Road trip · Alberta, Canada
Icefields Parkway
Banff (Lake Louise) → Jasper
A hundred glaciers visible from the asphalt, turquoise lakes with wolf-shaped shorelines, and a genuine chance of a black bear at every dawn pull-out.
144 mi · 3 days · best June–September (July for wildflowers) · $$$
The route
Start, finish and every stop, pinned — turn-by-turn in one tap.
Pace & driving
Relaxed pace3h 36m
total driving
1h 12m
driving per day
48
miles per day
Driving times are estimates at a ~40 mph touring pace (stops, photos and traffic add to the clock).
- Fewer overnights are marked than the suggested days — plan where you’ll sleep along the way.
Along the way
- 🚗 3 mi · ~5 min1
Herbert Lake at dawn
Scenicmile 3Glass-still reflections before the tour buses wake.
- 🚗 22 mi · ~33 min2
Peyto Lake
Scenicmile 25The wolf-head lake — impossibly turquoise from the Bow Summit deck.
- 🚗 53 mi · ~1h 20m3
Columbia Icefield
Detourmile 78Walk to the toe of Athabasca Glacier — six glaciers pour off this one icecap.
- 🚗 12 mi · ~18 min4
Big Bend & Bridal Veil
Scenicmile 90The parkway's great sweeping curve with waterfalls threading the wall above.
- 🚗 30 mi · ~45 min5
Goats & Glaciers lick
Scenicmile 120Mountain goats at the mineral lick above the braided Athabasca.
- 🚗 24 mi · ~36 min6
Athabasca Falls, then Jasper
Staymile 144Elk graze through town at dusk; the dark-sky stars here are serious.
Right vehicle for this drive
Mountain roads are more comfortable and surefooted in an SUV
Make it yours
Ask Arya to pace this drive around your DNA — where to linger, what to skip, and where to sleep.