DH & I are planning (weather permitting) to drive from Jasper to Banff, and since there are "no facilities" on the Parkway in the winter, just what are we to do when nature calls? Is there anywhere along the way that we would find access to even basic (pit/outhouse) facilities? OK - maybe I do know the answer to this question since I've not been able to find any reference to such, but can someone confirm it for me?

Thanks very much.

Hello Rookie,

My husband and I once drove from Calgary, through Banff, Lake Louise, and Jasper to Edmonton, and then back home again between Christmas and New Year.

We stopped for lunch at Num Ti Jah Lodge at Bow Lake, which is towards the southern end of the Icefields Parkway.

We didn't stop further north at the hamlet of Saskatchewan Crossing, but there are a few facilities there -- a gas station, a restaurant, etc.

We did stop further north still, to see Sunwapta Falls and Athabasca Falls. If I remember correctly, there were facilities there if we had had to use them.

Postscript.

I don't know where you live. Perhaps you are entirely familiar with winter driving. However, in case you aren't, here are a couple of websites:

http://www.canadianrockies.net/howto...rivingfaq.html

and

http://www.ocipep.gc.ca/info_pro/sel...nterdriv_e.asp

Thanks, Judy for your helpful replies. Everything I have read indicates that the services at Saskatchewan Crossing are closed during winter.

Lunch at Num Ti Jah sounds like a great idea - I had considered stopping there for the night, but DH prefers to go on to Banff.

Thanks for the links to the winter driving tips. Perhaps because you have referred to them in other posts I had seen both. DH is from NE Pennsylvania, but I have never lived above the Mason-Dixon line, so I intend to leave the driving to him.

I do hope the weather cooperates for this little adventure.

>>>>>>Everything I have read indicates that the services at Saskatchewan Crossing are closed during winter.<<<<<<

Yes, Rookie, you are right about that. I've just looked up "The Mountain Guide" (a publication that everyone receives when they enter one of the Canadian Rocky Mountain national parks). It states that the services at Saskatchewan Crossing are available from March to November.

The same publication states that commercial services were available at Sunwapta Falls only from May 8 to October 15 (I'm looking at the 2004 / 2005 edition).

However, in addition to the commercial restaurant at Sunwapta, there definitely are outhouses as well, and I imagine they still would be accessible in winter.

Okay, I decided to ask someone who really knew, so I called Parks Canada in Jasper at 780-852-6176. The man confirmed that the commercial facilities at Saskatchewan Crossing and Sunwapta Falls were closed. He also said that conditions didn't allow access to the Sunwapta Falls side road right now.

He did say that there were some primitive outhouses that were open here and there along the Icefields Parkway. He gave me the phone number of the supervisor of the cleaning crew that services these outhouses, who would know which ones are open. The number is 780-852-6183. I just called there, but only reached an answering machine that invited me to leave my phone number for them to call me back. I'm going to be going out in a bit, and it doesn't suit me to have them call me back later today, so I didn't leave a message.

Anyway, the Parks Canada man definitely did say there are some outhouses that are operational.

From my experience of those places, they usually are equipped with toilet paper, but they are not 100% reliable in that regard, so I would recommend you carry some with you.

Also, they are not heated, and will not have running water in winter (and many of the primitive ones don't have tap water in summer either). I suppose you could always wash your hands outdoors in the snow, but I think it would be nice to have some handiwipes or a small bottle of antibacterial lotion in the car.

Oh yes, the Parks Canada man said that Num Ti Jah Lodge is closed right now. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. November is a slow month for tourism in the mountains. It's the lull between the summer rush and the ski season. However, he did say that Num Ti Jah Lodge would re-open early in December.

Hope that helps.

Judy ~

Thanks so much for going waaayyyy above and beyond the call of Fodorite duty on this one. I'll try my luck with the cleaning crew supervisor's number. I won't expect them to return a call to the US, but maybe I'll catch someone there.

And thanks for the reminders to travel prepared ~ that's always good advice.

You sure you want to do what you describe?
It gets cold up there in those hills!
And everything is white, even the road, if snow is falling!!

I can see it now -- frozen stuck in a Canadian outhouse.

I love the Icefields Parkway, but I am not sure I would love it as much in January!

I must admit that Canadians are a tougher breed than I when it comes to the cold!!

And yep, Judy dishes out tons and tons of help. As much as I have visited out there in my favorite spots, I learn from her. No substitute for the generous advice of a person who lives there.

Oh, Bob! Now that conjures up an image - what a great way to start my day (LOL!) But, in all seriousness, I did ask DH to request a RED rental car.

And I do mean weather permitting, but we will be in Jasper, and I'd hate to be that close and not try if its doable. We may never have this opportunity again.

I tried to think up a witty comment about your Icefields trip, but there is nothing funny to me about the cold.

I have a friend from Finland who teaches at U Alberta in Edmonton, and even she says Edmonton is cold!

I somehow don't think Jasper will be any warmer.

Calgary might be relatively warm if Chinook winds are blowing.

But Jasper next week will be rainy, snowy with lows in the teens, on the Fahrenheit scale.

Me, I like the 70 we are going to have tomorrow! Of course August gets out of hand when the high reaches 98!

I just returned from a long trip that included a drive on the Ice Fields Parkway (comprehensive trip report will follow in a day or two). The previous posts are up-to-date. There are a number of pit-style outhouses along the drive from Jasper to Lake Louise. All were open, none had running water (at any time) and none were heated.

The Ice Fields Visitor Center was closed but the outhouses just to the north a few hundred yards were open. The only drawback was the need to hike about 50 yards through 2-foot snow drifts to get to them.

The parkway, when I was there a couple of weeks ago, was dry at the lower elevations and snow packed at the higher. Conditons can change so I advise current weather updates.

dwooddon ~

Thanks very much for the update. Looking forward to your trip report - what a great retirement gift.

Just came back from the mountains, and although it snowed in October, the recent very mild weather and warm winds have melted most of it away and cleared the roads (which at the moment are "summer dry" even at Kicking Horse Pass which is 5333 ft above sea level).
The valleys were bare, there was some snow only at higher elevations.
Lake Louise had a thin layer snow on the ground although not very much (meaning = not as much as usual), and the lake itself was mostly frozen over, but had the appearance of a mirror (very very thin transparent ice), and we did see standing water at some of the sunny edges (no ice).
Because this an El Nino year, the predictions are for a mild and dry winter. That means not much snow (good for golfers bad for farmers), so I think that you have a good chance of having favourable conditions even by January.
By the way, for your bathroom break question, I would suggest that you not drink coffee (or tea) for the hour before you leave Jasper, and then hopefully you should be able to drive the 2.5 hours (non-stop) to Lake Louise (where all facilities are open) without needing a "pit stop" (at least - that's always been my strategy ;-) ).
Good luck!!

Thanks for the update, Borealis. I like your strategy, but I'm wishing and hoping for ideal weather and thinking it could therefore take us longer with stops along the way to drink in the majestic beauty surrounding us. Then again, conditions could dictate that we drive slower - I'll just keep thinking positive.

The drive would be 4 weeks from today or tomorrow. Things could look very different by then, no?

Hello Rookie,
The drive on the Icefield Parkway will itself be beautiful, especially if you have sunny weather. However, many of the usual scenic points of view are closed (some of them along the highway are not plowed after snowfalls), so you won't have quite as many stops as there are in spring-summer-autumn. Plus in some stretches stopping is not advisable due to avalanche dangers (signs are posted in these places).
The end of December can still be fairly mild. Since the mid-1980's we've had many Christmases with barely any snow, sometimes even rain!! It's usually January before the bitterly frigid cold spells and snowstorms hit. But you never know, so it's better to be prepared for all types of weather.
Have fun - it's a gorgeous drive.

Thanks, Borealis.

My primary objective is to see what can be seen from the warmth of the car, but what do you think my chances of seeing Athabasca Falls will be? I know you don't have a crystal ball, but is 93A open during the winter?

I can't answer whether they try to keep 93A open all winter but, when I was there in early November, 93 was easily drivable but 93A had such deep snow, I was unwilling to try it with a standard rental car.

I've posted a longish trip report on the US forum about that trip. If you want to check it out, it's under the title "Trip Report-Pacific NW, Canadian Rockies, British Columbia".

Hi dwooddon ~

I found your trip report yesterday, and enjoyed it very much. I'd like to someday be able to travel the way you do (a month or 4 at a time!).

Thanks for the info on 93A. I suppose that for this trip, I'll be happy just being able to drive the parkway - even that's not a given at this point. Weather wise, 4 weeks is a long way away.

Rookie - we have driven to Athabasca Falls (almost completely frozen!!!) in the winter (in the months of November, January, February and March - not all in the same year of course ).
It isn't that far from Jasper (about 24 km or just under 15 miles), and you don't need to drive 93A; in fact, you'll get there faster on 93 (the Icefield Parkway).
Plus: during the years we were there in winter, 93A was closed off and had cross-country ski trails on it.

Hope that this helps.

Thanks Borealis.

Everything I've read so far indicates that one must exit 93 onto 93A to access the parking lot for the falls. I suppose access will depend on snowfalls between now and then - we'll see what we find when we get there.

I've also decided to check into a Maligne Canyon Ice Walk since we'll likely have at least one extra day to entertain ourselves in Jasper.