Toe of the Athabasca Glacier Trailhead — Attraction in Alberta

The glacier lies in a u shape carved by the weight of what looks like a non moving crusted tidal wave of dusted blue and white ice. Surrounded by enough rocks to satisfy any rock hounder on a mad hunt, and carved with windy louge like melt paths that you can dip a bottle into and drink the most scrumptious glacially pure water. The glacier creates its own weather, so be prepared to experience the freshest winds slap you in the face in the best of ways. Hikes are recommended guided by professionals, and good footwear will entail easier walking as the hike to it and near it will be entirely uneven ground. Or if you are like us, you just wing it unprofessionally and take a chance. I would not recommend winging it in fresh snow as you could fall in a crevass and mess yourself up. Bring snacks if you plan hiking the whole thing, but do not litter because you are on a sacred glacier. If you are quiet on the glacier you will hear that it is in fact not quiet, you can hear it slowly doing glacier things and rocks on the glacial fields fall and splash, cracks and pings will reverberate and remind you that you are truly much smaller than...

Excellent view, worth the stop to check it out. The trek up to the viewpoint wasn't too difficult. Up hill, but not too aggressive, but lots of loose rocks and gravel so can be challenging for some people. Bring good walking shoes and a sweater, the breeze off the glaciers can be chilly. Parking, we went in the off seasons, mid to late September and it wasn't too busy in the morning when we went. It got alot busier the later the day went on. We parked right down at the bottom, but there was limited parking. They have another lot to park in across the road, but its a little trek down. They offer ice walks or rides to the glacier, but its paid and you have to pre book. We didn't do that, we just walked up. They have a road stopping you from going too close to the glaciers. Definitely would recommend a stop, very interesting to see, some facts to read along the...

The loop took a bit over an hour to complete with stops. Arriving early helped to avoid crowds but some people didn't go up all the way either so it wasn't busy. There is the option to take a guided tour where you get to walk on the glacier on safe days which is the only way you can get up there until May 2023 when the Columbia Icefield center reopens. You can see the tour groups in the picture. The area is very rocky and can get windy which feels colder with the glacier. Once you make it over the steep hill you're almost there. It was a bit sad to see the markers of how much the glacier has receded due to human activity but its still an impressive glacier to see in person. Pay your respects to the ravens in the parking lot before departing...