BANFF TO JASPER ON 23MM TIRES

The Most Scenic Road in North America

By Bill Schneider, 9-07-10

	One of many thousands of scenic moments on the Icefields Parkway. Below: The parkway is ideal for cyclists. One of many show-stoppers, Castle Mountain. Another mandatory stop, Athabasca Glacier.And finally, the end of the ride, coming into Jasper. Photos by Bill Schneider.

Decades ago, the late CBS News correspondent Charles Kuralt crisscrossed the United States filing a series of “On The Road with Charles Kuralt” reports. After driving his RV over Beartooth Pass, a 64-mile section of U.S. 212 on the Montana/Wyoming border between Cooke City and Red Lodge, he decided to call it “the most beautiful drive in America.”

A lot of people have already heard that, but I want to point out that he did not say “North America.” If he had driven his RV on the route between Banff and Jasper, Alberta, the famed Icefields Parkway, he would have ranked the Beartooth Highway no better than second place.

And if Charles had ridden a 20-pound bicycle instead of a multi-ton RV, he’d enjoyed both roads even more.

I’ve always wanted to ride the Icefields Parkway, and I finally did it in late August. Now, I can’t believe I waited so long. To say the scenery is stunning would be a serious understatement--perhaps not more stunning than Beartooth Pass or Logan Pass in Montana’s Glacier National Park or other scenic byways, but there is so much of it.

Beartooth Pass is 64 miles; the trip from West Glacier to East Glacier over Going-to-the-Sun Highway and Looking Glass Pass is 85 miles; but the route from Banff to Jasper is so long, 180 miles, that it takes at least two days and usually longer to ride it.

The entire route is within the boundaries of Banff and Jasper national parks. Massive, matterhorn-esque mountains line the route all the way. In between the snow-capped peaks (yep, snow-capped even in late August), you’re treated to multi-hued mountain meadows, strikingly aqua glacier-fed lakes and cascading mountain streams, big and small, especially the Athabasca, Bow and North Saskatchewan Rivers. On top of all that, you can also see more glaciers and icefields than anywhere you can ride a road bicycle.

And get this! Unlike most national parks in the United States, Banff and Jasper national parks in Canada actually like bicycles and promote bicycle tourism, instead of trying to limit bicycling as most USA park managers do. The road has an excellent shoulder for bicycling almost the entire 180 miles with no rumple strips, and people riding bicycles don’t even have to pay entrance fees, unlike people riding in motor vehicles who have to fork over hefty fees at entrance stations.

You can start the route from either end, of course, but it was more convenient for us to start in Banff and ride north to Jasper. As it turned out, I think, this is a bit easier than starting in Jasper because you can ride down instead of up two huge ascents. That conclusion may be debatable, but that’s how it seemed to me.

We took three days to ride the route. On the first day, we rode from the town of Banff to Lake Louise, where we camped out for the night, after a little 14-mile side trip up to Moraine Lake and the Valley of the Ten Peaks, which is an incredible place. Incredible bike ride, too. Total distance: 43 miles.

The second day, we rode from Lake Louise to Saskatchewan Crossing where the road crosses the North Saskatchewan River and stayed at The Crossing Resort. Along the way, we stopped at Num-Ti-Jah Lodge for a tasty bowl of chili, and that night we grilled our own steaks at The Pub. Total distance: 53 miles.

We saved the best--and longest--for last. Our third day was probably my best ever on a bicycle, a spectacular 98 miles from Saskatchewan Crossing, over Sunwapta Pass, into Jasper National Park, through the gradually shrinking but still spectacular icefields, in between all those cathedralistic mountains, down to the Athabasca River and into Jasper, where we camped that night. It’s a long day, but I sure hated to see it end. As a bonus, the last 20 miles are all downhill.

If I had it to do over again (and I will!), I’d ride it in two days, staying at roughly the halfway point, Saskatchewan Crossing.

But that’s just me. Most people will want to take longer. And there are many options to do so. Several tour companies offer four- or five-day guided bicycle trips on this route. For do-in-yourselfers like me, you can camp out, stay in one of the four hostels along the way specifically designed for bicyclists and backpackers.

Well-healed cyclists might opt to overnight in those stately, historic lodges along the way--Chateau Lake Louise, Moraine Lake Lodge, Num-Ti-Jah Lodge, Columbia Icefields Chalet or Sunwapta Falls Resort, plus a wide choice of luxury in both Banff and Jasper at the beginning and end of the trip.

Two notes of caution. If possible, time your trip with good weather. You really don’t want to be on this route during rainy, cold weather, which would not only be dangerous, but a low ceiling would rob you of the scenic grandeur.

Even though almost the entire route has an excellent shoulder, parts of it are seriously cracked. One section was so rough; it felt like riding over a ten-mile cattle guard, so we had to ride out on the edge of the traffic lane. Some of the cracks run deep and parallel with the road, so don’t become so mesmerized with the scenery that you miss one and go down.

You have lots of options for riding the Icefields Parkway. Pick your passion and go for it. There’s no chance you’ll be disappointed.

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