The 100 Best Affordable Vacations (39 page)

ALBERTA, CANADA

Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul alike.

—
NATURALIST JOHN MUIR (1838–1914)

48 |
Alberta, Canada’s
Icefields Parkway
has long been called one of North America’s most beautiful drives, offering spectacular views as the route winds through some 70 peaks of the Canadian Rockies on a Depression-era tarmac from Jasper to Lake Louise.

“The peaks along this route are quite dramatic,” says Roger Hostin, who supervises the region’s Parks Canada national park visitor centers. Even after 30 years in the area, the landscape that changes with every turn of the road still amazes him. “Around every corner there’s something new and amazing to look at. There are amazing vistas—lakes, glaciers, canyons, waterfalls, wildlife…it’s a constant barrage of wonder.”

But to catch the full glory of this mountain parkway, you will want to get there sooner than later. Because of global warming, glaciers around the world are fading fast. Some experts predict that in the United States, Montana’s Glacier National Park will be entirely glacierless by 2020. And while Alberta’s ice fields sit farther north than the alpine glaciers of Glacier, even the ice here is expected to retreat noticeably in the coming years.

In fact, Hostin has already seen some changes in the past decade or so along the 143-mile-long Icefields Parkway. Nevertheless, the drive still offers one wow after the next, leading past waterfalls, rocky pinnacles, turquoise lakes, and its namesake ice. On a clear day, you may catch glimpses of as many as a hundred glaciers. At its highest point, Bow Summit, the road reaches almost 6,800 feet in elevation—more than 1.25 miles above sea level.

BANFF & JASPER NATIONAL PARKS INFORMATION CENTERS

 
Banff,
224 Banff Ave., 403-762-1550.

 
Jasper,
500 Connaught Dr., 780-852-6176.

 
Lake Louise,
Samson Mall, Village of Lake Louise, 403-522-3833.

 
Icefield Centre,
Hwy. 93 (Icefields Parkway, 64 miles S of Jasper), 780-852-6288.

FAMOUS GLACIERS WORLDWIDE

 
Franz Josef,
New Zealand

 
Hubbard Glacier,
Alaska

 
Jakobshavn,
Greenland

 
Lambert Glacier,
Antarctica

 
Perito Moreno,
Argentina

The leisurely drive takes about three hours round-trip—providing you don’t leave your car too often. But don’t count on that. It’s likely that even urban dwellers will be tempted by the wide selection of hikes—short or multiday—leading to frothy cascades, mountain overlooks, wildflower-strewn meadows, and unpopulated landscapes where you’re more likely to spot grizzlies, bighorn sheep, moose, and elk. Among the most popular day hikes are Five Lakes, about 6 miles south of Jasper; Wilcox Pass and Parker Ridge, both near the Athabasca Glacier; and walks in the Bow Summit area, 15 miles north of Lake Louise, to Bow Glacier Falls and Peyto Lake.

For many visitors to the Canadian Rockies, the centerpiece of an Icefields Parkway excursion is the namesake Columbia Icefield. Even a short 30-minute hike from the Icefield Centre (open April–mid-Oct.) will bring you to the leading edge of the Athabasca Glacier, one of the Columbia’s main “toes.”
[$
PLURGE
: If you feel like splurging, partake in the
Columbia Icefield Glacier Experience
(877-423-7433,
www.explorerockies.com
), an 80-minute ride on the ice field in a specially fitted bus for about $49 Canadian (ages 16 and up); alternatively, you could book a two-hour ice-field walk for $38. Both the walk and bus tours are offered spring through early fall and depart from the Icefield Centre.]

The Icefields Parkway runs through two Canadian national parks, Jasper and Banff; entry costs about $10 Canadian per adult and covers both parks, while a family/group ticket covering the entire car costs about $20. There are many levels of accommodations to be found within the parks. The most budget-friendly option is to camp. Park campground fees run $15 Canadian and up, depending on the facilities offered. For information on the various campgrounds and reservations, check online at
www.pccamping.ca/parkscanada
or call 877-737-3783.

Rooms at
Glacier View Inn
(877-442-2623,
www.nationalparkreservations.com/jasper.htm
), located near the Icefield Centre, start at $115 Canadian in spring and fall and $260 mid-June through mid-September; the inn is open mid-April through mid-October. Numerous hostels and bed-and-breakfasts are available at either end of the parkway—in Jasper, at the parkway’s north end, and in the towns of Banff and Lake Louise, to the south.
[$
PLURGE
: For a real splurge on accommodations, consider staying at one of the region’s historic railway hotels, each one sited to take full advantage of the stunning views:
Banff Springs Hotel, Chateau Lake Louise,
and
Jasper Park Lodge,
now run by the upscale Fairmont Hotels group (800-257-7544,
www.fairmont.com
). Even if you stay elsewhere, be sure to wander through these amazing lodgings. The first two were built in the late 19th century, while the third dates from the 1920s.]