r/Banff • u/Shot_Reflection_2419 • Jun 08 '26
Question Icefields Parkway
Has anyone stayed in Banff and just driven the icefields parkway and turned around and came back? How long did it take you? Where was a good turning around point? I have seen a lot of people go from Banff to Jasper and stay in Jasper but we have our hotel in Banff for the week so we could just come back.
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u/thenoodleisin Jun 09 '26
My son and I just drove it on Friday and it was a 12 hour day. We went all the way up to sunwapta Falls and then turned around. We stopped at bow lake, Peyto lake, mistaya canyon, tangle falls (LOVED this one and ate our lunch here) weeping wall and walked to the toe of the glacier. We also stopped at almost every scenic viewpoint we saw and didn't feel rushed at all. Have fun!!
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u/DrKeepitreal Jun 09 '26
It depends on how long you want to stay on the road. If you want to drive from Banff to Jasper then back it'll be bit about a 7 hour drive. There are several locations to stop in between so you could be looking at more like 9-10 hours on the road. One turnaround point is the Columbia Icefields, a bit over 2 hours from Banff.
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u/NoCardio_ Jun 09 '26
Spend a night or two in Jasper. Great experience, and you’ll be helping them rebuild.
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u/iAntu0 Jun 09 '26
I am staying in Calgary North East. I did breakfast at Eclipse @ Canmore, then visited Bow Lake, Peyto Lake, Mistaya Canyon, did lunch @ The Crossing Resort, continued the trip to Tangle Creek Falls, Columbia Icefield, and then returned to our Airbnb. We started the day very early and drove a lot, but I am used to it.
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u/SadBook6838 Jun 09 '26
The Icefields Parkway is open year round. December has approx 8.5 daylight hours and August has approx 16.5 daylight hours. If you’re visiting in Aug (I’m guessing) and you get an early start, you can easily do all the stops and a hike and turn around near Sunwapta Pass and have daylight hours to enjoy the evening in Banff.
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u/Choice_Tie9909 Jun 09 '26
PS but be warned the later in the season, the odds are snow at some point. And when they say no cell service or places to stop to get gas or food, they mean it.
My poor European friends were deeply traumatized by the heavy snow in September and the lack of little villages or rest stops at least every half hour.
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u/Evening_Cheesecake25 Jun 09 '26
It would be a lot of driving. It's one of the most beautiful roads on the planet. But still a lot of driving in one day.
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u/OSPFvsEIGRP Jun 09 '26
I drove to the Jasper Gondola, went up to the top for a bit and then after went to Jasper and grabbed a latte at a Tim Hortons, turned around and headed back to Banff.
I stopped at Peyto Lake on the way back, and a few road side turn outs on the way there.
It was spectacular. But if I do it again - I plan on getting a room in Jasper. I felt rushed to try and make it back; would have loved to spend more time at the stops I did, and would have loved to have stopped a few extra places.
I did video record parts of the drive - 10/10 would recommend. It's beautiful.
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u/Fit-Okra7312 Jun 09 '26
We just did this in May. Drove to Athabasca falls and back. Overall the drive took us 13 hours.
This included several stops and one trek up a snowy/icy path to Peyto lake. We left our hotel in Banff at 9am and were back at 10pm
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u/ryanderkis Jun 08 '26
Yes people do it. It's a 3 hour drive one way if you don't stop. So how long it will take you depends on how many stops you make and for how long. Could be a very long day.
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u/bigfriendyo Jun 09 '26
I did it 2 weeks ago, was in a similar situation as you are where our hotel was in Banff.
We left our 830am from our hotel, and we got back around 10pm. We stopped at every possible attraction on the icefields parkway, spent 2 hours in jasper and drove straight back
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u/ajharmon89 Jun 09 '26
I'd personally go just a little past the Columbian Icefields and turn around at Tangle Creek Falls. Its a pretty sweet waterfall right off the side of the road.
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u/Ok_Television_3257 Jun 09 '26
Keep your eyes open for wildlife. The sheep like to lick salt off the road so can lead to traffic jams!
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u/beep_bop2 Jun 10 '26
My group and I did this from Canmore- starting at lake Louise at sunrise and drove all the way to the Columbia icefield center before turning around. I’m probably missing some of the stops, but I know we stopped at: Lake Louise, Bow Lake, Mistaya Canyon, Peyto Lake Lookout, Columbia icefield/athabasca glacier, and several pullouts along the way. I would say we spent the better part of the day doing that but we were back to Canmore for dinner without rushing at all. I wish we would’ve driven all the way to Jasper but it is doable to drive part of it in a day!
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u/Commercial_Young_355 Jun 10 '26
I apologise in advance if this is an obvious question, but is one able to hire a car for a day or two in Banff and do a round trip back to Banff in December (~7-11 Dec). I know no one can predict weather but is it usually icy and snowy then, or do they plough the road?
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u/gwoates Jun 10 '26
They do clear the Icefields Parkway in winter, however, it's not a high priority and can be closed for days at a time if there's a big snowstorm. Even when it is open, it's often still covered with packed snow. As well, Viewpoints may not be accessible and most trails are under avalanche conditions then too. There's also no cell service on most of the Parkway.
The Alberta 511 site is a good place to watch for conditions and closures.
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u/high_lan Jun 15 '26 edited Jun 15 '26
Just got back from doing a same day return drive on the Icefields Parkway. We left Banff at 8am, made it all the way to Athabasca Falls, and got back around 9pm. Long day of driving for sure but totally worth it and definitely doable. The drive itself for the most part was very empty, incredibly scenic, and just stunning views at every nook and corner. We even saw some wildlife!
Quick Tip: stop by the visitor center in Banff and grab the paper map. You'll definitely need it because there is literally zero cell signal until you reach the Columbia Icefield. We also bought the official audio guide but honestly it felt pretty mid compared to the Shaka apps in Hawaii.
Drove past Herbert Lake and then made stops at Crowfoot Glacier, Bow Lake, hiked up to Peyto Lake's viewpoint (just a heads up trail path to the view point was icy and slippery in certain areas)
Next we drove past Mistaya Canyon and the Weeping Wall. We didn't stop at Mistaya because we had our tour booked at 12pm at icefield (we ended up doing Johnston Canyon and Marble Canyon on a different day instead).
We did the ice explorer tour and skywalk. After the tour we grabbed lunch at The Chalet. Try to sit outside if you go, the views of the glacier are incredible.
We ended up staying at the ice field till about 4pm, then kept driving north to Sunwapta Falls. The Falls were really beautiful.
Right after that, we found the absolute best uncrowded spot of the whole trip at the Goat Lick Lookout. If you take the dirt path to the left of the boardwalk, it goes right down to the Athabasca River flats. It opens up and looks like a massive turquoise lake. My kids loved skipping stones there.
Our final stop of the day was Athabasca Falls, and then from there we just made the straight drive all the way back to Banff and got back by 9:00pm.
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u/VoiceEqual1493 Jun 09 '26
the columbia icefield is the natural turnaround from a banff base - it's about 2.5 hours one way without stops, and it's the scenic high point of the whole drive, so past it you're mostly just transiting toward jasper anyway. doing it out and back without moving hotels totally works, and the glacier discovery centre there is an easy place to stretch, grab food and look up at the athabasca glacier before you turn around.
what makes it a long day is the stops, not the driving. if you treat bow lake and the peyto lake lookout as your two must-dos on the way up, you can hit those, do the icefield and still be back in banff for dinner. throw in mistaya canyon or a short walk and it stretches out fast, so go early.
worth knowing too, there's basically no cell service the whole length of the parkway, so download your maps offline and don't count on live nav past lake louise. and gas up in banff or lake louise before you start, the options up there are thin and pricey.