Jim W.

Note: my score reflects the combined glacier and Sky Walk tours. I'd rate the glacier tour higher IF I could take it separately. Prior to our trip, I tried several times to search on the internet for how to book JUST the glacier tours. I wasn't particularly interested in the ~ new Sky Walk. I couldn't find any way to book separately. I finally called the phone number listed for guest services at the Icefields visitors' center and asked them about it. They confirmed that it was NOT possible to book these separately; the ONLY option was a joint ticket. So, that's how I proceeded. I booked a 10:15 a.m. ticket for the glacier tour. The Sky Walk ticket was printed separately and was not time-stamped. My assumption was that you needed to be present at the specified time for the glacier tour but that you could then visit the Sky Walk at whatever time you chose. We arrived over 30 minutes before our initial departure time. Parking was plentiful, though the place was crowded with people already. We made our way into their building and found the ticket-checking line. It was a bit odd in that their printed tickets lacked the time-stamp (though the phone-image had it). They needed to cross-check your tickets on the computer. We were waved through and queued up for the bus. The basic process is that standard tour buses take you from the visitors' center across the road to a transfer station. Here, you move over to a 'snocoach' - a large bus with 6 huge tires and multiple gears for navigating on a steep slope to access the glacier and then navigating on the ice itself. The drive of this second vehicle serves as your guide and narrator. You drive about 15 minutes (slowly) in this vehicle to the glacier itself. There, you disembark and can spend around 30 minutes wandering around the safe area and taking pictures. It is definitely a unique experience. Eventually, you re-access the snocoach to go back to the transfer point and re-board a standard bus. En route back, our guide went off on a tangent about how the glacier should make you think about your daily life choices as well as 'who you vote for'. Look, the VERY last thing I want to hear about on a trip like this (other than road closures) is politics. Next came the surprise - the bus was not taking you back to the visitors' center, but instead was pressing on to the Sky Walk. We were 90 minutes in and my wife was semi-interested in finding a restroom. No one had said that the tours were linked, or that there were no restrooms at any point on them. We drove from the transfer station out to the highway and north for about 10 minutes to the Sky Walk. There is no parking here - only tour bus access and turn-arounds. You disembark, have your Sky Walk tickets checked, and then walk about 300 yards along the cliff to the Sky Walk itself. I had never actually been to one of these before, though I've seen photos and video of others on the web. I wasn't particularly interested in seeing it, but made the most of it (having no say in the matter). The glass flooring mildly freaked some guests out. There was plenty to see (waterfalls, a river canyon, etc.). We made a quick loop and then headed back. You then wait in an area with others for the next tour bus. It can vary from 10 - 40 minutes, according to various pamphlets and signs. Our bus showed up more in the 10-minute range. We rode back to the visitors' center, were let off at the gift shop, and made our way inside. As a short postscript to the above account - I got email surveys from the property separately about the glacier tour and the Sky Walk. I was especially annoyed when the Sky Walk survey stated "since you opted not to book the Sky Walk separately...". Excuse me? I was told, by your organization, that I could NOT do that. So don't tell me now this was all by my own choice, thanks! In summary - the glacier tour is interesting and unique. If I'd had the option to skip the Sky Walk segment, I would have. If you like such things, consider going (assuming there is a way to separate the two, which I doubt).

HsiaoCheng W.

If you drove all the way here, you gotta do it unless of course you live in a snowy area and see this kind of stuff on a regular basis. Sit on the right for views of glacier going up. But if you sit by one of the 2 windows marked Emergency Exit Only your window won't open. Once on the glacier, it's really slippery. I found that walking using short steps and not stopping help keep from slipping or sliding downward. It's 25 minutes on the ice if your bus driver is on time. It was 2 hours total time with skywalk although they say 2.5 hours is average. You can buy same day passes. We went 10:30 am and got 12 noon spots. But you'll pay a lot more. Like maybe double than if you planned in advance. Traffic was an issue for us because of construction adding more than an hour from banff. Canada parks pass are sold downstairs.

Seth A.

Touring Athabasca Glacier here at the Columbia Icefields was a fun experience. It's located right along famed Icefields Parkway about 200 kilometers north of Banff and about 100 kilometers south of Jasper. And taking the Athabasca Glacier Tour combined with getting time to stand on the Icefield Skywalk is the best, most popular way that visitors come to explore. I arrived a few weeks ago in the middle of June in late afternoon and went straight to the ticket office inside at the Glacier View Lodge and they had room for me on their last tour for the day at 5pm. Come to think, I probably should have just booked online ahead of time. All in...the tour lasts for almost 2.5 hours, with getting about 30 minutes to walk around Athabasca Glacier and 30 minutes to stand and walk around the Skywalk. In between these 2 primary highlights...you get transported from the Lodge to the Bus Station, then the Bus Station to the Glacier, the Glacier to the Skywalk, and finally the Skywalk returning back to the Lodge. It costs $100 - Canadian. But for the American citizens when you pay with credit card, it comes out to $77 - US. Overall, I think that's a good deal for such a popular attraction because in the end...everyone exploring the Canadian Rockies comes here to the Columbia Icefield and does this tour. For having the opportunity to stand on a glacier...it's all worth it! Upon getting to Athabasca Glacier...you ride on one of these massive snowmobiles that's a fun moment in its own right. Finally arriving on the glacier, I'd suggest taking a picture with this massive snowmobile. Lol, everyone was doing it. Also...I believe this is important. For my journey at 5pm...the sun was facing me when I was trying to take photos viewing Athabasca Glacier. And...I would much have preferred for the sun to be at my back. Lol, so as I always do...if you can take morning tours...I think that would be beneficial for all you picture guru enthusiasts out there. What I also really liked was my bus operator and guide onto the glacier. I forgot her name but she was incredibly friendly, cordial and was more than willing to take family photos for everyone. Don't hesitate to ask! In fact, I asked her to actually be in my picture with me and she happily obliged! Cool! I appreciated how laid back and nice she was. Of course the time walking on Athabasca Glacier went all too fast. This was an awesome feature they had in the middle of the glacier ...a giant Canadian Flag. You must take a picture with it. It's sort of symbolic for your experience and plus combined with the surroundings of the mountains and backdrop...its such a cool photo opp. After taking some pictures of the glacier...don't miss this flag!!! From here it's back to the Bus Station to ride in a regular Coach Bus to the Skywalk Observation Deck. For this experience...the bottom of the Skywalk floor was see-through! Yep, translucent! For those with a fear of heights, lol, don't look down! Still, the setting on the Skywalk was so calm and quiet for us being the last tour, I really didn't mind how high up we were. At least it wasn't windy, hehehe. Unfortunately for this vista point overlook, the overcast clouds came into play so I never really got picturesque views. Regardless, the attendant there at the Overlook happily took pictures for everyone as well. Then, finally, it was back to the Glacier Lodge. Some extras notes... If you decide not to do this Columbia Icefields Athabasca Glacier Tour, you can still cross the street and hike over to the "Toe" of the Glacier and capture scenic moments. I did this the following day after camping out nearby. And if you'd like to go further and closer up on Athabasca Glacier, then there's the Forefield Trail to take. They have a Starbucks inside the Glacier Lodge to warm up with coffee and have a snack. Though the wait in line was pretty long. After completing the Tour...I actually stayed inside the Glacier Lodge and had a terrific dinner at the restaurant called...Altitude. During summer times, it's open from 7pm - 9pm and has a buffet for $35 (Canadian). The food was delicious and was totally satisfying after a long day of driving and being out in the cold. This Altitude Restaurant was a great way to end my day. The Columbia Icefields here in the middle of Icefields Parkway was a wonderful stop along my journey from Banff to Jasper. I had seen pictures and reviews on the internet and I'm glad it was finally my time to come here and explore...especially since Canada (up to this point in 2022) had been very strict about their pandemic policies and opening up the border to Americans. So, I'd say, in the end, after a few years of waiting to come here...everything finally worked out!

Niki B.

This glacier experience came as part of the Banff adventure package we purchased, which included four of the greatest things you can do in the park: the gondola, skywalk, boat tour, and this icefield adventure. If you only want to do one or two of these activities and not get the whole package, I'd definitely recommend doing the icefield adventure before any of the rest (it was definitely the coolest). We drove for about an hour from downtown Banff to meet at the Columbia Icefields. We hung out in the gift shop while waiting for our group timeslot to be called. We had forgotten to bring gloves and were able to purchase some in the shop before getting called up. Once you're time is called, you line up and load onto a coach bus, which drives you over to the icefield across the street, where you load onto an Ice Explorer, the only one of its kind outside of Alaska. This vehicle has some of the biggest tires you'll ever see, necessary for when it drives you down the steep sheets of ice. Our Ice Explorer driver gave us a lot of really interesting facts about the glacier, land and the vehicle. She was funny and answered everyone's questions. Once she drove down the first steep hill of ice, she stopped on the flat field so everyone could get out for 15-30 minutes or so to explore and take photos. We loved how they had flags from around the world stationed up here and it was fun to slip around the ice and see everyone taking photos with their home country's flag. Highly recommend!

Jacqueline T.

We did a quick stop here while driving the Icefields Parkway from Banff to Jasper. I was turned off from the beginning because it was a zoo. We stopped at the discovery center and you couldn't move in there because it was so crowded. We got a few pictures from there and don't get me wrong, it's pretty, just way too crowded. The tour to see the glacier is outrageously expensive ($114). We've gone into an ice cave in Iceland for less, so we didn't really want to do this. We thought about doing the short hike to the toe of the glacier, but it was so crowded over there we decided not to. This was the most underwhelming thing on the parkway to me. I wouldn't bother stopping again, but I'm also really turned off by large crowds of tourists.

Daniel C.

Review is for the Columbia Glacier Discovery Center, not the tours. This is a good rest stop if you're driving from Banff to Jasper. Everybody else agrees since the parking lot is full of tour busses and cars and inside feels crowded like an airport! You have the option of booking a bus tour that takes you up a nearby glacier, or to pay to walk on the Glacier Skybridge which is sorta cool. We didn't do either of these since we're already surrounded by beauty and we've been spoiled from an Alaska Cruise where helicopter took us onto a glacier for dog sledding! The wow factor for the bus tour just wasn't there for us. The cafeteria serves some average Chinese food at inflated prices, while the dining room offered a Chinese lunch buffet with limited selection - wonder if they're the same owner. The positives for the center: big restrooms, lots of scenery for photos (though virtually the entire drive from Banff to Jasper also qualifies), and a pretty nifty museum in the basement showing a brief history of Canadian provinces.

Boon C.

Columbia Icefield is glacier is the biggest glacier in Canadian Rockies. What is a glacier? The snow fall on this ice and melt at the summer. At snow get thicker, it get compact below and become glacier. As it get heavy, it start to move and become the glacier river. Athabasca Glacier is one part glacier river from the Columbia Icefield on the move. It flow toward the Icefield road below. You can see the Mother Nature of the ice river is getting shorter due to global warming. If you are there, do not step on the glacier without the proper guide. You may step on ice hole and falls into the ice crack below the surface. At the bottom of the Athabasca Glacier is the Columbia Icefield Glacier Discovery Centre. The Centre provide a very good view of the glacier river. You also can purchase the ticket for the tour on the glacier. They will transport you to the outpost and take special ice explorer vehicle travel on the ice. It is an amazing ride that this vehicle can travel on 45 degrees slope. They will take you to the beginning of the river and let you walk on the glacier for 30 minutes. The view is spectacular. You can see many ice crack with glowing blue color. The glacier is amazing that each surface has it own statue. I would said if you visit the Jasper National Park, this is must see point of interest. There is a story if you drink the melted water, you will get younger. However, after I drink, I feel older as next day :)

Shawnna P.

Better see it while it lasts. A sunny day is best. Bring an empty water bottle to fill with icy glacier water. Bring snacks because the transfer station is pretty grim for food.