• Icefields Parkway - Your local guide plans each day’s route on the day.

Each morning, the guide checks the weather, road conditions on the Icefields Parkway, and the ice on Abraham Lake, then chooses the order of stops so each one is seen at its best.

Dress for a full day outside in freezing temperatures. Wear warm layers, a hat and gloves, and waterproof winter boots. Conditions in the mountains can change quickly.

The stops below are a sample of where the tour may go.

• Abraham Lake - Walk out onto the frozen surface of Abraham Lake, just east of Banff National Park, where methane bubbles freeze in stacked white layers beneath clear ice. The guide finds the best patch of ice for the day, so the bubbles can be seen and photographed up close.
• Peyto Lake - At Bow Summit, the highest point on the Icefields Parkway, the guide fits guests with snowshoes or ice cleats and shows them how to use them. If a guest can walk, they can snowshoe.

Follow a snowy forest trail to the Peyto Lake viewpoint, where the lake’s famous wolf-head shape sits below a ring of peaks and glaciers.

The walk is optional but well worth it: an easy to moderate 1.5 km (0.9 mi) round trip, about 45 minutes.

• Bow Lake - At 1,920 m (6,300 ft), Bow Lake is one of the largest lakes in Banff National Park and the source of the Bow River. In winter it freezes into a wide white plain beneath Crowfoot Mountain, with the Bow Glacier, part of the Wapta Icefield, spilling down the peaks above it.
• Banff National Park - Every full-day tour includes Abraham Lake, Peyto Lake, and Bow Lake.

Along the way, the guide may add extra stops based on the weather, road conditions, and recent wildlife sightings. These could include Waterfowl Lakes, Herbert Lake, Cline River Falls, or a quiet roadside pullout with a view worth stopping for.

• Comfortable, premium transportation
• Small group experience (max 10 guests)
• Polaroid souvenir
• Lunch
• Fresh water refills (BYO bottle)
• Local guide trained in photography and storytelling
• Hotel pick-up and drop-off at select Banff and Lake Louise locations
• Hot drinks (hot chocolate, coffee, or tea) & sweet treat
• Ice cleats/crampons & hiking poles

• Ice-skates or snowshoes rentals (please contact Radventures BEFORE booking)
• Guide gratuities (optional)

Winter’s best-kept secret.

Step onto the crystal-clear ice of Abraham Lake and gaze down at thousands of methane bubbles frozen in time. The bubbles reveal themselves once the lake freezes clear, typically from late December into February, and the guide checks ice conditions daily so guests see the lake at its very best. Then explore the quietest stretches of the Icefields Parkway and walk or snowshoe to favourite lookouts. Hot drinks in hand while the Rockies put on their best winter show.

★ Banff’s top-rated tour provider, with 5,000+ five-star reviews and four Tripadvisor Travelers’ Choice awards.

Highlights:
❄ Frozen methane bubbles of Abraham Lake
❄ Peyto Lake viewpoint on a snowy forest trail
❄ Picnic lunch: gourmet sandwich, fruit, and a baked treat

Why book with Radventures:
▸ Max 10 guests in a premium van, never a coach
▸ Banff-born, independently owned
▸ 1% of every booking protects the places you explore

• Guests who wish to participate in snowshoeing will need to be free of mobility issues.
• Children 5 and under are unable to join our small group adventures.
• A fresh picnic lunch from one of our local favourites, with a turkey sandwich by default. Have a preference or dietary restriction? Reach out and we’ll sort you out with an alternative.

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.