As a lover of thundering waterfalls, I was really looking forward to today’s itinerary. The finishing touches on the Icefields Parkway offered some of the best we’ve seen, along with some solitude on several walking trails in the Canadian Rockies.

Click on the first photo in each group and scroll to see the square photos at full size.
To start at the beginning of this series, visit The Trip of Our Lives 2023.

If you read my Moving Day post and thought it was plenty long as it was, we felt the same way as we passed by the turns to today’s stops. We were glad we decided to make a day of finishing off the Icefields Parkway the right way – when we were all rested up and ready to explore some more. Although we had to head about an hour back down the parkway, we could take our time and really enjoy a couple of good hikes and several great waterfalls.

Morning Wildlife

At first glance, Jim thought our first wildlife of the day was going to be moose, but three elk crossing the river was pretty great too, and have you ever seen a bigger raven?

Sunwapta Falls

Fed by the Athabasca Glacier, the Upper Sunwapta Falls are easily accessed from the viewpoint parking lot. The walk to the falls starts out pretty beautiful as the water swoops around the curve. As we got a little closer, we realized that the river comes around both sides. It actually flows around a small island covered with tall pines just before it makes its drop!

“A torrent of plunging water not far from the Icefields Parkway, Sunwapta Falls is just one of the many waterfalls in Jasper created by hanging valleys.” ~ READ MORE

“Every couple of years, someone dies at Athabasca Falls. Park staff search for and rescue people who fall into the canyon. Usually only the bodies are recovered for the grieving families. Step off the trail and you risk your life. The rocks, covered by spray year-round, are as slippery as ice. The water is glacial-cold, swift and deep. Within minutes of slipping into the water hypothermia takes over – you cannot pull yourself out of the river. Once over the falls death is swift.

Is it worth the risk? Stay on the trail. Take your family’s best vacation shot from the bridge spanning the canyon.” ~ from a sign nearby

So Far, So Good!

Since it was pretty easy to get to the upper falls, we set our sites on going further. The trail starts out pretty easy with a short section of pavement. Then the packed dirt and roots come into play to immerse you in the feeling of the great outdoors. It’s called “moderately challenging” by AllTrails and with lots of gawking we finished the two-mile trek in just over two hours.

A wonderful wooden bridge gave us a great vantage point of the river as it makes its way into the canyon. Working our way down the trail we got a great vantage point of the bridge!

Middle Falls

Since the website only refers to the Upper and Lower Falls, I’m calling this stop Middle Falls – because I’m just that creative!

The Trail to the Lower Falls

This is where Jim called it quits, but I had to keep going! I love the way the turquoise water undercuts the canyon and swirls in the corners – rounding off the rough edges.

Lower Falls

Not only is the water beautiful as it makes its drop, but the rock of the canyon has wonderful colors and striations from all kinds of wear and tear over the years.

The End of the Falls

As the water made its way out of the canyon and leveled out, I decided to head back. Going back up was more challenging, but I was so excited about the three-in-one falls at Sunwapta that I didn’t even mind!

“Sunwapta Falls is also the trailhead for a beautiful backcountry trail that features campgrounds along the Athabasca River and majestic peaks towering in the background. The trail passes through the Chaba River burn area, legacy of a 1967 wildfire. The fire rejuvenated a large portion of the subalpine forest along the Chaba River Valley and is now one of the best bear and moose habitats in the park.” ~ READ MORE

Time for a Break

Lunch at The Restaurant at Sunwapta – part of Sunwapta Falls Rocky Mountain Lodge – gave us the break and sustinence we needed before heading on up the road – just 17 minutes back north to Athabasca Falls. As you may have guessed, there were plenty of places to pull over along the way.

Goats and Glaciers Lookout

This was a marvelous lookout with expansive views of the snowcapped mountains and the Athabasca River. An awesome view of Mount Kerkeslin (last photo) was just across the road from the parking lot. Click on the link to find your camping spot along the Athabasca at Mount Kerkeslin Campground!

Lunch with a View

This bear was content beside the road as cars came and went to snap his picture. He couldn’t have cared less about his spectators as he enjoyed his lunch in the fabulous Canadian Rockies.

Athabasca Falls

With three distinct areas of interest – the falls, the canyon, and the river at the lower end of the canyon – it was great to see everything we could see at this location!

“Athabasca Falls is easily reached via a short paved trail from the parking lot, so getting there doesn’t involve any hiking. The waterfall and its gorge can be admired from several fenced viewpoints along the trail, including a foot bridge that crosses over the canyon. Interpretive signs on the route provide some interesting facts about Athabasca Falls and how it was formed.” ~ READ MORE

Picture Perfect

The layers of stone to the left of the main waterfall were beautiful on their own, but add in a little river water and the cascades were even better. I wonder how much wider the river gets earlier in the spring. Maybe we should come back again and find out!

Impressive Volume

These falls were not that impressive height-wise, but thunderous amounts of water were pouring through the narrow passageways.

“The Athabasca Falls formed during the last glaciation when movement of the Athabasca Valley Glacier sheared off chunks of hard quartzite, creating a cliff. When the ice melted, water poured over the cliff and carved a path through the softer limestone below, creating the short canyon we see today.” ~ READ MORE

“Athabasca Falls is easily reached via a short paved trail from the parking lot, so getting there doesn’t involve any hiking. The waterfall and its gorge can be admired from several fenced viewpoints along the trail, including a foot bridge that crosses over the canyon. Interpretive signs on the route provide some interesting facts about Athabasca Falls and how it was formed.” ~ READ MORE

Free at Last

The walk down quite a few stairs was definitely worth the views of the river coming through the canyon and out into the open water.

Another View

The view on the way back up and and across the river gave another wonderful vantage point. I could come back here again… and again.

Time for Another Break!

Wow, this was a perfect day! We decided to pass by our cabin and drive just up the road to Folding Mountain Brewery for dinner. There were times when we wished we were staying closer to the town of Jasper, but not today! I don’t think we would have come this far for beers! This place was beautiful, and the food was fantastic!

One More Day in Jasper

We had a few things planned for the next day, but since we were about ten days into this trip without a day off, we stayed in. We did a little laundry, organized our suitcases, and had another fabulous dinner (and beers) at Folding Mountain – this time from Juniper’s Pizza Truck! Just the break we needed to prepare for our next move!

Up Next: Two Nights in Whistler

Happy trails,
Barb