Athabasca Falls

Sometimes things align just perfectly with the weather and the time of day; Athabasca Falls was one of those places for us. This would be the best day of weather during our 9-day trip and we were lucky it came on the day we would be driving from Jasper to Lake Louise along the Icefields Parkway. The first highlight of our day on the road was Athabasca Falls. Here we got to see this famous waterfall surrounded by winter, and with the blue skies and snow-covered trees and mountains.

The road between Jasper and Banff has some of the most legendary viewpoints and destinations in the Canadian Rockies. This was our first day of good weather, and it couldn’t have come on a better day. We didn’t have the best weather during our stay in Jasper – we couldn’t see the mountains until the morning we left – but we weren’t going to complain as we were being treated to some great views today, especially at Athabasca Falls.

Athabasca Falls that morning was one of the most pristine views of our entire road trip. While not a huge vertical drop (it’s only 24 meters / 80 feet tall) the Athabasca River has a lot of energy that is sends crashing over the edge of the falls.  In the spring, when the snow begins to melt is the best time to see the falls in its full glory, but I think it’s difficult to argue with seeing the falls in the first snowfall, as you will see from the following photos.

Norma visited the Rockies in 2013, so she has a few warmer weather pictures from here too that we sprinkled in to this post.

There are many viewing platforms around the falls which makes it easy to snap some great pictures. In October – when we visited – the falls had begun to freeze over in places, and we got to see some icicles clinging to the rocks. The trees and mountains were covered with snow, making for an unforgettable experience.

Athabasca Falls