Roadtrip in the Canadian Rockies – day 3: Driving the Icefield Parkway to Jasper National Park

After spending the first two days in Canada exploring Banff National Park, Augusta and I headed off to Jasper National Park, which lies north of Banff and is much less crowded, although it’s still very popular. We set off just before 6 AM in order to catch the sunrise on the road and beat the crowds, which turned out to be a great decision. A baby black bear came running out on the road, and I was too awestruck to even think about reaching for my camera!

Bow Lake

We spent the first half of the day driving Icefields Parkway, a scenic road connecting Banff with Jasper. A local guide who we’d met the evening before had recommended some stops along the road, and the first one of those was Bow Lake. Nestled below the Waputik mountain range and the Dolomite Pass with morning mist and reflections in its still waters, the view of the lake was a sight to behold. It was definitely worth waking up early for!

Peyto Lake

A few minutes further down the road, we stopped at a parking lot near Peyto Lake, another spot that the guide had recommended. We walked approximately one kilometre along a paved trail through a pine forest that smelled absolutely wonderful in the cool morning air.

I was in complete awe when we reached the lake. The colour was just as turquoise and vibrant as Lake Louise (and it was much less crowded!), and the views of the Waputik mountains and glaciers were just insane. Peyto Lake was one of my favourite spots on our entire six-day trip!

We went for a little walk through the forest, enjoying the smell of the pine trees and the sun peeking through the trees. We tried to find another viewpoint but failed, so instead, we went back to the first one to see the lake once again before heading off.

Columbia Icefield

Continuing along the road, we headed towards the Columbia Icefield, the largest glacier complex in the Canadian Rockies.

The drive was mesmerizing, one of the most beautiful roads I’ve ever driven. We stopped at the parking lot below Athabasca Glacier and hiked the short uphill trail to a viewpoint of the glacier, less than a kilometre away from the parking lot. We were hoping to be able to hike more in the area and get up closer to some of the other glaciers, but it wasn’t possible without booking a (very expensive) tour that would take us onto the glacier. We didn’t feel that it was worth it since we were more interested in seeing the view from above the glacier than actually going on it.

Sunwapta Falls

Next up was some waterfalls that had also been recommended to us, the Sunwapta Falls. There’s a nice viewpoint of the upper falls right next to a parking lot, but we also opted for the 2,5-kilometre return hike to the lower falls, and I’m really glad we did.

I’ve honestly never seen more forceful waterfalls in my life. It was absolutely insane, and just gorgeous. Although the hike was quite crowded, it was definitely worth it. It was a nice little hike in the sun – and a welcome break from driving!

The town of Jasper

We headed into the town of Jasper next as it had gotten really hot and we wanted some ice cream to cool down. We found a nice spot in the sun where we enjoyed our sorbet ice creams and caught up with everyone at home.

I liked Jasper a lot more than the town of Banff, because it’s much less crowded. It’s still touristy but not as overwhelming as Banff. I also think it’s more scenic with its mountainous backdrop!

An evening hike in the Valley of Five Lakes

We tried to take a nap on the side of a secluded road after our visit to Jasper, but it was too hot, so instead, we drove to the trailhead for the Valley of Five Lakes, which – as you might’ve guessed – is a valley home to five lakes! But actually, there are more lakes than just five in the valley, but only five of them are named – Lake First to Lake Fifth. Must’ve been a very creative cartographer who named those!

There are two trail loops in the valley, a short five-kilometre loop that circles Lake Second, Third and Fourth and goes along the edge of Lake First and Fifth. The other loop is nine kilometres long and is a continuation of the short loop but also goes around Lake First, which is the longest of the five lakes. Since we both really enjoy hiking and we still had five hours left until sunset, we opted for the longer loop, which was much less crowded once we left the short loop section behind. The trail was steep in places but mostly flat and easy!

The hike became an instant favourite for both of us. The lakes are all beautiful shades of turquoise and incredibly clear with mountain and forest reflections. There are meadows and swamps along the way, as well as smaller lakes throughout the hike. It was gorgeous in the soft evening light. We took it slow and even stopped to bathe our feet in Lake Fifth. We really felt like jumping in since we hadn’t been able to shower since we arrived in Canada, but it wasn’t as hot as it had been earlier that day, so we opted out.

There was lots of wildlife along the trail, including several ground squirrels, black and white butterflies, a small rodent, a toad and even a water snake swimming around in Lake Third!

Golden hour, caribous and a beaver at Lake Medicine

Since we had booked canoeing at Lake Maligne for the following morning, and the lake is quite remote, we drove up the road towards it looking for a place to camp. Camping is not permitted outside of designated campsites in Jasper National Park, and we didn’t find any in this area, but the drive was well worth it anyways. We saw four adult caribous and two young caribous along the way, and when we reached Lake Medicine, the other large lake in the area, we spotted a beaver stuffing himself with grass! He wasn’t at all bothered by our presence and even posed for the camera!

Golden hour had arrived once we got to Lake Medicine, so we got to enjoy the beautiful lake in the most wonderful soft light. Unfortunately, the landscape around the lake is severely affected by a recent forest fire. All the trees surrounding it are dead. A sad reality and one we’ll unfortunately see more and more in the coming years because of climate change.

Since we weren’t able to find any campsites along this road, we drove all the way back towards Jasper. It turned out alright as we saw another black bear!

We ended up spending the night at Snaring River Campsite, located in a forest in a rather remote area!