Breathtaking Columbia Icefield Day Tour — Calgary, Canmore, Banff
Calgary, Canada
★★★★★
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Product ID: 723
11 hours
Mobile ticket
Offered in: EnglishEmbark an adventure through our natural history and experience the breathtaking beauty of the largest icefield in the Canadian Rockies. Exploring this rare, vastly accessible expanse of glacial ice settled in alpine valleys in North America will certainly be a memory you won’t forget.
Our knowledgeable and friendly tour guides will be sure to walk you through the stories of the beautiful expanse of icy glacier scenery, giving you a truly authentic and immersive experience.
We can provide assistance with booking Ice Explorer or Skywalk admission tickets. Please tell us in advance so we may purchase them for your group. You can book either attraction individually or both together — saving $10 when you reserve together.
If booking assistance is needed, please request a ticket booking from us at least 3 days in advance. Earlier booking is highly recommended to ensure your spot.
Please note that the Columbia Icefield’s ticket cancellation policy is 72 hours.
- GST (Goods and Services Tax)
- Wifi onboard
- Air conditioned vehicle
- National Park Fee
- Complimentary bottled water
- Icefield Explorer Vehicle Admissions
- Icefield Skywalk Admissions
- Gratuities
- Restroom on board
Meeting point
Mount Royal Hotel, 138 Banff Ave, Banff, AB T1L 1A7, Canada
All guests must wait at the public bus parking located behind the Mount Royal Hotel at 138 Banff Ave. You must be ready at the pick up point at least 20 minutes prior to the tour start time.
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.
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Road trip driving time. we'll pass by Canmore, Three Sister Mountain, Banff Town, Castle Mountain etc. during this time.
Duration: 1 hour
2
Crowfoot Glacier
Early explorers named the glacier Crowfoot because its three sections of ice looked like a crow’s foot on the mountain. While one of the three “toes” has now receded and disappeared, the glacier is no less spectacular. The Crowfoot Glacier sits above Bow Lake, providing stunning photo opportunities for those traveling the Icefields Parkway. The spectacular Crowfoot Glacier can be viewed from a lookout point on the world-famous Icefields Parkway about 34 km (21 mi) north of Lake Louise. Attached to the northeastern side of Crowfoot Mountain, overlooking Bow Lake, the glacier's runoff feeds into the Bow River, which flows from Banff National Park through the City of Calgary to the Alberta prairies.
Duration: 10 minutes
3
Bow Lake
Bow Lake is one of the many lakes that line the Icefields Parkway and a popular stop for visitors to Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. It’s no secret that the Canadian Rockies are not short of spectacular vistas and lakes. Bow Lake is one of our top recommendations for a stop to stretch the legs on the Icefields Parkway. A short walk along the lakeshore trail is a family-friendly hike, or you can enjoy longer hikes around Bow Lake for a more complete day. Whatever you decide to do, make sure you don’t miss Bow Lake.
Duration: 20 minutes
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Road trip driving time. Even though it's just driving time between the two attractions, you can still enjoy the beautiful mountain views along the highway 93 which is well known for it's famous views of Rocky Mountains.
Duration: 1 hour
5
Columbia Icefield Discovery Centre
Discover the power of nature on the Glacier Adventure – the must-do experience in the Canadian Rockies. At the heart of the incredible Icefields Parkway is one of the largest non-polar ice fields in the world. Here, you’ll hop out and walk along the glacier, where you can even fill up your water bottle with pure, pristine snowmelt, travel on a massive Ice Explorer to a place where you can walk on, feel and drink from the Athabasca Glacier. Then, take a jaw-dropping walk along the glass-floored Glacier Skywalk at the cliff’s edge.
Duration: 2 hours
6
Columbia Icefield Skywalk
Go beyond nature's edge and immerse yourself in an awe-inspiring interpretive experience in one of the most unique ecosystems in the world. Explore the immense powers of glaciology from a fully accessible, cliff-edge walkway that leads to a glass-floored observation platform 280 m (918 ft) above the Sunwapta Valley. From ice-capped mountain peaks to vast glacier-formed valleys, the Columbia Icefield Skywalk is your front-row seat to nature's most grand performance. The Columbia Icefield Skywalk is situated in a national park and there are plenty of opportunities for spotting wildlife throughout the trip. Mountain goats are especially prevalent. Connor and Logan got to see them licking salt off the rocks and gliding across mountain cliffs they wouldn’t dare stand on. If you're lucky, you may witness a bald eagle soaring through the wind.
Duration: 30 minutes
7
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This is one part of driving time back to Calgary, we'll be on the beautiful highway 93 again, you can lean back and enjoy the park views in a different color tone at a different time of the day.
Duration: 1 hour
8
Peyto Lake
Peyto Lake is a glacier-fed lake in Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies. The lake itself is near the Icefields Parkway. It was named for Bill Peyto, an early trail guide and trapper in the Banff area. The lake is formed in a valley of the Waputik Range, between Caldron Peak, Peyto Peak and Mount Jimmy Simpson, at an elevation of 1,860 m (6,100 ft). During the summer, significant amounts of glacial rock flour flow into the lake from a nearby glacier, and these suspended rock particles are what give the lake a unique bright, turquoise colour. Because of its bright colour, photos of the lake often appear in illustrated books,and the area around the lake is a popular sightseeing spot. The lake is best seen from Bow Summit, the highest point on the Icefields Parkway. The lake is fed by Peyto Creek, which drains water from Caldron Lake and Peyto Glacier (part of the Wapta Icefield). Peyto Lake is the origin of the Mistaya River, which heads northwest from the lake's outflow.
Duration: 30 minutes
9
Herbert Lake
The Herbert Lake has the lake and snow-capped mountain views are stunning. There is an awesome and far less-traveled trail with great mountain views. This trail starts off in the parking area of Herbert Lake. The exact trailhead can be hard to find, in fact, so it is recommended to download the offline maps to make sure you stay on the route. The trail is extremely well-defined and easy to follow once past the trailhead. There are a few ups and downs but nothing crazy. The trail offers multiple viewpoints of the lake, and even passes right alongside the lake for the majority of the trail.
Duration: 15 minutes
10
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Driving back to Banff and Calgary
Duration: 50 minutes
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
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