Day 9 - Friday 9/22/2017 - Drive Icefield Parkway South
We were up and down stairs breakfast a little after 7:30 AM. The Holiday Inn Express’s pancake machine was again heavily used by us. We packed the Sportage, checked out and were on the road west toward Jasper a little after 8:00 AM.
It was a bit foggy but even with this, the views were outstanding in the early morning light, so we made several pull offs on the drive to Jasper. This was a great start to the day!
It was a bit foggy but even with this, the views were outstanding in the early morning light, so we made several pull offs on the drive to Jasper. This was a great start to the day!
We took the loop around the south side of Jasper and started our way south on the Icefield Parkway at little before 10:00 AM. We drug our feet hopping for the fog to lift and hit several minor pull offs early on the road.
Our first big pull off was Athabasca Falls, at 10:20 AM, where we did the full circuit that took about 30 minutes. Well worth it! We hit another spectacular pull off on the side of the road before then stopping at Sunwapta Falls at about 11:45 AM. The clouds were still a bit low and had looked to set in a bit more at Sunwapta, but at least it wasn't snowing!
Our first big pull off was Athabasca Falls, at 10:20 AM, where we did the full circuit that took about 30 minutes. Well worth it! We hit another spectacular pull off on the side of the road before then stopping at Sunwapta Falls at about 11:45 AM. The clouds were still a bit low and had looked to set in a bit more at Sunwapta, but at least it wasn't snowing!
The views from the road as we continued south from Sunwapta Falls and the clouds broke to a blue blue sky! We did a few more pull offs including Tangle Creek Falls before making it for a pit stop at the Columbia Icefield Discovery Center at 1:20 PM. The view of the Athabasca Glacier from the visitor center was breath taking and we considered doing the glacier tour, but considering it was already after 1:00 PM and we had much to see south of here, we went on. The views!
We did a few more pull offs before making it to Mistaya Canyon where we did the 1 km round trip hike to the canyon (about 30 minutes there), leaving at 3:30 or so.
Our next stop was Bow Summit / Peyto Lake Viewpoint again. This time, we stopped at the car parking lot and took the trail up to the Peyto Lake viewpoint. This trail was in the trees and very very icy. The views of Peyto Lake were outstanding though and a can't miss stop! It was crowded, but I can understand why! We walked back to the car via the bus parking lot and the road back to the lower / car parking lot since the road was snow and ice free (and in the sun) while the trail would have been slick. I do not know how there were not more broken bones on that trail that day. We were there for about 30 minutes.
Our next stop was Bow Summit / Peyto Lake Viewpoint again. This time, we stopped at the car parking lot and took the trail up to the Peyto Lake viewpoint. This trail was in the trees and very very icy. The views of Peyto Lake were outstanding though and a can't miss stop! It was crowded, but I can understand why! We walked back to the car via the bus parking lot and the road back to the lower / car parking lot since the road was snow and ice free (and in the sun) while the trail would have been slick. I do not know how there were not more broken bones on that trail that day. We were there for about 30 minutes.
We did a few more pull outs before Lake Louise, including Bow Lake. We then headed for Banff and got to the Douglas Fir Inn just before 6:00 PM. We had a studio room that had a double bed and a pull out couch, a small kitchen stocked with breakfast makings, and a balcony area with a decent view. We ventured out to the Fairmont Banff and ate at their German restaurant for dinner. It was in the clubhouse for the golf course and took a while to find it, but was worth it! The food and the setting was excellent! Back at the hotel, we found that the tv would randomly turn on during the night and we had to unplug it to stop it, but otherwise it was a great place to stay in Banff.
Mistaya Canyon - 0.65 Miles round trip; 115 ft elevation gain
Bow Summit / Peyto Lake - 0.7 miles; 100 ft elevation gain
Safe Travels,
B&E
Mistaya Canyon - 0.65 Miles round trip; 115 ft elevation gain
Bow Summit / Peyto Lake - 0.7 miles; 100 ft elevation gain
Safe Travels,
B&E