Yes! Adventure Tours. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Postcard - Athabasca Glacier in Jasper National Park - Alberta, Canada at the best online prices at eBay! The cheapest car with pickup and drop-off in different locations is around $100 CAD per day. 697 m. 4.5-6h. ), book the Ice Explorer Tour and Skywalk Tour together, on a tour from the Columbia Icefield Discovery Centre, book the Ice Explorer and Skywalk tours together, drive from Jasper to Banff or Banff to Jasper and stop along the way, Jasper National Park is just filled with fun things to do and see, stretch of road that connects Jasper with Lake Louise, tons of attractions on the Icefields Parkway, this guided hiking tour that takes you onto Athabasca Glacier, join this bus tour onto the glacier instead. Mount Athabasca looms over Athabasca Glacier, but only a few get to see the view from the top. The Skywalk is a kilometer long walk that first moves along interactive displays where guests learn about the natural process that formed the Rockies along with the fossils. See the Acropolis, an ancient citadel perched on a hilltop overlooking Athens and visit Thessaloniki, the cultural capital of Greece. This 1km (.6 mile) walkway towers over the Sunwapta Valley. You can then continue onto the Toe of the Athabasca Glacier trail, a further 1.4 km (0.9 mile) return . Information needed to plan a visit to the park at any time of the year is available on the park website. However, I would certainly visit the Banff Hot Springs. No matter which of these towns youre coming from, the road trip takes you down the Icefields Parkway. Its a beautiful campground with some truly amazing views of the surrounding area. Saskatchewan Glacier is the largest outflow glacier out of the Columbia Icefield. There are so many breathtaking places along the way that you will have to plan your itinerary very carefully and find a balance on what is, according to you, worth seeing and what is better to skip. Make sure youve fueled up in Jasper, Lake Louise, or at Saskatchewan River Crossing before you get here. However, the Ice Walk tours across the Athabasca Glacier require advanced booking with the local tour company. Watch the blue circle signs with information about how much the glacier has melted over the years. Day 4 - The Rocky Mountaineer to Banff. They offer travel medical insurance thats super affordable (only $42 USD per 4 weeks!) You can only go to the skywalk from the discovery center as there is no parking on the road, so you will have to go check in there first. Estimated delivery dates - opens in a new window or tab include seller's handling time, origin . Youll be given headphones to enjoy a self-guided audio tour on this walk. If you can, book your tour in the morning or late afternoon to avoid that peak of 12-3 p.m. when most people are out on tours. The tour company that operates the all-terrain bus said the vehicle was on its way to Athabasca Glacier, in the Columbia Icefield. The rest is hidden beyond the mountains. This means you can easily get to the Athabasca Glacier and Columbia Icefield and back to wherever you are staying without the need to have your own car or a rental. When it comes to the Skywalk the views and the novelty of a glass bottom are a bit of a letdown. Imagine that the glacier not that long ago reached beyond the parking lot where you started the hike, and in the next hundred years, there will be very little left from the Athabasca Glacier if nothing changes. Day passes can be purchased at the park gates and are per day per person, but if youre staying a week or longer, its more cost-effective to just buy an annual pass instead. The Parker Ridge Trail is a short 2.7 km (1.6 miles) trail just south of the Discovery Centre. With approximately 200,000 km2 of glacier coverage in the Arctic and the West . Renting a car will definitely make exploring all of the fun things to see and do in Alberta easier. Being prepared is the best defense. Duration: 10 hours. The Columbia Icefields Discovery Center acts as the gateway for many visitors with interactive exhibits, tours, and features such as the Columbia Icefield Skywalk. I hope this guide has given you all the information you need for your own visit to the Columbia Icefield and Athabasca Glacier. Though your chance of an aggressive bear encounter is low, it is always better to be prepared with bear spray. For car rentals, I use the website DiscoverCars.com. Visiting this unique spot is like stepping back in time in fact, some of the ice at the end of the Athabasca Glacier was snow that fell on the icefield some 400 years ago! The Canadian Rockies are a top tourist destination, and the prices match this fact. This includes the most popular parks like Banff, Jasper, Yoho, Kootenay, Glacier, Mount Revelstoke and so much more. If you do not have a car but desperately want to see Athabasca Glacier and the scenery along the Columbia Icefields Parkways, check out this super-popular Athabasca Glacier Snow Trip from Banff. Chilling! Day 3 - The Rocky Mountaineer to Kamloops. Estimated delivery dates - opens in a new window or tab include . The glacier is losing depth at a rate of 16 feet per year (5 meters), and has receded over 1.5km, and has lost half of its volume, in the past 125 years. Tours from $214 . We receive compensation if you make a purchase, but it won't cost you anything extra. Many climbers in the Rockies have the lifetime goal of summiting all 54 (58) of the peaks, and they are considered classic mountaineering objectives. A tour is, after all, the only way you are allowed to actually step foot on the glacier. The relatively high altitude grants low temperatures even in the summer. Travelingfrom Banff in the direction of Jasper, it will take you around 2.5 hours to get the 187 kilometers (116 miles) to the glacier. Once you reach the Toe of the Athabasca Glacier, youll have an incredible view of the glacier and icefield in front of you (pictured above.) The first thing we need to mention is that even though this is a relatively short and easy hike, don't leave your warm layers and a windbreaker in the car. Easy 4.5 (1302) Jasper National Park. Find the travel options that best suit you. Location: Athabasca Falls is located in Jasper National Park just off the Icefields Parkway on Highway 93A. No need to worry about safety as these glass panels are literally bulletproof and then some. 13 Mar and Fri, 17 Mar to 23917. For more information, read our guide on Camping in the Canadian Rockies. Opal Hills FROM $214 Jasper to Banff One-Way Tour. The Glacier Skywalk is part of the Columbia Icefield, and it's one of the most popular attractions along the Icefields Parkway. You can even get lowered into a "well" in the glacier using their equipment. Most notable is an effect called a Katabatic Wind, this is created as cool air draws off the glacier down to pockets of warmer air. Readers are responsible for ensuring their own safety. It is a gorgeous area and the best time of the year to go is in the summer! Columbia Icefield (Athabasca Glacier): 15 Tips for Visiting. This is not only a geological wonder but a truly unique spot you wont find anywhere else in the country. Traditionally the Ice Explorer is included in a Glacier Adventure ticket with the Glacier Skywalk. Day 1 - London and Vancouver. Photos (377) Directions. Named one of the top 10 drives in the world by Cond Nast Traveler, the Icefields Parkway links Banff National Park and Jasper National Park in the Canadian Rockies, along the way taking in mountain peaks, turquoise lakes, and over 100 glaciers, including the Athabasca Glacier. The ice goes between the summits of two mountains Mount Columbia on the west and Mount Athabasca on the east. We meet at London Heathrow for our flight to Vancouver, and check into the city's exceptional Fairmont Hotel for two nights. There are some crevasses in the glacier and there have been a few cases of children falling into the small crevasses with a tragic outcome. . Extra $300 per person from Adelaide, Canberra or Hobart. Glacier hiking tours start at $105 CAD (as of 2018) plus tax. This tour is family-friendly too since the hike is relatively easy and flat (5 km/3.1 miles in total.). While youre on Athabasca Glacier bring an empty water bottle as you can fill right up from the source of glacial water! (Jeff . This gives you free admission to all national parks in Canada for a full year for $72.25 per adult or $145.25 for a family of up to 7 people. In fact, it's astounding just how much is packed into this route! The Bald Hills are a legendary hike in Jasper, getting you high above the tree line with opportunities to explore this incredible chain of hills and summit other peaks. Right across the street from the icefields and Athabasca Glacier is the Columbia Icefields Visitor Centre. Using Motorhome Republic you can search hundreds of deals across multiple companies to pick a great vehicle and the cheapest price. Athabasca Glacier. Still, before you start planning your trip, it is good to know that the side road that leads from Icefields Parkway to the Athabasca Glacier parking lot is often closed from November to May, depending on the weather conditions. The meltwaters from the icefield's various glaciers travel thousands of kilometres, flowing through many rivers and eventually draining into the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic oceans. The scenery along the way is stunning; it's very easily accessible, family-friendly, photogenic, and unlike often overpriced tours, it is possible to see it for free (although there are more expensive alternatives how to see the glacier up close), so it is perfect for all budget travelers. Booking in advance is also strongly recommended since these experiences do have limited numbers and are very popular! The Icefields Parkway is widely regarded as one of the most scenic drives in the world. Bear spray. Day 5 - Banff National Park. km). Toe of the Glacier Athabasca. 52.220281, -117.22405 . Athabasca River is 1231 kilometers long river that originates in Jasper National Park at the end of Columbia Glacier and runs across the province of Alberta into enormous Lake Athabasca, spreading across the borders between Alberta and Saskatchewan. There are a number of facilities at the Discovery Center. These peaks sit along the continental divide and most notable is Snow Dome where water flows to either the Pacific, Atlantic, or the Arctic Ocean. This was such a waste of time thats easily avoided by booking one of the tours I linked above before you go. Day 5 - Banff National Park. We depart the UK on our flight from London Heathrow to Vancouver, where we transfer to our superb Fairmont Hotel in the heart of the city for two nights. Roughly you can plan on the center to open from early May to mid-October. . This is also where you can meet one another when you need adventure buddies. Bad weather or fog can totally obscure the view. 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