From Bow Pass, Icefields Parkway [1] descends to a viewpoint directly across the Mistaya River from Mount Patterson and the Snowbird Glacier, clinging precariously to the mountain’s steep northeast face. Mistaya Lake is a three-kilometer-long (1.9-mile-long) body of water that sits at the bottom of the valley between the road and the divide, but it can’t be seen from the parkway.
The best place to view this panorama is from the Howse Peak Viewpoint at Upper Waterfowl Lake. From here, the high ridge that forms the Continental Divide is easily distinguishable. Numerous trails lead around the swampy shores of Upper and Lower Waterfowl Lakes, providing one of the park’s best opportunities to view moose, which feed on the abundant aquatic vegetation that grows in Upper Waterfowl Lake.
From a parking lot 14 kilometers (8.7 miles) northeast of Waterfowl Lake Campground, a short trail descends into the montane forest to Mistaya Canyon. Here, the effects of erosion can be appreciated as the Mistaya River leaves the floor of Mistaya Valley, plunging through a narrow-walled canyon into the North Saskatchewan Valley.
The area is scarred with potholes where boulders have been whirled around by the action of fast-flowing water, carving deep depressions into the softer limestone bedrock below.
Links:
[1] http://www.moon.com/destinations/canadian-rockies/banff-and-jasper-national-parks/icefields-parkway