June 16,2025
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It was a chilly night beside the Columbia Glacier. When we woke up it was 36 degrees! BRRR! By the time we left at 9:40 AM it had warmed up to 43 degrees!
It was a gorgeous sunny morning as we continued on the Icefield Parkway towards Jasper National Park and the town of Jasper.
Just a few miles up the road from the Columbia Glacier, we passed the Columbia Icefield Sky walk. The Skywalk is a glass-floored observation platform 918 above the Sunwapta Valley. Not on our bucket list!
The scenery on this roadway is beautiful…it is said to be one of the most scenic drives in North America. It has everything: lakes, rivers, bubbling creeks, snow capped mountains, glaciers, wildflowers, waterfalls, and wildlife(if you are lucky). It’s hard to capture everything with towering mountains on both sides and balancing the Milepost and Camera on my lap.
As we got close to Jasper, we began to see the burn areas from last year’s monster wildfire that devastated Jasper and the surrounding area. We passed by a campground where we stayed on a previous trip. It used to be a forested campground, now it sits out in the open with no trees. So Sad. Once we reached the town of Jasper it was evident that the town was still trying to recover. We saw fenced off areas and a large lot with many temporary housing trailers. We were looking for a gas station but there were only two remaining in the town. Neither station was large enough to accommodate a large RV. It appeared that many businesses in town were spared, but, there were many fenced off areas with lost structures. I read that 600 people are still displaced from housing accommodations. For a town that depends on tourism, it is going to be a long time before they completely recover.
Leaving Jasper, we took highway 16 towards MT. Robson, the highest peak(12,972 ft) in the Canadian Rockies. We stopped at the Visitor Center area to get a closer look. On our last trip in 2019, it was raining hard at this stop and we couldn’t even see the mountain. Not today. It was perfect weather to view the mountain.
We chose to end our day in the town of McBride, 47 miles from Mt. Robson. Beaverview RV was our choice as our home for the night. We have stayed at this park several times. We didn;t have reservations and we were hopeful that we could get a spot. No problem! There was only one RV when we arrived but by nightfall, the park was over half full. It is a good stopping point for folks traveling towards Alaska.
Tomorrow…Prince George BC