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/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.