If you haven't had the chance to drive down the Icefields Parkway between Banff and Jasper, you should probably change that immediately. Its 230 kilometres (143 miles) are named after its more than 100 sprawling glaciers and it is widely known as one of the best drives in Canada, if not the world.
The halfway mark of the Icefields Parkway is marked by none other than the massive Columbia Icefield. This gigantic field of ice covers a high plateau between Mount Columbia (3,747 m/12,293 ft.), the highest point in Alberta, and Mount Athabasca (3,491 m/ 11,453 ft.). This giant ice dome feeds into six major glaciers, the most famous and accessible being the Athabasca Glacier. This ice might be millions of years old, but today you can venture on the prehistoric glacier yourself via the Columbia Icefield Adventure. While this attraction is only open during the summer months in Canada be warned, there's nothing like standing on a 100+ metres thick glacier that can make July feel more like January.
