Jasper to Banff Drive in Pictures
I felt like I was a kid in a candy store, surrounded by exotic treats and wanting to grab on to each of them to never let go. Such is the stretch of the Jasper and Banff drive, rather the entire Highway 93 between Jasper and Banff National Park. It is one of the most beautiful highways in the world with majestic mountain ranges, glaciers, alpine forests, glacial blue rivers, and turquoise lakes. One can never have enough.
We drove from Calgary to Jasper on the 1st day of our 7-day road trip in the Canadian Rockies. On the 4th day, we drove back from Jasper to Banff with several viewpoint stops and experiencing the Columbia Icefields Adventure. Following is a map of the route we drove from Banff to Jasper and back.
Contents
Not that Maps applications are inaccurate, its just impossible to accurately predict how long and how many stops one would make when driving this stretch of the Trans Canada Highway. Here is a list of approximate start, stop and duration combinations of our drive from Jasper to Banff.
| Jasper to Banff Drive with Columbia Icefield Adventure | Start | Reach | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jasper to Columbia Icefield Center | 11:30 am | 1 pm | 1 hr 30 min |
| Columbia Icefield Center to Waterfowl Lakes | 5:25 pm | 7:25 pm | 2 hrs |
| Waterfowl Lakes to Bow Lake | 7:30 pm | 7:50 pm | 20 min |
| Bow Lake to Banff | 8 pm | 9:10 pm | 1 hr 10 min |
| Total Jasper to Banff Drive | 11:30 am | 9:10 pm | 9 hrs 40min |
As you can see we took nearly 10 hours from Jasper to Banff. In contrast, we took about 6 1/2 hours on Calgary to Banff to Jasper drive combined as we started our Canadian road trip.
Check out our photo journey of the Calgary to Jasper drive.
Jasper to Columbia Icefields Drive
Driving Duration: 1hr 30min.
Columbia Icefields is about halfway between Jasper and Lake Louise. Columbia Icefield itself is enormous and stretches on the other side of the mountains. However, as you drive on the highway from Jasper to Banff, several glaciers peek through. The most visited tongue is the Athabasca Glacier, more on that later.
Before we arrived at the Columbia Icefield, we loved the road trip, even though we had been in Jasper for 3 days, I was in complete awe of the magnificent senary.
For several miles, until we started the ascent up to Columbia Icefields, were dense forests of red trees infested by mountain pine beetles.
The rivers in the Canadian Rockies are feverishly at work 24×7 cutting through mountains and carrying loads of silt. As they come through the valley, they continue to expand and cut through the land. Every now and there there is a stubborn piece of land that holds on to its spot. The piece of land becomes a little island. Eventually, the little island will give way to the river and disappear, or the river will slow down and bring deposits making the island big. Who knows the destiny of the little island and the mighty river? For now, little islands in rivers are a special visual treat and a great photo opportunity.
Soon after we left Jasper we came across an elk with beautiful antlers, grazing on luxurious greens, completely ignoring us.
Encounter with a Bear Family
If you’re driving in a National Park and you see a cluster of cars on the side of the road, what do you do?
- Slowly pass everyone and get ahead of the crowd?
- Stop to look, maybe someone need help?
- STOP, there must be some wildlife!
- Other
What would do if you see dozens of cars?!
It only means one thing – There must be bears, maybe even mama and baby bears. Well in our Kruger National Park safari it meant a lion was in view.
We somehow found a spot to stand and were in for a treat as a mama bear and her two cubs, red and black baby bears, were busy playing and eating.
Did you know that a female bear can have multiple babies, each from a different father? Its a fun fact I learned from our Brewster guide. This family is a perfect example. The mama bear is black and its two cubs are different colors, likely one from a reddish-brown father and the other from a black father.
Approaching Columbia Icefields
As we continue on from Jasper to Columbia Icefields, a few glaciers start appearing at a distance.
As you get closer to Columbia Icefield, you see a large waterfall on the left. If you have some time, this looks like a good hike and possibly a picnic lunch spot.
Disclaimer: Pursuit and Brewster Sightseeing provided Columbia Icefields adventure but all opinions and the idea to write this blog are mine.
Athabasca Glacier Adventure in Columbia Icefields
We spent a few hours on the Columbia Icefields. From the Columbia Icefields Adventure Center, a coach took us to the base of the Athabasca glacier. From there the special Ice truck/bus took us on to the Athabasca glacier for an unbelievable experience.
Columbia Icefields Skywalk
After the glacier adventure, another coach took us to the Columbia Icefields Skywalk for spectacular views of the entire valley and glacier.
Columbia Icefields to Banff Drive
Total Driving Duration: 3hr 45min.
While the drive from Columbia Icefields to Banff Drive is about 2hrs 15min, we made a few lovely stops and spent nearly 4 hours covering the 115miles (185km).
I wanted to see if the hotel we stayed at on our first trip 23 years ago was still around. We had fond memories and beautiful pictures of the towering mountains all around us when we stayed there last time. Sure enough, the hotel is still there, except a lot larger than I remember. We only did a quick drive through the parking lot, and here is a picture from the few seconds drive.
Just going through these pictures, I feel the Canadian road trip is nothing short of heaven. Would you agree, Jasper to Banff drive is one of the prettiest drives on the planet?
Related Articles
The Canadian Rockies
- 7 Day Itinerary of Canadian Rockies
- 3-Day Itinerary of Banff in Winter
- Itineraries of the Canadian Rockies
- Accommodations in Jasper and Banff
- Rafting in Jasper National Park
- Banff’s wildlife crossing
- Red forests in Jasper National Park
- Calgary to Banff to Jasper Drive
- Jasper to Banff Drive
- Things to do in Banff and Canmore
- Things to do in Lake Louise and Moraine Lake
- Things to do in Jasper
- Things to do on Icefields Parkway
- Things to do in Yoho National Park
The Rockies in the United States
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- National Park travels during Covid Pandemic
- Pikes Peak Drive or Hike
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