The Columbia Icefield: Walking to the Toe of the Athabasca Glacier, Ice Explorer & Skywalk

Located 103 kilometres (75 minutes' drive south down the Icefields Parkway) from Jasper Townsite at the southern border of Jasper National Park sits the Columbia Icefield, the largest sub-polar body of ice in North America. Covering 325 square kilometres at up to 3,745 metres elevation and reaching 365 metres thick, it is a 'Hydrological Apex of North America': meltwater on the Snow Dome flows into three oceans: north via the Athabasca and Mackenzie Rivers to the Arctic Ocean, east via the Saskatchewan River to Hudson Bay and the Atlantic, or west via the Columbia River to the Pacific Ocean.

1. Option A (Free): Hike the 'Toe of the Athabasca Glacier Trail' (1.8 km Round-Trip, 45 Mins)

Across the highway from the Glacier Discovery Centre, turn into the lower car park at the foot of the 6-kilometre-long Athabasca Glacier:

• Walk Past the Retreat Signs: as you walk up the rocky moraine path, numbered stone markers show where the glacier front stood in 1844, 1908, 1945, 1982 and 2005, illustrating how the ice has retreated more than 1.7 kilometres over the past century.
• Stand at the Icy Edge: a 20-minute uphill walk brings you to the roped safety boundary at the melting snout (toe) of the glacier. (Safety rule: never step past the warning signs onto the unguided glacier ice, as hidden vertical crevasses 30 metres deep lie just beyond).

2. Option B: The 'Ice Explorer' All-Terrain Vehicle Tour & Glass-Floor 'Skywalk'

To walk onto the middle of the 300-metre-thick glacier and fill your bottle from a meltwater stream, book the Columbia Icefield Adventure at the Discovery Centre (or a guided IceWalk with crampons via local guides Rockaboo / IceWalks):

• The Ice Explorer + Columbia Icefield Skywalk: giant 6-wheel-drive Ice Explorer vehicles drive you onto the glacier for 20 to 30 minutes on the ice, then shuttle you 6 km north to the Columbia Icefield Skywalk, a parabolic glass-floored walkway cantilevered 280 metres (918 feet) over the Sunwapta Valley looking at waterfalls, fossils and mountain goats.