The Athabasca Glacier is the premiere attraction along the Icefields Parkway. Almost everyone sees the glacier from ground level, while many also visit the glacier through the Columbia Icefield Adventure tour.
But did you know you can enjoy a short hike to an excellent viewpoint right across from the Athabasca Glacier? The Wilcox Pass hike is an outstanding hike to a pair of Parks Canada red chairs, giving you an amazing view of the many glaciers in the area, including the Athabasca Glacier.
This post contains compensated links.
Wilcox Pass Trail Highlights
The Wilcox Pass Trail begins on a double wide hiking trail leading directly into an evergreen forest. Before long, the trail begins to climb and continues to do so until you reach the Parks Canada red chairs.
After about 600 m / 2,000 feet of walking through the forest, the hiking trail reaches a cool multi-level bridge connected by stairs. This long bridge allows you to pass over a large, lush mossy ravine.
After crossing the bridge, the Wilcox Pass Trail turns a corner and you’ll reach a clearing. Here you’ll enjoy an excellent view of Hilda Peak (3,060 m) – one of the most interesting peaks in the Columbia Icefield area.
Another 100 m or so later, and you’ll reach the first real glacial viewpoint of the Wilcox Pass hike. Here you can see multiple glaciers, including the Andromeda Glacier and the icecap on top of Snow Dome (3,456 m).
Another few minutes down the trail you’ll reach another viewpoint; this time you can enjoy incredible mountain vistas all the way from Hilda Peak to the ice-capped Mount Kitchener (3,505 m). Nearly all the mountains across the valley have icecaps or glaciers on them.
At the 1.4 km / 0.9 mile mark of the Wilcox Pass hike, the Athabasca Glacier comes into view!! During our 2-night stay at the Glacier View Lodge, we’ve seen a lot of the Athabasca Glacier, so it was nice to enjoy a much different view of it from up high. It’s a much better view of the glacier than you can get from the valley floor.
Finally, after just 1.6 km / 1 mile of hiking, you’ll reach the famous Parks Canada red chairs. These iconic red Adirondack chairs have been strategically placed by Parks Canada in the most scenic spots in Canadas national parks. It’s easy to see why they chose Wilcox Pass for the location of the red chairs in the Colombia Icefield.
From the vantage point of the Parks Canada red chairs on Wilcox Pass, you can see every one of the major glaciers visible from the Icefields Parkway; the Andromeda Glacier, Athabasca Glacier and the Dome Glacier.
Read More
If you’d like to visit more scenic spots in the Canadian Rockies, discover where you can find the red chairs in Banff National Park.
Wilcox Pass Trailhead
The Wilcox Pass trailhead is at the north-west end of the parking lot along the Icefields Parkway. The parking lot is quite small compared to the popularity of this hike, and can often reach capacity. For example, we arrived here at 9:00am on a Tuesday morning in August and it was already 80% full.
The Wilcox Pass parking lot is just 3 minutes from the Columbia Icefield, but it’s a bit of a drive if you are coming from elsewhere. It’s 80 minutes from Jasper, 90 minutes from Lake Louise and 2 hours from Banff.
Don’t let the length of the drive scare you off – the Icefields Parkway is one of the most scenic drives in the world! To learn more, check out our complete guide to the Icefields Parkway.
Directions to Wilcox Pass Parking Lot
For long drives in Banff National Park, we recommend picking up the GuideAlong audio driving tour. It’s one of our favorite apps for visiting Banff as it’s very entertaining and full of great info on the Icefields Parkway!
Recommended App
This GPS activated Canadian Rockies Audio Driving Tour is the perfect companion to your Banff vacation. It’s both entertaining and educational and will greatly enhance any drive in Banff National Park.
Wilcox Pass Hike Stats
How Long is the Wilcox Pass Hike?
The round-trip distance of the hike to the red chairs on Wilcox Pass is just 3.1 km / 1.9 miles (one-way distance of 1.55 km). (The hike to the red chairs described in this post is just a small portion of the full Wilcox Pass hike, which is an 11.6 km / 7.2 mile point-to-point hike).
How Hard is the Hike up to the Red Chairs?
Despite the incline, we rate the Wilcox Pass Hike to the Red Chairs as “easy”.
At 3.1 km return, the hike to the Wilcox Pass viewpoint is not very long, but it does have 170 m / 560 feet of elevation gain. While this uphill climb will get your heart pumping a bit, the short distance and reasonable incline means that Wilcox Pass should be a doable hike for nearly everyone.
How Long Does the Wilcox Pass Viewpoint Hike Take?
It should take a typical adult about 70 minutes to enjoy the Wilcox Pass Trail to the red chairs. We recently did this hike with our two kids (12 and 10 years old) during our two night stay at the Glacier View Lodge near the Columbia Icefield, and it took us 1 hour.
Read More
The Parker Ridge hike is one of the most scenic hikes in Banff National Park. It’s just 5 minutes away from Wilcox Pass, so you can combine the two in a single day. Get all the details in our post on the Parker Ridge hike.
Wilcox Pass Trail Map
The hiking trail to the red chairs on Wilcox Pass is well established and easy to follow the entire way to the viewpoints atop the ridge. Although you won’t need a trail map for navigation, it’s never a bad idea to have the trail map on your phone just in case.
There are many different iterations of the Wilcox Pass Trail. To find the trail map related to the hike to the red chair viewpoint described in this hike, simply click here for the AllTrails map for the “Wilcox Pass Viewpoint and Parks Canada Red Chairs”.
There is no reliable cell service along the Icefields Parkway, so be sure to download your trail map prior to leaving.
A recent App of the Year winner, AllTrails is also one of the best apps for visiting Banff! Enjoy map downloads and many more premium features with a 7-day free trial of AllTrails+!
Hiking Wilcox Pass Viewpoint Trail with Kids
If you are visiting Banff with kids, this is a great, short hike for the entire family. The entire hike to the red chairs is all uphill, but kids have strong legs and should make it up without a problem.
Once you are at the red chairs on Wilcox Pass, it’s an outstanding spot for some family pictures from tour family trip to Jasper National Park.
Read More
Banff is full of amazing family hikes. If you’d like more suggestions, don’t miss these other best Banff day-hikes with kids.
Where to Stop for Lunch or a Break
The obvious place to stop for lunch is at the red chairs on Wilcox Pass. Don’t think you’ll get to sit on the chairs and enjoy your meal though… being such a popular photo spot, the expectation is that everyone takes their turn with the red chairs, then lets the next group take their turn.
Not to worry, there’s plenty of real estate near the red chairs where you can sit down and soak in the amazing views of the glaciers of the Columbia Icefield.
Read More
Another amazing short hike nearby is the Beauty Creek to Stanley Falls Trail. It’s just 15 minutes away and makes a nice addition to a day of hiking around the Columbia Icefield.
Wilcox Pass Hiking Safety
There are relatively few hiking hazards along the Wilcox Pass viewpoint hiking trail. The trail is otherwise in good condition and is easy to follow up all the way to the red chair viewpoints at the top of the ridge.
Wildlife Safety
When hiking in Banff National Park, you are responsible for your own safety. Before hitting the hiking trails we highly recommend you read our Essential Banff Hiking Tips for information about bear safety, trail conditions, wildlife warnings and possible closures.
Wilcox Pass Trail Logistics
On-leash dogs are allowed on the Wilcox Pass to the red chairs hike.
Mountain biking is not allowed on the Wilcox Pass trail.
There are toilets in the parking lot.
You won’t get cell service for the entirety of your hike, so don’t count on it for your safety. Download your trail maps beforehand.
What to Bring for Hiking the Wilcox Pass Viewpoint Trail
The Wilcox Pass hike to the red chairs is reasonably short, but as with any outing in the mountains, you should be prepared for any eventuality. Check out our list of Banff hiking essentials and Banff hiking clothes to get the most enjoyment out of your hike, regardless of the variable weather and trail conditions.
The hike up Wilcox Pass to the red chairs is a short, uphill hike to an outstanding viewpoint of the Columbia Icefield. You won’t find many better views for such little effort anywhere else in Jasper National Park!
Support Human Created Content
Hi, we’re Dan & Celine Brewer, locals from just outside Banff National Park. Every article, itinerary, and recommendation we share is rooted in our real experiences and love for this place. If you’ve found our content helpful, please consider supporting us:
- Make a small donation: Your support directly fuels our work and keeps our stories genuine.
- Purchase a guide or itinerary: Essential tools that help plan your trip and support local creators at the same time.
- Book lodging or tours through our affiliate links: You pay the same price, but we earn a small commission that helps us keep producing content.
Thank you for valuing authentic, human-created content. Your support allows us to help even more Banff travellers!
Love our content? Sharing our post is the easiest way to support us!
Dan Brewer, a life-long Alberta resident, calls Canmore home along with his wife and two kids. He is the co-owner of Travel Banff Canada, where he gets to share his passion for the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Dan, along with his family, love being outdoors doing one of the many activities they enjoy in the mountains: hiking, mountain biking, paddleboarding, skiing, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing.
When he's not in Canmore enjoying one of his favourite local hikes, you can find him hoping on a plane to explore a new country with his family or working on one of their other two travel sites: Family Can Travel and Baby Can Travel.