All image credit: Jimmy Dau

The one thing that I’ve been most impressed with about Canada is how well they’ve embraced the natural environment as well as providing access and first class facilities to their citizens and visitors. Upon arriving at these locations, little effort is required to walk from the carpark to a viewing platform with the most jaw dropping views.

The Icefields Parkway is a stretch of road, between Banff and Jasper, where there is a constant barrage of epic scenery. Spanning over 230 km within the heart of the Canadian Rockies, visitors can access views of pristine glacial fed lakes, picturesque waterfalls, plunging valleys and ancient glaciers.

The one mistake that visitors make is to not dedicate enough time to see the locations from various points of interest outside of the viewing areas. My advice is to dedicate double the amount of time that you think is required as there are various hiking trails as well as unmarked waterfalls and wildlife including: Black bears, elks and moose depending on time of year.

Sunwapta Falls.

Prepare for numerous stops for scenes like this.

Peyto Lake – Probably one of the longest hikes of 1km to get to this viewing locations. There are other hiking trails nearby to get a different perspective though.

Athabasca Falls. This is a very busy location, so aim to arrive early or later in the day to get your photos without any people in them.

One can’t help but feel insignificant when driving amongst these giants.