Glacier Skywalk

Glacier Skywalk
Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada
(197) feet high / (60) meters high
(197) foot span / (60) meter span
2014

The largest cantilevered platform in the America’s, the Glacier Skywalk is situated above a deep canyon midway between Jasper and Banff National Parks. Although it is located next to local route 93, visitors must purchase tickets for a coach-only ride to the overlook at the nearby Columbia Icefields Centre 6 kilometers to the south.

The platform consists of a large, H-shaped polygonal deconstructivist style weathered steel support that extends out from the ground and holds a curved tension “glass bridge” that loops approximately 150 degrees around the outside edge. Aesthetically both platform elements work beautifully if looked at separately but the abrupt transition between them is less successful. The overlook is part of a larger Discovery Walk that has displays and information on the history and geology of the region as well as the wildlife.

The outer edge of the platform is approximately 60 meters high vertically with a total elevation drop of 280 meters to the river at the bottom of the valley.