We have been hiking Wilcox Pass for about 37 years and we hope to continue to hike it as long as we can.  The trailhead is at the Icefields Summit area on the Jasper-Banff Highway.   Go south and turn onto the road into Wilcox Campground.   Park at the kiosk at 2048m (6719 ft.).

The trail climbs through sub-alpine forest with many views across to Mount Athabasca (3491m; 11454 feet), the Columbia Icefields and Snow Dome (3446m; 11, 339 ft.)   In 20 minutes, the trail is in the alpine.   As the route enters the pass, Mt. Wilcox stands above on the northwest side and Mt. Nigel on the east.  The pass is treeless, but very scenic.   Watch for pikas, marmots, ptarmigan, and Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep.

On this sunny day, we lingered in the pass to enjoy the views and photograph a herd of bighorn.   We enjoyed the emergence of fall colors in the pass.   We had left a vehicle at the far end and hiked from end to end, coming out at Tangle Creek on the highway north of the Icefields area, a 12 km through hike.

Some images are shared here.   click an image for a lightbox view and a caption.

Wilcox Pass

Snow Dome

Nigel Peak above the pass

Mt. Athabasca

Nigel Peak

Note – I have climbed to the summit of some of these mountains – Athabasca, Snow Dome, and Tangle Peak are shown in the images.   

Magic…