In this guide, I’ll tell you everything you need to know about doing the short, but steep hike to the Toe of the Athabasca Glacier in Jasper National Park.

I’m not a fan of expensive tourist attractions and if I can get around having to shell out money to be in some coach bus, shoulder to shoulder with throngs of people and whiny, fussy children who would rather be playing games on their iPad, I’m all for it. At the Columbia Icefield, along the Icefields Parkway, there is a huge tourist attraction (or — dare I say — tourist trap?!) where you can hop in this giant snowcoach bus, where they haul you and 50 of your closest friends out to Athabasca Glacier where you’ll get out and step out onto the glacier for a few minutes and hop back on the bus, just to be driven back to the gift shop.

Maybe it’s because I’m from Minnesota. We get plenty of snow here and I’ve walked on plenty of it. I get my fill every winter. Hell, this spring, I was starting to think that this giant pile of dirty snow in the Planet Fitness parking lot was going to become a glacier itself, as it didn’t melt until June. So walking on a glacier, to me, just doesn’t sound that appealing. But for a lot of tourists, it does sound cool, and a lot of people opt to go on the Columbia Icefields Adventure. As of 2024, this experience is roughly $100 CAD/person – the price can fluctuate depending on what day you go. I think that’s too expensive, even though the exchange rate is very much in an American’s favor.

If you’re just interested in seeing the glacier, don’t care about traipsing around on it, and don’t give a fuck about a skywalk (yeah, the ticket includes this cheesy skywalk which instantly catapults this attraction high into TOURIST TRAP territory!), you can see Athabasca Glacier for free if you can handle a short but steep hike.

And that’s where this “Toe of the Athabasca Glacier” hike comes in.

The name of this hike is misleading though – you will not get anywhere near the terminus (aka the “toe”) of this glacier, but you can get close enough where you can take better photos that what you’d see off the Icefields Parkway.

If you’re interested in a less-touristy experience, you can do a tour with Icewalks. While you also walk out onto the glacier, it’s much more of an intimate experience, as you can chose from half day or full day glacier hikes, getting right up to the crevasses and explore its interesting features, instead of being cattle-proded onto a diesel snowcoach. They also provide all of your equipment, like crampons.

Athabasca Glacier Hike Details

Rating: Easy – Moderate

Distance: A little less than 1 mile, round trip

Time Needed: 45 minutes

Best time to visit: Mid-May to early October

Trailhead Location for the Toe of the Athabasca Glacier Hike

The trail for this hike is located just before the huge Columbia Icefield Discovery Centre (if you are driving the Icefields Parkway northbound), on the opposite site of the highway. You will see a sign for the trailhead from the highway.

The parking lot of fairly large and there are lots of restrooms.

Not to discourage you from doing the tour, but in the effort of full disclosure, people have died on this tour. In summer 2020, there was a fatal crash of a snow coach bus that rolled over during its drive out to the glacier. Do this at your own risk!

Our experience

I’ve hiked this trail twice – once in early fall and once in mid-July. In early September, it was extremely windy and cold on this hike, but in mid-July, it was calm and warm.

You can’t miss the trail – there will be a lot of people here, so just cross the pedestrian bridge and follow the crowds. The trail is well-marked with interesting placards as you get closer, each one telling you where the ‘toe’ was at a certain point in time.

Parks Canada gets a little dark in its messaging with the informational signs as you hike up. One in particular shows a child freezing to death in a glacial crevasse.

It’s also pretty rocky and steep, so you’ll need to wear proper footwear – this is definitely not a hike to do in flip flops!

At the top, there is a rope preventing you from going any further and this is where the trail ends. There is a raging glacial-fed stream that you’ll see between you and the Athabasca Glacier, so that, too, prevents people from jumping over the rope.

As you can see in the photos, you don’t get close enough to the glacier where you can touch it – and this might be disappointing to some. But the view is beautiful! To go back to your car, simply turn around and walk back the way you came – just be careful as the loose rocks can really be slippery and dangerous on the way down.

Toe of the Athabasca Glacier – Pros and Cons

Pros:

It’s free
It won’t take a lot of time
While you can’t actually get to the glacier, the views are beautiful

Cons:
Trail is extremely crowded
Very rocky and steep trail – not handicap accessible and would be very difficult for those with mobility issues.
Can’t actually get to the glacier.
Usually very windy in this area

Final Thoughts – Is the Toe of the Athabasca Glacier trail worth it or should I do a tour?

To me, this was worth it and “enough.” I didn’t feel the need to get on the glacier and if I did, I would chose to go with an Icewalks tour instead, though their tours eat up a half or full day, and we just didn’t have the time.

If you’re short on time, hiking up the Toe of the Glacier trail is a great way to get a closer view. The Columbia Icefields Discovery tour will take more time – a few hours — so if you want to do that, be sure to build in enough time.

Have you hiked to the Toe of the Athabasca Glacier in the Columbia Icefields? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below!