Columbia Icefield Discovery Centre - Jasper National Park, Alberta Canada

As we leave Lake Louise, we know we have reservations at the Golden Golf Club RV Park in Golden, BC. When we made the reservations, the prospect of staying at a golf course was pretty exciting (for Tom). However, when we passed through Golden on the way to Lake Louise, it had been enveloped in smoke from the forest fires. We kept up our hopes that the smoke had dispersed. Unfortunately, as we headed back west, the smoke was getting thicker. The smoke is disheartening. We don't want to head further into the smoke, so we cancel our reservations and stop at Kicking Horse Campground in Yoho National Park. It's a little smokey, but probably better than Golden...but they are full. Then we head to Monarch...but we're just not feeling it, so not here either.

Jasper National Park is on Tom's places to go list. Although it wasn't initially included in the plans for this visit, Tom finds that they have RV camping at their Icefield Discovery Centre. We've got three days to fill...it's probably outside the smoke zone...what the heck! Let's go!

We head north and lo and behold, the smoke clears! The forests are green and the landscape is beautiful. It's a bit of a drive, but we finally pass the Icefield tent campground...then we pass the Icefield Discovery Centre (which is a zoo of cars)...then there's nothing...we're headed up a mountain...gotta turn around!

Back at the Icefield Centre, we find an RV parking lot. We park, and Tom heads off to find out where the RV campground is. He comes back, and...we're in it! The campground is a parking lot! How depressing, but we've got nowhere else to go tonight, so we head down to the far end of the parking lot near the highway (the higher more level end of the lot already has quite a few RVs) and do our best to make the rig level.

The Icefield Centre offers tours that take you on the Athabasca Glacier, so we head up to the Icefield Centre to sign-up. "What do you mean the tours for today are full?" Well, who wants to pay that much money just to walk on ice anyway? We'll just hike up to the glacier tomorrow and walk on it. That will be just as good. Then we can find somewhere better to stay...

Then the next morning, we wake up to this...

Wow! Maybe staying here isn't such a bad thing...
















We arrive at the base of the Athabasca Glacier to do our hike. First obstacle, a jagged wire bottom bridge that Tank can't cross. It works kind of like a cattle crossing grate. Tom decides to carry Tank across.

For those of you who don't know Tank, he weighs 110 lb (before breakfast). Sorry, I don't have pictures of this activity.

When we get up to the top of the trail, we find that you can't hike all the way up to edge/toe. Bummer! This just won't fulfill Tom's bucket list.

Back to the Icefield Centre to sign-up for a glacier adventure. There are two options. One is a trip onto the glacier and to the skywalk. Yes, there is a glass bottomed skywalk a little ways up the road (and a ways up the mountain)...and I would have to crawl across it if we do the visit. The second option is a walk on the glacier with appetizers and dinner at the Centre after. Now, that's more my speed!

So we meet up back at the Icefield Centre for the Athabasca Glacier adventure...and, it's not the same as hiking up to the glacier and walking on it. Wow! Just wow...

The Ice Explorer

Appetizers on the glacier

So cool!

                    Drinking glacier water

Glaciers are the toes that hang off the icefields, so Athabasca is a toe of the Columbia Icefield.

Cheers!!!