Peyto Lake Viewpoint (Icefields Parkway)
Canadamountain

Icefields Parkway

Glaciers, turquoise lakes and grizzlies between Banff and Jasper

Distance
180 mi
290 km
Driving
4 hr 30 min
excl. stops
Suggested
3 days
balanced split
Stops
4
curated

Distance and driving time are measured along the mapped route through the 4 stops listed below. Officially signed versions of famous routes often quote a longer figure, since they include promoted detours this line doesn't take.

Peyto Lake Viewpoint (Icefields Parkway) · Photo: Wikimedia Commons

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Day by day

Distances are measured along the actual road geometry, not straight-line. Drive times exclude stops, traffic and ferry waits.

What the drive is like

Most of it is one road: the 93 carries 78% of the distance.

This is a mountain drive. It reaches about 2,062 m and climbs around 1,605 m in total, so check the high roads are open before you set off.

Part of the drive follows the Icefields Parkway.

  • 9378%
  • 119%

How high it goes

~2,062 mBanffJasper · 289 km
Height above sea level along the driving route, measured at about 50 points. Total climb roughly 1,605 m.

Passes and famous roads

From the 500-plus roads drivers collect in the Plan Your Road Trips app.

Famous road · On the route

Icefields Parkway

Length
232 km long

Mountain pass · 4 km off the route

Kicking Horse Pass

Summit
1,627 m summit

Before you go

Best time to drive it

June to September

Open all year, but winter tyres or chains are required from November to April, and there are no services along the way in winter.

Driving rules

Emission zones, mandatory equipment and licence requirements change country by country, and in 2026 several of them changed mid-year.

Every stop on the Icefields Parkway

  1. Banff

    Start

  2. Lake Louise

    +58 km from the last stop

  3. Columbia Icefield

    +128 km from the last stop

  4. Jasper

    +103 km from the last stop

Worth a detour

Curated places within 25 km of the road.

Show 6 more

  • Columbia Icefield

    natural wonder

    The largest icefield in the Canadian Rockies, feeding rivers that flow to three oceans, accessible via the Glacier Skywalk and Ice Explorer buses.

  • Yoho National Park

    national park

    A park of towering rockwalls, thundering waterfalls, and the stunning turquoise Emerald Lake on the western slopes of the Canadian Rockies.

  • Kicking Horse Pass

    mountain pass

    Continental Divide crossing at 1,627 m on the Trans-Canada between Lake Louise and Yoho, where highway and famous Spiral Tunnels railway share a dramatic National Historic Site corridor.

  • Bow Lake

    scenic viewpoint

    Vivid blue lake right beside the Icefields Parkway beneath Crowfoot Glacier and Bow Summit, with the red-roofed Num-Ti-Jah Lodge on its shore: one of the parkway's easiest and most beautiful stops.

  • Athabasca Falls

    waterfall

    Powerful waterfall where the Athabasca River thunders through a quartzite gorge just off the Icefields Parkway in Jasper: short paved trails give close-up views of the churning canyon.

  • Maligne Lake

    natural wonder

    A long glacial lake reached by a 44 km road from Jasper, known for boat tours to Spirit Island and roadside wildlife sightings.

Common questions about the Icefields Parkway

How long does the Icefields Parkway take?

The driving itself is about 4 hr 30 min across 180 miles (290 km). Most people spread it over 3 days: the day-by-day breakdown on this page splits it into balanced stretches rather than equal ones, so no single day is all driving.

How many miles is the Icefields Parkway?

180 miles, or 290 km, measured along the actual road rather than straight-line between towns.

When is the best time to drive the Icefields Parkway?

June to September. Open all year, but winter tyres or chains are required from November to April, and there are no services along the way in winter.

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