Columbia Ice Fields, Banff/Jasper, Alberta

Banff and Jasper National Parks border each other. As you travel (north or south), you cross from one to the other. The middle is the Columbia Ice Fields—a huge area of glaciers (and ice fields). These ice fields provide much of the water to western North America including the Columbia River. That's a lot of water!




The major experience there is to tour one of the glaciers by riding on the Ice Explorer—a special vehicle designed to travel on the ice.


The glacier is, of course, huge and spectacular. The Ice Explorers have a designated route to follow and (in theory) they are not detrimental to the glacier itself. It does seem that the Canadians are taking special care of the environment.



This shot is actually taken from across the highway—at the Visitor's Center. Even with a telephoto, you can barely see the Ice Explorers making their way back down from the glacier. Those two black dots are the Ice Explorers.


Cold, it was! (I sound like Yoda now.) That wind starts someplace in the Pacific Ocean, makes it across British Columbia, and whips over and down on top of this glacier. I have no idea what the windchill was standing here.


There is a nice visitor center there but not much else. The large parking areas can hold about any size crowd. It was not crowded but we were there before the major tourist influx. Notice our coach in the far right parking lot. This lot is designated for overnight parking, too. Fill out the form, put your $9.90 in the envelope, and you are good for the night. There are no hookups or dumps here. Just a place to park overnight. The evening lights were fantastic. Quiet, too.


Here's another look at the Visitor's Center from the glacier. That's our coach in the lot to the left—looking lonely.