Bordering Banff, are two other beautiful Canadian national parks. First, Jasper National Park.

If you want to do a boat tour, you can take the tour on Maligne lake to Spirit Island. It’s the only way to reach the island. It’s a peaceful place that you have to share with only 40 or 80 fellow tourists 🙂

Jasper Skytram takes you to the top of a mountain where a layer of snow was already covering the ground.

We spent some time around the Athabasca glacier. The hike to the glacier does not get you close enough to the ice. They blame the unpredictability of the glacier ice. Don’t know, in Alaska they don’t have that problem 😉

I think the real reason, for not letting people walk up to the glacier is to encourage them to buy tickets for the bus tour, but I may be wrong of course. The tour to the Athabasca glacier was surprisingly fun. They load you on these huge ice buses and drive to the middle of the glacier where you get out and walk on the ice for a few minutes. The road there is like a roller coaster. The bus very slowly goes down a 34 degree slope which in real life looks more like 90.

After the glacier they drop you at the Skywalk – a glass bottom bridge over a canyon. It’s not for those with fear of heights.

Yoho National Park coming soon!