The Columbia Icefield is located on the boundary of Banff and Jasper National Parks. One of the largest accumulations of ice and snow south of the Arctic Circle, it covers an area of nearly 325 square kilometres. The continuous accumulation of snow feeds eight major glaciers including the Athabasca, Dome, and Stutfield Glaciers, all visible from the Icefields Parkway. The Columbia Icefield is a true "hydrological apex," for its meltwater feeds streams and rivers that pour into the Arctic, Atlantic, and Pacific oceans.

Facing the Columbia Icefield Visitors' Centre lies the Athabasca Glacier - a tongue of ice 6 kilometres long and one kilometre wide. Take time for Brewster's Ice Age Adventure, a tour onto the icy slopes of the Athabasca Glacier. You will travel in a specially designed Brewster Ice Explorer to the middle of the glacier, on a 5 kilometre round trip journey. Your driver/guide will explain how glaciers are formed and point out interesting geological features as you travel in safety and comfort. At the mid-point, you will have the option of stepping out onto ice formed from snow falling as long as 400 years ago.

After this unique adventure, you can retire to the Columbia Icefield Centre to relax over lunch or dinner and watch the light change over the ancient rock and ice.

The Icefields Parkway
Considered one of the most scenic highways in the world, the Icefields Parkway offers an ever-changing view of waterfalls, emerald lakes, alpine meadows and snow-capped peaks. For two hundred and thirty kilometres, from Lake Louise to the Jasper townsite, the Parkway winds along the shoulder of the Great Divide and passes by the spectacular mountains of the Eastern Main Ranges of the Canadian Rockies. It follows the headwaters of three major rivers and crosses two major passes en route.

Leaving from Banff, travelers follow the Bow, Mistaya and North Saskatchewan Rivers and experience such spectacular sights as Lake Louise, Bow Lake, Peyto and Crowfoot Glaciers, Mistaya Canyon and the Weeping Wall. From Jasper, the route passes Athabasca Falls and the Sunwapta Canyon. It is an unmatched majestic beauty and a wilderness habitat for elk, bighorn sheep, moose, mountain goat and both grizzly and black bears.

The Icefield Chalet
The Columbia Icefield Chalet rooms occupy the third (top) floor of the Icefield Centre. The second floor of the Icefield Centre is occupied by a full dining room and cafeteria. The Chalet Front Desk, gift shop, Glacier Experience Terminal and Jasper National Park Information Desk occupy the main floor. On a lower level, Jasper National Park operates "The Glacier Gallery" - an extensive interpretive centre packed with information on this special area of Jasper National Park.

There are 32 Chalet guest rooms - most have at least two queen beds and a loft. All are well appointed, with satellite TV, direct dial phones, and of course spectacular views of surrounding mountains and glaciers. There are rooms well suited for families needing more space than a conventional hotel room, as well as traditionally sized rooms for couples or individuals.

The Icefield Centre is located just north of the Banff /Jasper National Park boundary, on the spectacular Icefields Parkway (Highway #93 North). We are 103 km (60 miles) south of the town of Jasper, 130 km (80 miles) north of Lake Louise. Non-stop driving time from Calgary is 3 1/2 hours, from Banff 2 1/4 hours, from Jasper 1 1/4 hours and from Edmonton 5 hours. Ample parking is available in the public car lot, with a short walking trail to the Centre. Guests cannot drive directly to the building, however Chalet staff will be pleased to transfer luggage for you.