Jasper: Columbia Icefield Skywalk and Ice Explorer Ticket

About This Experience

This is the combined ticket that gets you onto the Athabasca Glacier and out over the Sunwapta Valley on the same visit, and it is the reason most people drive the Icefields Parkway in the first place. Both halves are run by Pursuit from the Columbia Icefield Discovery Centre, so there is one arrival point, one shuttle system, and no second booking to keep track of.

The glacier half begins when you board an Ice Explorer, an all-terrain coach built with tires tall enough to climb the lateral moraine and drive directly onto the ice. Your driver-guide narrates the descent onto the Athabasca Glacier, one of six main outlet glaciers of the Columbia Icefield, and explains how far the ice has retreated within living memory. You then step off onto a roped area of the glacier itself and stand on ice that formed over roughly 25,000 years. Bring an empty bottle: meltwater runs across the surface and you are welcome to fill up.

The Skywalk half is a short shuttle ride further south. A glass-floored observation platform curves out from the cliff face 918 feet (280 metres) above the Sunwapta Valley, reached by about a kilometre of interpretive boardwalk. A multilingual audio guide covers the geology, the fossil record and the wildlife that uses the valley below. There is no time limit on the Skywalk, so photographers can wait out the light.

One thing to plan around: the ticket does not include getting to the Icefield. The Discovery Centre sits on the Icefields Parkway roughly 100 km south of Jasper townsite and 130 km north of Lake Louise, so you need your own vehicle or a day tour that stops there. Departures run every 15 to 30 minutes through the day, and the ticket is valid for the date you book.

Highlights

• Ride a giant Ice Explorer directly onto the Athabasca Glacier
• Stand on ice roughly 25,000 years old and drink the meltwater
• Walk the glass-floored Skywalk 918 feet above the Sunwapta Valley
• Multilingual audio guide included on the Skywalk boardwalk
• Both attractions on one ticket, with shuttles running between them

What's Included

• ✓ Guided Ice Explorer excursion onto the Athabasca Glacier
• ✓ Entry to the Columbia Icefield Skywalk
• ✓ Live English commentary aboard the Ice Explorer
• ✓ Multilingual audio guide on the Skywalk
• ✓ Shuttles between the Discovery Centre, the glacier and the Skywalk

Not Included

• Food and drink
• Transport to and from the Columbia Icefield Discovery Centre

What to Bring

• Warm layers, including gloves and a waterproof jacket
• An empty reusable bottle to fill with glacier meltwater
• Comfortable closed shoes with grip
• Sunscreen, because glare off the ice is strong
• Camera
• Passport or photo ID

Good to Know & Caveats

• You reach the Discovery Centre under your own arrangements; transport there is not part of the ticket.
• Time on the glacier itself is capped at about 20 minutes. Time on the Skywalk is not limited.
• Departures leave every 15 to 30 minutes, and if your requested slot is full you are offered a later one.
• Weather on the glacier changes fast and can force a reschedule or cancellation, so book your first available day.
• Washrooms are at the Discovery Centre only. There are none on the glacier excursion.
• Audio guide units are subject to availability and are withdrawn in rain.
• It is a busy attraction. An afternoon slot is generally quieter than mid-morning.

Meeting Point

Columbia Icefield Discovery Centre, AB-93 (Icefields Parkway), Jasper, AB T1L 1J3, Canada