A scenic highway (Highway 93 North) linking Lake Louise in Banff National Park and Jasper in Jasper National Park, running 232 km through the heart of the Canadian Rockies. The parkway crosses two of the highest motor-vehicle passes in Canada; Bow Pass (2,067 m) and Sunwapta Pass (2,030 m); and traverses the hydrological apex where glacial meltwater feeds the Pacific, Atlantic, and Arctic watersheds.

Hydrological triple divide. Meltwater from glaciers along the parkway feeds the Columbia River (Pacific), North Saskatchewan River (Atlantic/Hudson Bay), and Athabasca River (Arctic) via the Columbia Icefield, Saskatchewan River Crossing, and Athabasca Glacier. The Columbia Icefield; roughly 325 km², ice depths 100–365 m; is the largest glacial mass in the Rockies south of the Arctic Circle and a critical hydrological reservoir.

History. Indigenous peoples used Howse Pass and Athabasca Pass for millennia before European explorers. Sir James Hector of the Palliser Expedition traversed the upper Bow and surveyed Howse Pass in 1858–1859. Early mountaineers (Walter Wilcox, R.L. Barrett, Arthur Oliver Wheeler) surveyed the “Glacier Trail” or “Wonder Trail” with Jim and Bill Brewster, the CPR’s official outfitters; a one-way trip between Banff and Jasper on horseback took three weeks. Caroline Hinman ran “Off the Beaten Track” one-way pack trips across this terrain for Eastern American clients, using outfitters such as Curly Phillips and Bert Wilkins.

Depression-era construction. The highway originated as a relief-work project in 1931 to address 30% unemployment in Western Canada. Approximately 600 men built the route by hand; pickaxes, shovels, horses; with crews limited to one tractor each. The “handmade highway” was completed in 1940 as a single-lane gravel track. The route was paved and modernized in 1961, reducing travel time from days to 3–5 hours.

Landmarks (south to north). Herbert Lake (7 km); reflection photography of Mount Temple. Hector Lake (16 km); Banff’s largest natural lake. Crowfoot Glacier (34 km); visible retreat since the 19th century. Bow Lake and Bow Pass; headwaters of the Bow River, Num-Ti-Jah Lodge. Peyto Lake (45 km); turquoise rock flour, wolf-head viewpoint. Mistaya Canyon (75 km); limestone slot canyon. Saskatchewan River Crossing (83 km); triple river confluence, only fuel/services between Lake Louise and Jasper. Weeping Wall (106 km); frozen waterfalls, ice climbing. Columbia Icefield (127 km); Athabasca Glacier access, Glacier Discovery Centre, Glacier Skywalk. Sunwapta Falls (176 km). Athabasca Falls (200 km).

Glacial retreat. Glaciers along the parkway exhibit sustained negative mass balance. The Columbia Icefield lost ~13.3% of its ice mass (1985–2024). Black carbon from wildfire ash lowers albedo, accelerating melt. The increase in glacier count (Jasper: 299 to 392, 1985–2021) reflects fragmentation of large glaciers into smaller, less resilient masses; a symptom of decline, not growth.

Southern Mountain Caribou. The parkway corridor is critical habitat for Southern Mountain Caribou; woodland caribou of the high Rockies. The Banff herd was extirpated (2009 avalanche); the Maligne herd declared locally extinct (2020). The Tonquin and Brazeau herds remain but are non-viable without intervention. Parks Canada has built the Caribou Conservation Breeding Centre (2025) near Athabasca Falls to rebuild herd numbers through captive breeding and release.

Winter operations. November–April: heavy snowfall, avalanche risk, temperatures 5–10°C colder than towns. Winter tires (Snowflake or M+S) mandatory Nov 1–Apr 1. Full fuel at Lake Louise or Jasper; no fuel en route. No cell service; Parks Canada plows 07:00–15:30; highway not salted. Avalanche closures common at Bow Summit, Parker Ridge, Weeping Wall.

Photography. Herbert Lake and Bow Lake famous for dawn reflections. Peyto Lake: wolf-head composition, peak colour late June–July when meltwater peaks. Golden hour extends longer in winter. Toll-free; National Park Pass required to stop.

Icefields Parkway