All Columbia Icefield experiences, including the Columbia Icefield Adventure, Ice Odyssey, Columbia Icefield Skywalk and Glacier View Lodge are now open. Visitors can now access the Columbia Icefield from the southern end of the iconic roadway that connects Jasper and Banff national parks.
For the latest information visit the Pursuit Jasper Wildfire information page.
The Glacier View Lodge is Located right next to the Columbia Icefield, along HWY 93-N (Icefields Parkway). The Glacier View Lodge is about 2.5 hours from Banff and 1.5 hours from Jasper.
No. Due to our remote location, there are no services nearby. The closest town is Jasper, which is 1.5 hours drive to the north. The closest gas station is at Saskatchewan Crossing which is approximately a half hour to the south. We are happy to offer two wonderful restaurants on site though.
There are many hikes in the area. Each hike is unique in length, difficulty level and scenery. Please see one of our agents at the hotel for personal recommendations.
We understand that some guests have morning plans that require them to leave early. However, we encourage all guests to join the Skywalk tour. It’s a fascinating boardwalk packed with information that will really compliment and fulfill your experience on the glacier. Not only that, it’s a stunning place to take photos and hotel guests get the first tour of the day so it’s not as busy.
Wear every single piece of clothing you brought with you. Just kidding. But the glacier is cold, generally around -10°C (14°F). The strong katabatic winds are almost constant, which make the air even colder. Sometimes we even get snow or rain on the glacier. Make sure to dress in warm layers with a wind proof/water proof outer layer. Bring mitts and a hat.
There is no bathroom during either tour. This is an effort to preserve the landscape and be as environmentally friendly as possible. We ask that all guests use the restroom prior to their tour.
Our menu offers some great dishes for people who are gluten free, dairy free, vegetarian or vegan. Our chef is also happy to create a special dish ifs there is nothing on the menu that suits you.
We encourage guests to eat in the restaurant. The atmosphere there is much better.
It varies by the day. Sometimes we use our telescope for star watching, sometimes one of the guides shares information about the mountains or rock climbing, sometimes we have live music and sometimes guests just want to visit and play games or read books. Please join us in the Moraine Lounge to discover what’s going on during your stay. Our staff would love to interact with you and fit the program to your tastes.
Stargazing in the mountains is spectacular, but also weather dependent. Star gazing can be amazing due to the lack of light pollution in the National Park; Jasper National Park is one of the world's largest Dark Sky Preserves. However, in this area, we can often get cloud cover at night. Also, because we are so far north, the sun doesn’t set until late at night in the summer months.
We would love to be able to guarantee that guests would see the northern lights. But we can’t. Sorry. The northern lights are caused by solar flares, which we have no control of and vary by the season and day. Our staff do track the probability and will let you know what the chances are of seeing the northern lights as well as optimum times and places to do so.
A glacier is snow that has accumulated and been compressed into dense glacial ice. The Athabasca Glacier is 5km long, 1 km wide and 250 m deep in places. It takes 100m of snow to make even 1m of glacier ice. So the Athabasca Glacier represents over 25km of snow from ages past.
Please park in the upper lot. During check in time (3-5 pm) staff are available to direct you to an appropriate spot.
It is our pleasure to provide complimentary luggage service. We know carting suitcases around the mountains is not much fun.
Mittens are the most forgotten item. Our gift shop sells some nice mitts in case you forgot to bring some.
Due to our remote location and small staff, we sadly can not offer room service. However we have two wonderful restaurants on site and even a Starbucks. Our staff are pleased to deliver drinks to the Moraine Lounge for your enjoyment.
Our staff are happy to serve drinks in the Moraine Lounge.
Check out is at 11 AM. Due to our small staff, we ask that guests check out by this time. If that is an issue for you, please come talk with one of our agents to find a solution.
As much as you can! There are so many wonderful things to do in Banff and Jasper. We encourage you to talk with our staff to find some great insider information and personal recommendations.
Experts say that the glacier is shrinking by about 1m in depth every year. They have told us that our impact only causes about 1” of this, or very small percentage. But that’s not enough for Pursuit, we are taking every reasonable step to lessen our impact. Some of these steps include our tire wash, using environmentally friendly hydraulic oil, replacing the motors in our ice explorer to make them more efficient, keeping guests in one location to lessen the impact on the glacier and educating guests about the impact climate change has on all glaciers in the world.
Questions? Contact our Local Experts
A member of our team will respond within 24 hours (weekdays) and 48 hours (weekends).
