Jasper · Easy · There and back

Wilcox Pass

Through the forest to the Red Chairs above the Athabasca Glacier, then over open slopes into the broad meadows of Wilcox Pass.

Distance
8.1 km (5.0 mi)
Ascent
340 m
Time
About 3 h
High point
2,345 m
Grade
Easy

Line © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), checked by Global Adventurer.

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Wilcox Pass
David Wilson from Oak Park, Illinois, USA · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

The walk

From the car park on the Wilcox Creek campground road, the trail crosses a footbridge and climbs steeply through spruce and fir for about a kilometre to the first viewpoint (the Red Chairs), looking across the valley to the Athabasca Glacier. It then eases off above the trees, across open slopes into the broad pass between Mount Wilcox and Nigel Peak. Where an informal path forks left to Wilcox Ridge, stay on the main trail for about 600 m along the pass, then return the same way.

It is 8.1 km there and back with 340 m of ascent; allow about 3 hours. The grade is Easy: a steep first kilometre, then a gentler climb over open alpine ground.

The pass is exposed to wind, storms and lightning. It can hold snow until late July and gets new snow from early autumn; Parks Canada reported snow patches on 30 September 2026. Keep well back from bighorn sheep and never feed them. Carry bear spray. A Parks Canada pass is needed to visit Jasper National Park.

The trailhead is about 3 km south of the Columbia Icefield Centre; vehicles over 7.5 m are not allowed on the campground road. There is no public transport. Winter tyres or chains are required on the parkway from 1 November to 31 March.

Route drawn by Global Adventurer along OpenStreetMap paths (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), with figures worked out from it. Check the forecast and the ground on the day: paths change.

Good to know

  • Indigenous families and later travellers on horseback crossed this pass to avoid a canyon on the Sunwapta River; it is named after the climber Walter Wilcox
  • From the first viewpoint the Athabasca Glacier and the Columbia Icefield Centre are laid out across the valley
  • Bighorn rams often graze the meadows of the pass in summer and autumn
  • The trailhead is on the Wilcox Creek campground road, 3 km south of the Columbia Icefield Centre

Getting there

Start: Wilcox Pass trailhead, Wilcox Creek campground road. 52.21826, -117.18446

Directions to the start

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Places to stay nearby

Rooms in and around Wilcox Pass trailhead: Booking.com → Expedia → Hotels.com →

Affiliate links: if you book, Global Adventurer earns a small commission at no cost to you.

Paths change, and the weather decides the day. The line and figures come from OpenStreetMap and our own checks; take a map, check the forecast, and turn back if it isn't right.