Where can visitors see mountain goats?
According to Parks Canada [3], mountain goats “can often be seen at the Mount Kerkeslin ‘Goat Lick’ viewpoint on the Icefields Parkway and Disaster Point on Highway 16 east.” Mountains goats like to graze on low-lying vegetation like grasses, ferns and various herbs and other vegetation that grows near the salt licks. Salt licks are another favorite mountain goat snack. The Icefields Parkway viewpoint has a parking area and picnic tables where humans are known to graze. This makes a nice break when driving from Jasper town-site to and from the glaciers. Stop here and maybe the goats will be out. Whether or not mountain goats are visible depends on the time of day and the season. “Mountain Goats tend to form large groups during the winter and at salt licks in the spring, but they form smaller groups or are solitary in the summer. They are active from sunrise to mid-day and again at dusk.” (Ellis 1999 [4]) Mountain goats are also known to head to higher elevations in the summer and scamp
