Columbia Icefield Skywalk

Opened in 2014, the Columbia Icefield Skywalk is a glass-floored observation platform cantilevered 280 metres above the floor of the Sunwapta Valley, connected to the main parking area by a walkway that hugs the cliff face. From the viewing deck, the Rocky Mountain panorama extends in every direction — the icefields, the valley, and the winding thread of the Icefields Parkway far below.

The Skywalk is a ticketed attraction operated alongside the Snocoach glacier tours, and the price is not trivial. Whether it justifies the cost depends on how you feel about heights and engineered viewpoints. But the views are genuinely extraordinary, and the walk along the cliff edge to reach it builds up the sense of exposure in a way that makes the final platform feel earned.

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The glass floor panels are 1.2 centimetres thick and rated to hold the weight of several vehicles, but none of that information is particularly calming when you are standing 280 metres above the Sunwapta Valley floor and watching ravens fly past at eye level below you. The first few steps onto the glass take longer for some people than others.