The Columbia Icefield will be welcoming visitors again starting Friday (Aug. 9) as the Icefields Parkway (Highway 93N) is scheduled to partially reopen.
Road restrictions will be lifted the same day on the Icefields Parkway between the Saskatchewan River Crossing and the Athabasca Glacier area of the Columbia Icefield.
“Opening the Icefields Parkway to the Athabasca Glacier area will provide Canadians and visitors from around the world the opportunity to visit this area and commercial tourism experiences to resume operations,” said Parks Canada spokesperson Annie MacNeil in an email.
“Parks Canada will utilize resources from the neighbouring national parks to provide limited services in the area of the Athabasca Glacier.”
Due to the wildfires, the Icefields Parkway and the rest of Jasper National Park remain closed between the Athabasca Glacier area and the town of Jasper, located 100 kilometres north of the icefield.
The Icefields Parkway will only be accessible from the south via Highway 11 or Highway 1.
Banff National Park day-use areas and trails on the Icefields Parkway are now open to all visitors, except for Nigel Creek Trail.
All campgrounds and trails in Jasper National Park continue to be closed, and all frontcountry and backcountry campgrounds in Banff National Park remain open.
“Given the rapidly evolving wildfire situation across Western Canada, Parks Canada encourages all visitors to exercise an abundance of caution to avoid putting additional strain on first responders, as well as our frontline staff,” MacNeil said.
“Helicopters are in extremely high demand as they respond to large-scale incidents across British Columbia and Alberta. As a result, any rescue could be severely delayed. Keep this in mind and travel safely.”
Pursuit, a global attractions and hospitality company, operates multiple experiences in the Columbia Icefield.
Experiences reopening to guests on Friday (Aug. 9) include the Columbia Icefield Discovery Centre, Columbia Icefield Adventure, Ice Odyssey and Columbia Icefield Skywalk.
This would also include the reopening of Brewster Sightseeing tours and Brewster Express shuttles to the Columbia Icefield, and the Glacier View Lodge will reopen to guests on Saturday (Aug. 10).
Pursuit stated in a news release that the Icefields Parkway reopening was another important step to recovery.
“We owe an enormous amount of gratitude to the firefighters, first responders and members of Parks Canada for their heroic actions in ensuring the safety of our staff, their families and our mountain community,” said Stuart Back, COO of Banff Jasper Collection by Pursuit, in the news release. “We will continue to work closely with the provincial government, town of Jasper and our tourism partners to support the recovery of the town of Jasper.”
The Athabasca Glacier is one of the world’s most accessible glaciers and part of the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks UNESCO World Heritage Site.
