sound of the water flowing through the rocks. 

Distance from Peyto Lake: 32 km (21 min drive)

This is the only stop where you will be able to fill up gas, eat and use the restroom.

Distance from Mistaya Canyon: 5.4 km (5 min drive)

We found this viewpoint on our way, it wasn't one that we had saved but decided to go down. I am not sure what it is called but if you put the coordinates on the map, you can add it as a stop on the way.

Distance from The Crossing Gas Station & Store: 14 km (10 min drive)

Distance from previous stop: 15 km (10 min drive)

This was my favourite stop. The drive up the mountain was beautiful and we just stopped an took a moment to enjoy the breathtaking view of the mountain around us. 

Distance from Weeping Wall: 7 km (6 min drive)

9. Athabasca Glacier & Columbia Skywalk 

This was our last stop. We saw there was a tour that takes us to the Athabasca Glacier and knew that we had to do it! It was AMAZING. It cost us around $120 CAD, which included a tour to the Glacier and to the Skywalk (4 hours total). It was truly one of the most incredible experiences we've done. The Ice Explore bus took us to the glacier, where we got to walk on, feel and drink from the glacier.

This is where we ended our drive. You can continue towards Jasper where there are other viewpoints to stop at. 

From there, we headed back in the bus to the glass-floored Skywalk for a jaw-dropping walk at the cliff’s edge.

Distance from Big Bend: 5 km (5 min drive)

Type: Short walk to viewpoint or tour to the glacier (4 hours)

After the long drive and amazing views and experiences on the way, we made our way back to Banff, enjoying the scenic drive during the sunset.

Icefield Parkway Stops in One Day- Banff, Alberta

Buy to unlock full guide