Widely regarded as one of the most spectacular drives on the continent, the Icefields Parkway winds for about 230 km through the heart of the Canadian Rockies, linking Lake Louise in the south to the town of Jasper in the north. Running parallel to the Continental Divide, the route passes more than a hundred visible glaciers, along with turquoise lakes, deep canyons, and thundering waterfalls. The road climbs over two high mountain passes, yet much of the original alignment laid out in the 1930s is still driven by travellers today.

The motivation for the road's construction came largely from hard times. During the Great Depression, thousands of men were out of work, and the federal government looked for projects that could put them to useful labour. Officials also hoped that a scenic mountain highway would draw motor tourists into the national parks and lift the struggling regional economy. The undertaking promised to be difficult, however, since the chosen corridor crossed remote wilderness, unstable rock slopes, and terrain buried under snow for much of the year.