Parking
Use the Mistaya Canyon parking area just off the Icefields Parkway; the turnoff comes up quickly around a bend.
Overview
About Mistaya Canyon Trail
Why go
- A dramatic limestone gorge after a short walk
- Footbridge views right off the Icefields Parkway
Heads up
- The short descent means a climb back to the road
- Slippery rock makes wandering off trail hazardous
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Icefields Parkway map
Full mapElevation1,476–1,517 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
2 active Icefields Parkway alerts
- ClosureWildfire-impacted area closures in JasperStay out of the closed wildfire-impacted areas in Jasper National Park; access is prohibited or restricted to protect public safety.Official details
- ClosureOpal Hills hiking area closed for grizzly bearThe Opal Hills hiking area is closed because a female grizzly bear with two offspring is in the area. - The closure took effect September 25, 2026, and remains in effect until further notice.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Icefields Parkway Tour Guide
Your drive to Mistaya Canyon Trail, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Icefields Parkway (Highway 93). As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Icefields Parkway audio tourRecorded for this trailhead
Mistaya Canyon: The Twisting Channel0:00 / 0:29
“Mistaya Canyon is coming up, a good half-hour stop for a close look at a twisting river gorge.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Icefields Parkway Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- A Family Across the Rockies
- Ice on Both Sides
- The Tourists Who Measured a Glacier
- Howse Pass Viewpoint: A Valley and a Route
- 141 audio storiesacross Icefields Parkway’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Grizzly Bear, Black Bear, Moose, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 54 trails, 57 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Mistaya Canyon Trail
Make this a quick canyon stopMistaya Canyon Trail is an easy out-and-back, about 0.
Mistaya Canyon Trail is an easy out-and-back, about 0.6 miles round trip, from the Icefields Parkway to a footbridge over the Mistaya River and back. Allow about 30 minutes with time to look. The path drops through trees to the gorge, then climbs back to the road. It's a good leg-stretching stop on the drive, not a long hike.
Follow the bridge routeA short gravel path leads from the roadside parking area to the footbridge.
A short gravel path leads from the roadside parking area to the footbridge. From there, you can look into the canyon before retracing the same route uphill. Some descriptions show a longer 1.8-kilometer loop, but I couldn't confirm its added return path in the mapped trail network. Plan on the bridge out-and-back and follow on-site signs if you continue farther.
Watch the river workThe Mistaya River flows from Peyto Lake and has spent thousands of years cutting through…
The Mistaya River flows from Peyto Lake and has spent thousands of years cutting through limestone. From the bridge, look down the zigzag channel at smooth, curved rock and fast whitewater squeezed into narrow bends. The bridge gives you the canyon view without needing to scramble along its edge; it's also the best place to frame the sculpted walls and water together.
Keep to the pathThe road-to-canyon descent is short but steep enough that you'll notice the climb back.
The road-to-canyon descent is short but steep enough that you'll notice the climb back. Stay on the designated path and viewpoints: rocks near the canyon edge can be slippery, and the drop to the rushing water is serious. Dogs are allowed on leash and under control.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Icefields Parkway
12 sightingsGrizzly BearMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
127 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
16 sightingsMooseMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
100 sightingsElkMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
34 sightingsMountain GoatMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
53 sightingsBighorn SheepMost seen around 6 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Icefields Parkway. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
