
Tangle Creek Falls – Icefields Parkway
Tangle Creek Falls is a pretty impressive multi-tiered waterfall, which is one of the many gorgeous possible stops along the Icefields Parkway (the main road between Banff and Jasper). The waterfall has a 35 m drop split between multiple layers. Each tier splits into lots of smaller streams which seem to be in a tangle – maybe that is how it got its name!?
There is no hike to get to this one, you just need to cross the highway to get these amazing views. While you’re there, don’t forget to stop and stare in the opposite direction, as the views of the Stutfield Glacier are also fantastic.
Tangle Creek Falls – the basics
Cost: Free
How much time do you need: This one is right by the road, so you can see it is just a few minutes. We were here for about 15 minutes as we all wanted to climb to the top!
Facilities: Pit toilets
Good in winter: In spring (April) half the waterfall was a giant wall of ice! The lower half had mostly melted, but it still looked amazing.
How to reach Tangle Creek Falls
This is the easiest-to-reach waterfall ever! Tangle Creek Falls is 96 km south of Jasper along the Icefields Parkway (Highway 93.) The waterfall is so close to the road, that the car park has to be on the opposite side of the road. Just make sure you are very careful when you cross the highway. There is a bend just before the tangle creek, so speeding cars won’t be able to see you.
Even if you don’t want to stop and take a closer look, at least keep an eye-out for this waterfall as you drive to or from Jasper.
Climbing up Tangle Creek Falls
If you need to stretch your legs, rather than just feast with your eyes, it is quite easy to climb up the rocks at the edge of Tangle Creek. There are several tiers to these falls, with each shelf a little more frozen than the one below.
In the summertime this waterfall looks like it is made up of loads of teeny braids, all tangled up. However in winter (and spring) the entire top half of the falls was frozen into a massive icy cliff.
How Busy is it?
This seemed like the busiest out of the all the waterfalls we saw along the Icefields Parkway. That is probably because it is so easy to get to, and because there is just one viewpoint, so everyone congregates in the same area. Having said that, it wasn’t exactly teeming with people!
Getting up close to the ice
Be very careful if you decide to climb up to see the ice or waterfalls up close! I imagine these rocks must get very slippery with the spray from the falls.
If you do walk up close to the waterfall, it looks like some sort of frozen wonderland.
While you’re there, don’t forget to stop and stare in the opposite direction, as the views of the Stutfield Glacier are also fantastic. It’s funny to think these huge walls of ice are just one teeny section of the massive Columbia Icefield up high on the plateau! This toe of the glacier is heading out to the Arctic Ocean, but the glaciers on the other side of the mountains are heading to both the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean.
We found the best view of this glacier was just before Tangle Creek Falls (if you’re coming from Jasper.) There is another viewpoint with its own car park.ย If you’re interested in seeing the scale, you can see the Icefields Parkway Driving Guide, including its map of the glaciers here.
This was the third waterfall of our day. If you’d like to see other gorgeous frozen waterfalls that we visited earlier, take a peek at Athabasca Falls and Sunwapta Falls. I loved all of them!
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23 thoughts on “Tangle Creek Falls – Icefields Parkway”
Oooh, this is nice! I didn’t get to this one. I did go to the other two, but the weather was really bad, so not all that enjoyable lol. Looks like you had such a great trip this time around!
Oooh in that case you might have driven right past this one without noticing it? It’s right by the side of the road, but if it was raining, maybe it was too soggy for you to notice all that extra water!?
No jumping picture this time? ๐ข
Ha! I did think about it, but Marc didn’t want to take it on ice when we’d just climbed up the edge of the waterfall! ๐
HAHA that does make a good point ๐
Fantastic photos of a wonderful place. It looks incredible in the snow and ice. I really want to go back to the Icefields in winter now.
Thanks so much Jonno!! It really does change a lot through the seasons!
That wall of ice looks majestic!
Thanks Rachel! It’s pretty cool isn’t it!? ๐
Another amazing post and another beautiful amazing location.
Thanks you Marian! It’s pretty impressive eh!? ๐
That ice must be so beautiful up close.
breathtaking. Always enjoy as you break it down so that people can get an idea if it is doable for them (your hikes). Thank you.
The views at Tangle Creek Falls are amazing! I love that the hikes are not super hard and you still get very picturesque landscapes. So cool!
Hehe I am not even sure if I can classify this one as a hike. You only really need to walk for about 10m(!) It was fun to try climbing a little way up the falls though.
Beautiful! I’ve never seen a frozen waterfall in person before, must have been a great sight
Thanks Zi! I’d never seen one before this trip either…then on this one drive we saw five! It was really cool to explore the Rockies in the springtime if you like seeing this kind of thing.
I can’t believe that half of this waterfall is frozen! I have never seen anything like this. I hope I get to explore Tangle Creek one day, preferably in the winter (early spring), so I can see the ice! ๐
They look really amazing covered in ice don’t they!? I love that icy waterfalls look bigger than their wet summer versions (I guess because the water splashes out and freezes so it builds up to me a massive wall of ice.)
Another beautiful site along the Icefield Parkway. I love seeing them in the winter. Were there any ice climbers? It looks perfect for it.
Going on a road trip to all the Canadian parks is super high on my bucket list, and I guess now I am adding a stop! This looks so incredibly beautiful!
Don’t worry this (and quite a few other amazing waterfalls) are on route between the parks in Banff and Jasper. ๐