Scenic Route: the Icefield Parkway

So your first stop on the Icefield parkway will be the Athabasca Falls. They are 23 meters high which is not that high for Rocky Mountains standards but since the Athabasca river is so big, it makes the waterfalls very powerful and impressive. There is also a small canyon. And you can walk around to enjoy very nice views of the falls with different angles.

Columbia Icefield is one of the largest icefields in the World. There are several ways of exploring it. You can do the skywalk but if you don't have time to do everything, I recommend that you don't miss the ice explorer tour on the Athabasca glacier. It is a very unique experience. You will take an all terrain ice explorer which is a bus with huge tires specially made to drive on ice. It will take you to the glacier so that you can walk on it. You can even do ice trekking if you book it in advance.
You can get more information and book your tickets in advance on the website.

Have lunch at this altitude restaurant perched at the glacier's edge. Options for lunch are not that great, you can get sandwiches, pizzas and salads, but there are not so many options in the area. Of course you can bring your own picnic from Jasper supermarket if you want.
Check the website for opening hours and menus.

After this nice drive on the Icefield Parkway, you have reached the Lake Louise visitor center. Here you can get more information about the hikes in the surroundings and the different ways to visit the area and to enjoy Lake Louise, one of the most beautiful lakes in the Canadian Rockies.

In Summer, you can take the Lake Louise gondola. It is a cable-car that will take you higher in the mountains so you can enjoy a beautiful panorama of Lake Louise and the surroundings. The gondola will take you at 2101 meters high (6893 feet) to enjoy the beauty of the landscape with beautiful wild flowers. If you are lucky, you could even spot wild grizzly bears from your chair. At the top, there are several hiking trails.
Check for more information on the website.

Lake Louise is the most photographed lake in Canada, so that tells you something about its photogenic beauty. After enjoying the general view with the surrounding mountains, come enjoy the lake up close. You can see the incredibly blue, clear and transparent water. With the sun shining, the color of the water is really mind-blowing. And the beautiful snow-caped mountains in the background make the whole scenery spectacular. The Hotel Fairmont at the beginning of the lake is quite impressive too. You can walk along the lake for a nice little hike as far as you want and enjoy the beautiful views, as well as the flora and fauna with very cute local squirrels roaming around.

Have a very nice fancy dinner in the beautiful restaurant inside the Fairmont Hotel. Note that it is supposedly only for hotel guests so you can have dinner here or in another restaurant inside the hotel if you are staying here. The food will be very good and very nicely presented. Apparently they have a dish with melted cheese that is called the best fondue outside Switzerland so it might be worth a try.
Open hours Monday - Sunday 17:30 - 21:30. You can book a table on their website.

You can spend the night at this hotel, it has a nice indoor pool to enjoy after a big day driving around.
If you have the budget, you can stay at the Fairmont Château Lake Louise, it is probably one of the most magnificent hotels to stay in the Rocky Mountains. And of course the view on Lake Louise will be magnificent if your window is on the right side. You can also enjoy the pool and the spa and the amazing restaurants.