Things to do at the Columbia Icefield & Athabasca Glacier

The Columbia Icefield is the busiest stop on the Icefields Parkway, 180 km (2 h 15) from Banff, and the main draw is the Ice Explorer, a giant-wheeled bus that drives out onto the Athabasca Glacier itself. The ice is retreating roughly 5 metres a year, and the walk from the visitor centre to the glacier's toe is now a proper hike, lined with markers dated to show how far the front has pulled back since the early 1900s.

The experience runs seasonally, roughly April/May to October, and is closed the rest of the year. It is often sold as a combined ticket with the Glacier Skywalk next door, but the two are separate attractions at the same visitor centre, not one and the same.

Check the official site for current pricing rather than relying on a fixed figure, and never step past the marked, guided route on the ice: crevasses are real and not always visible from the surface.