Access, Transport and Accommodation
Tourist literature often misleadingly gives the impression that the Icefields Parkway is highly developed. In fact, the wilderness is extreme, with snow often closing the road from October onwards, and there are only two points for services , at Saskatchewan Crossing (the one place campers can stock up with groceries, 77km from Lake Louise), where the David Thompson Highway (Hwy 11) branches off for Red Deer, and at the Columbia Icefield (127km). Brewster Transportation (tel 762-6767) runs several tours and a single scheduled bus daily in both directions between Banff or Lake Louise and Jasper from late May to mid-October ($51 one-way from Banff, $44 from Lake Louise), though services at either end of the season are often weather-affected. A word with the driver will usually get you dropped off at hostels and trailheads en route. If you're cycling - an increasingly popular way to tackle the journey - note that the grades are far more favourable if you travel from Jasper to Banff (Jasper's 500m higher than Banff).
Your Tip for Icefields Parkway
Help other backpackers! Write your own guides and backpacking tips to Icefields Parkway - they will appear instantly on this page - Please only write a tip/guide to Icefields Parkway - visit the main Icefields Parkway forum to ask a question!
Please do not post links to your site here (they won't work) - please use the Icefields Parkway webguide section below! Thanks.
| 
