Saskatchewan Glacier - Banff National Park, Alberta - Glaciers on Waymarking.com

Saskatchewan Glacier is not visible from the Icefield Parkway. Most people view it from the Parker Ridge Trail which is a 2.7 km one way hike (250 metre elevation gain).

After a series of switchbacks you’ll be rewarded with dramatic views of the Saskatchewan Glacier – headwaters of the Saskatchewan River which eventually makes its way 550 km to Lake Winnipeg.

Saskatchewan Glacier is the largest outflow glacier from the Columbia Icefield, which rests along the Continental divide. The glacier is approximately 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) long and covers an area of 30 km² (11.5 mi²) and was measured in 1960 to be over 400 metres (1,300 ft) thick at a distance of 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) from the terminal snout. Between the years 1893 and 1953, Saskatchewan Glacier had retreated a distance of 1,364 metres (4,474 ft), with the rate of retreat between the years 1948 and 1953 averaging 55 metres (180 ft) per year.

One can hike to the toe of the glacier and, apparently, there is an old gravel road that gets you close. The road was built in the 1930s by the U.S. Army's 87th Mountain Division to set up a camp on the Saskatchewan Glacier to test winter equipment.

Mountain / landmass name: Rocky Mountains Park name (if any): Banff National Park Glacier type: ice Parking / trail head / boat launch: Icefield Parkway - Parker Ridge trailhead (N52 11.496 W117 06.946) Travel time (approximate): 1:15 AM Final access method: Hiking trail Safe viewing location: N 52° 10.820 W 117° 06.288 Photograph submitted: yes

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To log an existing waymark, you must post a photograph of you and the glacier [TAKEN FROM A SAFE LOCATION], and describe briefly how you arrived there.

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Date Logged Log User Rating   10/24/2016 Castor007 visited it