The Icefields Parkway is a 230 km/138 mile long road through the Rockies, from Jasper to Lake Louise (or the other way around) and leads you by an enormous icefield (Columbia Icefield), about 100 glaciers and lakes with beautiful colors.

It was a pretty hard ride, especially the first day. We had to ascent more than 1000 meters/ 3000 ft through many hills, so in the end we had done a lot of climbing. In the end we had to climb 300 meters/ 900 ft in 4 kms/ 2,5 miles. But then we were at the top of the first pass and close to the Columbia Icefield with its many glaciers.

There’s a campground, so we pitched the tent. It’s a very nice campground and we met some nice people there. The next day, we woke up late and the weather wasn’t very promising, so we decided to stay. There was a shelter with a wood burning stove, so we made a nice and warm fire and cooked on it to. So even though it was cold and rainy outside, we were warm and comfortable inside sitting by the fire.

The next day it was cold, but clear. The rain had gone, so we left for the last stretch to Lake Louise. It was beautiful, the sun was out and it got warmer and warmer. It started off very good, with a long downhill. But, as usual, we payed for that with a long climb later. Fortunately, this climb wasn’t as steep as the first one.

When we were at the top, we had to climb another steep bit to get to the viewpoint of beautiful Peyto Lake. The most beautiful lake of them all, with a beautiful color because of the glacial water and a nice shape. It was worth the extra climb.

From there it almost all went downhill to Lake Louise, a famous ski town where the first World Cup ski race is held every year. It was after 6 already, so we quikly went to the campground and discovered that it was full. Fortunately they always save a spot for cyclists, so we could camp. There’s an electric fence all around the campground to keep the bears out. There are a lot of grizzlies in the area and they obviously don’t want them to come to the campground. The fence just shocks them annoyingly so they leave again. We didn’t see a bear, the only thing we saw were loads of Asian people. It was like the people of all Chinatowns in the country had moved to that campground.

The last stretch, to Banff, we took the Bow Valley Parkway, a hilly but nice and quiet road through the forest.

Banff is a luxurious jet-set town with beautiful buildings and lots of shops. There are 3 ski areas around which are very popular in the winter time. The campground is on a hill, so we had to climb one last hill. Here also, many Asians on the campground and in the town.