In shortEnd to end, Lake Louise to the Jasper townsite is 232 km of driving on this road. Parks Canada places Bow Lake 39 km north, Bow Summit and Peyto Lake 43 km, Saskatchewan River Crossing 80 km and the Columbia Icefield Centre 128 km. A park pass is required even if you only drive through, and there is no cell coverage on the road.
232 kmLake Louise to Jasper
128 kmto the glacier centre
2,088 mBow Summit, the high point
8–9 hfull-day parkway tour
How long the Icefields Parkway is, and what it asks of you
Parks Canada measures the road at 232 km from Lake Louise in Banff National Park to the Jasper townsite. The high point comes early, at Bow Summit, 2,088 m above sea level and 43 km north of Lake Louise, after which the road drops and climbs again on the way to the glacier country at the park boundary. Nothing about it is a loop and there is no shortcut home: every kilometre you drive north you drive south again.
A park pass is required on this road. You can cross the mountain parks without stopping and without a pass, but the Icefields Parkway (93N) and the Bow Valley Parkway (1A) are the two exceptions, whether or not you get out of the car.
No official driving time is published for Lake Louise to the Columbia Icefield or on to Jasper, so plan from the kilometres rather than from a number someone quotes you. It is 128 km of mountain highway each way to the glacier centre, plus 62 km at each end of the day if you are based in Banff rather than Lake Louise. Stop for twenty minutes at four viewpoints and a run to the icefield fills the daylight.
The stops in order, going north
Parks Canada publishes these roadside stops as distances north from Lake Louise, which is how to plan the day. Decide your turnaround point from the list before you leave the village, and treat everything past it as a trip for another year.
- Short day from Lake Louise: turn at Bow Summit and Peyto Lake, 43 km out
- Half day: turn at Mistaya Canyon, 74 km, or Saskatchewan River Crossing, 80 km, where the fuel and washrooms are
- Full day: run to the Columbia Icefield Centre at 128 km and back
- One-way only: go past 128 km if you are sleeping in Jasper, since Sunwapta Falls at 179 km and Athabasca Falls at 203 km sit too far out for a day return
| Stop | Km north of Lake Louise | Note |
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| Herbert Lake | 6 km | First signed stop out of Lake Louise |
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| Crowfoot Glacier | 36 km | Roadside viewpoint |
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| Bow Lake | 39 km | Lake beside the road |
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| Bow Summit and Peyto Lake | 43 km | High point of the road at 2,088 m; about a 10-minute paved path to the lookout |
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| Lower Waterfowl Lake | 60 km | Roadside lake |
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| Mistaya Canyon | 74 km | Signed canyon stop |
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| Saskatchewan River Crossing | 80 km | Last fuel, washrooms and food on the Banff half of the road |
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| Weeping Wall | 109 km | Roadside viewpoint |
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| Big Bend | 113 km | Signed stop |
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| Parker Ridge | 121 km | Signed stop |
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| Columbia Icefield Centre | 128 km | Open May to September; the Glacier Gallery mid-April to mid-October |
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| Tangle Falls | 137 km | Waterfall stop |
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| Sunwapta Falls | 179 km | Waterfall stop |
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| Athabasca Falls | 203 km | Waterfall stop, closest of these to Jasper |
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The lakes and the glacier road in one day
Rated 4.9 ★ (965 reviews), this 8 to 9 hour tour from CAD 220 hands the road north to a driver and guide, so you watch the 232 km of valley instead of the centre line. Pickup and drop-off are at designated meeting points.
★ 4.9/5 · 965 reviews
The Columbia Icefield from Lake Louise
The Columbia Icefield Discovery and Information Centre sits 128 km north of Lake Louise and opens May to September, with the Glacier Gallery running mid-April to mid-October. Arrive in late October and you have driven 128 km to a locked door, however clear the sky is that morning.
Walking out onto the Athabasca Glacier with a guide is off the table for 2026: the Glacier Adventure is scheduled to start again on May 1, 2027 and run to October 11, 2027, with each departure taking about 2.5 to 3 hours from the Glacier Discovery Centre. Fold that into a day that already has 128 km of driving in each direction and you have a very long day out of Lake Louise, longer again from Banff. If the glacier is the reason for the trip, build the day around the booking time and cut the viewpoint stops on the way north; Bow Lake at 39 km and the Peyto Lake lookout at 43 km are the two worth keeping.
Driving on past the icefield is the part people underestimate. Jasper is 232 km from Lake Louise, and the stops keep coming after the glacier centre: Tangle Falls at 137 km, Sunwapta Falls at 179 km, Athabasca Falls at 203 km. As a one-way transfer with a night in Jasper that works well. As a same-day return it becomes hours of driving in the dark on a road with no lighting and no phone signal.
Fuel, phone signal and mountain weather on the road north
Your phone stops being useful once you turn north: cell coverage does not exist on this road. Download your maps before you leave the village, tell someone your plan, and do not count on looking anything up once you pass Herbert Lake.
Saskatchewan River Crossing at 80 km is the sole fuel, washroom and restaurant stop on the Banff section, and most roadside services on the route run in summer only. Fill the tank in Lake Louise village, carry water and food for everyone in the car, and use a washroom when you pass one rather than when you want one.
Weather on this road is not the weather at the lake. Lake Louise averages 15 C by day and 0 C overnight in September, and 8 C and -5 C in October, while the parkway climbs to 2,088 m at Bow Summit. Snow falls on high ground here at any time of year, July included. Carry layers and a warm jacket even for a day that starts in shirtsleeves, and keep them within reach rather than buried under the luggage.
Wildlife along the road is why many people drive it, and the viewing distances are set in law: 30 metres from deer, elk, sheep and moose, 100 metres from bears, wolves, cougars and coyotes. Feeding, enticing or disturbing an animal is an offence that carries fines of up to CAD 25,000. Watch from the vehicle, pull fully off the pavement, and do not block a lane for a photograph.
What changes in winter
Winter strips the road back. Between Jasper and Lake Louise there are no services at all over 230 km, and snowplows work only between 7 am and 3:30 pm, so a late start leaves you on an unplowed road in the dark.
The rules are specific, and worth reading before you set off.
- From November 1 to March 31 you travel on snow tires or chains, and the same applies on any date once snow or ice covers the pavement
- Commercial vehicles over 4,550 kg are not allowed on the parkway
- Snowplows run between 7 am and 3:30 pm only
- Nothing is open along the 230 km that separate Lake Louise from Jasper in the winter months
- The Columbia Icefield Centre is shut outside its May to September season, and the Glacier Gallery outside mid-April to mid-October
A lakes day or a full day on the road
Combining a proper lakes morning with a proper parkway day in one self-driven outing is where most plans come apart. In peak season the lakeshore lots are already full long before you would want to be heading north, and they stay that way until the end of the day. Personal vehicles are not permitted on Moraine Lake Road at any time of year, the permitted users being Parks Canada shuttles, licensed commercial operators, drivers with an accessible placard and Moraine Lake Lodge guests, and that lake is only within reach between early June and mid-October. Reaching the water depends on a shuttle reservation or a licensed vehicle, and the drive north depends on whatever daylight is left afterwards.
Pick the lakes day if this is a first visit, if you want time at the water, or if a teahouse hike is on your list. Pick the parkway day if you have already seen the lakes, if you are travelling in a shoulder month when Moraine Lake is out of reach, or if glaciers and high passes are what you came for. Doing both in one self-driven day means rushing the morning and running out of light in the afternoon.
To have both without losing the morning, let someone else drive. The full-day tour below covers Lake Louise, Moraine Lake and the glacier road in one 8 to 9 hour booking, in a private vehicle with a driver and guide, which settles the parking and the Moraine Lake Road access at the same time.
Questions people ask
Is a park pass needed if I only drive 93N and never stop?
Yes. You do not need a pass to cross the mountain parks without stopping, but the Icefields Parkway (93N) and the Bow Valley Parkway (1A) are the two exceptions to that rule. Sort the pass out before you head north, because the road has no cell coverage for dealing with it later.
Can I see Moraine Lake and the parkway on the same day?
Not in your own car. Moraine Lake Road takes no personal vehicles at any time of year, and the lake is only reachable from early June to mid-October. A licensed full-day tour is the practical way to put both the lake and the glacier road into one day, and the tour on this site is built around that combination.
Is the guided walk onto the Athabasca Glacier running?
The Columbia Icefield Glacier Adventure is closed for 2026. It is scheduled to return from May 1 to October 11, 2027, and the outing takes about 2.5 to 3 hours from the Glacier Discovery Centre. Check availability with the operator before you build a 128 km drive around it.
How far from Lake Louise is the Peyto Lake viewpoint?
The Parks Canada figure for the Bow Summit and Peyto Lake viewpoints is 43 km north of Lake Louise, while Banff & Lake Louise Tourism measures the lake at 46 km from Lake Louise and 101 km from Banff. Either way it is the first major stop after Bow Lake, reached by a short paved path of about ten minutes from the car park.
What should I carry for a day on the road north?
Water and food for everyone in the vehicle, a full tank from Lake Louise village, offline maps, and warm layers whatever the forecast says at the lake. On the Banff half of the road, the 80 km mark at Saskatchewan River Crossing is where the fuel, washrooms and restaurant are, other roadside services keep summer hours only, and high ground along the route can take snow even in July.
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