Columbia Icefield

According to my guidebook, there are 17 glacial areas along the Icefields Parkway, but this one is the most accessible. At 9,000 feet above sea level, it has been preserved by cold temperatures and heavy snow.

This particular part is called the Athabasca Glacier, 330 feet deep. To reach it, you literally pull into a parking lot (at left) and walk up a steep incline!

Visitors are encouraged to go to the Icefield Centre to take a guided tour (especially since walking on the glacier can be dangerous due to melt and crevasses). But that didn't seem to deter most people form walking right up its face.