Sitting at the midpoint of the Icefields Parkway between Banff and Jasper, the Athabasca Glacier is one of the most accessible and visited glaciers in the world — and one of the most powerful reminders of what climate change is doing to the Canadian Rockies in real time. One of six outlet glaciers flowing from the vast Columbia Icefield — the largest icefield in the Canadian Rockies at 230 square kilometres — the Athabasca has been retreating for over 125 years, losing more than 1.5 kilometres in length and over half its volume since the late 1800s. Marker posts along the access road track its retreat year by year with sobering clarity.

The Columbia Icefield itself is an ancient wonder. Formed approximately 240,000 years ago and up to 365 metres deep in places, it sits atop a triple continental divide — water from Snow Dome at its heart eventually flows to three different oceans: the Pacific, the Atlantic via Hudson Bay, and the Arctic. A snowflake falling on the icefield today takes between 150 and 200 years to travel the 6.2 km to the glacier's terminus.

Several ways to experience the glacier are available, ranging from a free self-guided walk to the glacier's toe from the parking area off the Icefields Parkway to the commercial Ice Explorer buses, the intimate IceWalks guided hike, and the premium Ice Odyssey small-group experience. Each is covered in more detail in the relevant listings in this guide. Whatever you choose, do not venture onto the glacier unguided — hidden crevasses have claimed the lives of unprepared visitors.

The Columbia Icefield Discovery Centre across the highway houses exhibits, two restaurants, a gift shop, and ticket sales for glacier tours and the Columbia Icefield Skywalk.