Kootenay Rockies Things To Do

Learn about hiking trails in the Kootenay Rockies:

• Rules and Safety
• Choose a Trail (Easy, Intermediate, Advanced)
• Hiking Trail Highlights

• Please leave the area you visit undisturbed and be sure to carry out your garbage
• If travelling with pets, be aware that restrictions may apply
• Obey posted signs and keep to designated trails
• Check current trail conditions before setting out
• User fees in effect for national parks

• Cougars, bears and other wildlife inhabit the region
• Be sure to dress appropriately, stay on marked trails and allow adequate time for a daylight return.

Hiking Trail Highlights

Bugaboo Provincial Park

Bugaboo Provincial Park is one of the world’s best backcountry hiking and mountaineering destinations. For experienced, well-equipped hikers, it offers some incredible sights: extensive ice fields, some of biggest glaciers in the Purcell Mountain Range, 3,000-m (9843-ft) granite spires and more. There are two established and maintained trails in the park; other routes require technical climbing skills. On all trails, you will need to wear sturdy waterproof hiking boots and carry raingear, extra clothing and food. Only properly roped, experienced climbers should venture onto ice fields and glaciers.

Cobalt Lake Trail (difficult) gains 885 m (2904 ft) in elevation over 8 km (5 mi). It takes 4 – 5 hours to complete, one way. It zigzags up a steep slope to an open meadow above Cobalt Lake before descending 55 m (180 ft) to the lakeshore.

The hike to Conrad Kain Hut (difficult) gains 700 m (2,297 ft) in elevation over 5 km (3.1 mi). It takes 2-4 hours to complete, one way. It begins in the park’s parking lot and follows a lateral moraine of the Bugaboo Glacier to the Conrad Kain Hut. The hut can accommodate up to 40 people. An overnight fee applies from June through September. Reservations can be made through the Alpine Club of Canada. There are also camping facilities available at Boulder Camp, near the hut, and at Applebee Dome 1 km (0.6 mi) beyond. There are 30 sites in total.

Bugaboo Provincial Park is located between Golden and Radium Hot Springs, west of Highway 95. Access is via Forest Service Roads. The park is open year round but the best time for hiking is mid-June to mid-September.

A word or two on your excursion:

• Rated: advanced
• Time required: full day to multi-day

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Glacier National Park

Glacier National Park protects a portion of the Columbia Mountains Natural Region in the interior wet belt of British Columbia. Its warm, moist climate allows diverse plants and animals to thrive.

The area preserves unique stands of old-growth cedar and hemlock. It is also a critical habitat for threatened and endangered wildlife species such as caribou, mountain goats and grizzly bears.

There are many scenic, ambling trails found in the park. Interpretive exhibits provide an excellent introduction to the cultural heritage and historic significance of the region. Rogers Pass National Historic Site is situated here as well.

The Hemlock Grove Boardwalk Trail is a short interpretive trail that takes visitors through a stand of old-growth western redcedar trees, some over 350 years old. The 1885 Trail, a gentle 3.8 km (2.4 mi) each way, follows the original Canadian Pacific Railway line. A new exhibit takes you through the remains of Glacier House, an old CPR mountain hotel.

For a closer look at a massive glacier, follow the steep Great Glacier Trail for 5 or 6 hours to a panoramic lookout point near the impressive Illecillewaet Glacier. Pick up the "Selkirk Summit," which contains a trail map and information, at the Illecillewaet Welcome Station or the Rogers Pass Discovery Centre.

Glacier is located between Golden and Revelstoke along the Trans Canada Highway.

A word or two on your visit:

• Rated: easy to moderate
• Approximate time required: 20 minutes to multi-day
• Best time: June to October

> Glacier Park website

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Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park

Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park encompasses 32,035 ha (79,150 ac) of spectacular country in the Selkirk Mountains. Its name is derived from a First Nations word that means "red fish" and refers to the salmon of Kootenay Lake. The park, one of Canada's oldest, is a panorama of mountain peaks, snowfields and glacial lakes. Lush valleys, colourful meadowlands as well as stands of old-growth spruce, hemlock, western redcedar, lodgepole pine and larch surround Kokanee Glacier, which towers centre stage. Be on the lookout for mountain goats, deer and black and grizzly bears.

Five access roads lead to trailheads in the central area of the park. One of the park's popular trails is the Gibson Lake Loop Trail, an easy, 2.5-km (1.6-mi) hike around Gibson Lake with great mountain views. There is also good fishing in the lake.

Those looking for a more challenging route can tackle the intermediate level Enterprise Creek Trail. The hike is 10.2 km (6.3 mi) and takes about five hours, one way, with an elevation gain of 759 m (2490 ft). You'll pass scenic Tanal and Kaslo Lakes en route to the Kokanee Glacier Cabin and the Slocan Chief Cabin, built in 1896.

The park offers amenities at several sites.

A word or two on your excursion:

• Rated: easy to difficult
• Approximate time required: 1 hour to 2 days
• Opening of trails depends on snowpack

> Kokanee Glacier Park website

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Kootenay National Park

Kootenay National Park protects an area representative of the terrain and ecology of the southwestern Rocky Mountains. It’s a visual feast comprised of mountain glaciers, forested valleys, semi-arid grasslands, canyons, rivers, creeks and cascades. Must-sees include the Paint Pots, where iron-rich spring water has reacted with the earth and turned a vibrant orange; the Animal Lick, a natural salt lick attracting a wide variety of animals; and Radium Hot Springs. Terrestrial wildlife includes elk, deer, moose, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, coyotes, wolves, grizzly bears and black bears. Native birds include owls, songbirds, ducks, hawks, bald eagles and golden eagles.

The park’s extensive trail system offers something for everyone, including a number of short interpretive trails. The Numa Creek Trail is an easy trail that extends 6.6 km (4.1 mi) from a picnic area off Highway 93 to the Numa Creek Campground. Numa Creek Trail takes about 2.5 hours to complete and gains 100 m (328 ft) in elevation. A large alpine area and the 7.5-km (4.7-mi) Numa Pass Trail are accessible from the campground.

Floe Lake Trail (difficult) extends 10.7 km (6.6 mi) from a parking area off Highway 93 to beautiful Floe Lake. Ascending Numa Mountain, the trail crosses the Vermilion River via a footbridge and passes the Floe Lake Campground. In all, it gains 700 m (2,297 ft) in elevation and takes about 5 hours to complete, one way. Extend this hike by continuing along the Numa Pass Trail to a viewpoint about 2.7 km (1.7 mi) from the lake.

Helmet Creek Trail (difficult) is a challenging hike that gains 750 m (2,461 ft) in elevation over 14.6 km (9.1 mi). It takes about 6 hours to complete, one way. Beginning at a picnic area off Highway 93, follow Ochre Creek Trail for 6.2 km (3.8 mi), until is turns left onto the Helmet Creek Trail. From there, you’ll cross Ochre Creek on a suspension bridge and then follow Helmet Creek as it zigzags up the Helmet Creek Valley to a viewpoint overlooking Helmet Creek Falls. Extend this hike by taking the Goodsir Pass Trail into Yoho National Park.

Kootenay National Park, which is bisected by Highway 93, is located along the BC-Alberta border. The community of Radium Hot Springs lies just outside the park's West Gate.

A word or two on your excursion:

• Level of difficulty: easy – difficult
• Time required: 15 min – 3 days
• Length: 200 km (124 mi) of trails

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Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park

Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park is part of the Canadian Rocky Mountain UNESCO World Heritage Site. Highlights of the scenery include snow-capped mountain peaks, glaciers, ice fields, dense forests and high-elevation lakes and meadows. Mount Assiniboine itself is known as the “Matterhorn of the Rockies” due to the physical resemblance between the two mountains.

Hikers should be experienced, well-equipped and prepared for a multi-day excursion. Abrupt changes in weather are common, even in summer, so bring waterproof hiking boots, raingear and extra clothing. Accommodations in the park include campgrounds, cabins and a commercial lodge.

A number of trails of varying lengths and levels of difficulty begin in the park’s Lake Magog area. They range from short, easy walks around the lake to strenuous day hikes. Getting to Lake Magog is a 1 – 2-day hike in itself, or visitors can access the lake via helicopter. Flight arrangements can be made through Mount Assiniboine Lodge.

The Spray Reservoir to Lake Magog via Bryant Creek Trail route gains 520 m (1,706 ft) in elevation over 25 km (15.5 mi) and takes 7 – 8 hours to complete, one way. It starts at Spray Reservoir in Alberta’s Bow Valley Wildland Provincial Park. A marked trail crosses a couple of bridges before connecting to Bryant Creek Trail in Banff National Park. Bryant Creek Trail leads over Assiniboine Pass and down to Lake Magog. An alternate route over Wonder Pass adds just 1 km (0.6 mi) in distance but increases the elevation gain by 180 m (591 ft).

The most common route to Lake Magog from within BC is the Highway 93 to Lake Magog via Surprise Creek route. Twenty-nine km (18 mi) long, it takes 10 – 12 hours to complete and gains 825 m (2,707 ft) in elevation. Most hikers do it over 2 days. Beginning at the junction of the Vermilion and Simpson Rivers in Kootenay National Park, the route follows the Simpson River Trail until it connects to the Surprise Creek Trail. Surprise Creek Trail eventually connects to the Ferro Pass Trail, which descends past a few smaller lakes before it terminates at Lake Magog.

Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park is located along the BC-Alberta border, between Banff National Park to the east and Kootenay National Park to the west. From Alberta, access is via Banff National Park. From Sunshine Village (in Banff National Park) a shuttle bus takes hikers into the extremely scenic Sunshine Meadows area of Mount Assinoboine Park, with its fairly gentle trails. The park is open year round but the best conditions for hiking occur from mid-June through September.

A word or two on your excursion:

• Rated: advanced
• Time required: at least 2 days

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Mount Revelstoke National Park

This park is a wonder of rugged splendour. Wind through old-growth rainforests of giant cedar and hemlock as well as sub-alpine forests that lead to rolling alpine meadows and tundra. The Monashee Mountains rise before you, with the Selkirk range to the east.

There are over 41 km (25 mi) of trails here. Giant Cedars Boardwalk Trail takes you through a stand of old-growth western redcedar trees, some more than 800 years old. Skunk Cabbage Boardwalk Trail leads through fragile wetlands inhabited by beavers, bears and the skunk cabbage marsh plant. Exhibits help identify the many birds that migrate to the Skunk Cabbage wetlands each year from Central and South America.

Take the Eva Lake Trail and the Jade Lakes Trail to a spectacular viewpoint at Jade Lakes. The hike to Eva Lake is about 6 km (3.7 mi) through the alpine wildflowers, which bloom in July and August. The trail takes about two hours each way. Jade Lakes are another 3 km (1.9 mi) with an elevation gain of 240 m (787 ft) and takes about 90 minutes each way.

When the snow has melted at the summit of Mount Revelstoke, usually near the beginning of July, a bus shuttles visitors from the Balsam Lake parking area to the mountaintop.

Pick up the "Selkirk Summit," which contains a trail map and information, at the Visitor Centre in downtown Revelstoke or at the Parkway Welcome Station.

You can reach Mount Revelstoke from the Trans Canada Highway. Meadows-in-the-Sky Parkway, a paved mountain road open summers only, winds 26 km (16 mi) through the park.

A word or two on your visit:

• Rated: easy to moderate
• Approximate time required: 30 minutes to a full day
• Best time: May - October

> Mount Revelstoke Park website

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Purcell Wilderness Conservancy Provincial Park

Purcell Wilderness Conservancy Provincial Park, in the rugged Purcell Mountains, protects the largest intact ecosystem in southeastern BC. Scenic highlights include glaciers, old-growth forests, alpine lakes, wetlands and rivers (often impassable until the end of July). Native wildlife includes elk, deer, mountain goat, beaver, coyote, wolf, black and grizzly bear, and at least 90 bird species. Watch for bears and store and cook food away from campsites. Wear waterproof hiking boots and have extra clothing and food along, even on day hikes. This is a wilderness area; only experienced backcountry hikers with map reading and route finding skills should attempt to hike here. The purchase of a backroad mapbook is highly recommended.

The park's signature trail is the epic Earl Grey Pass Trail (difficult), which extends more than 60 km (37 mi) from near the community of Argenta, at the northeast tip of Kootenay Lake, up Hamill Creek, over Early Grey Pass and down along Toby Creek to the abandoned Mineral King Mine, located just outside the park’s boundaries. It includes avalanche paths, game trails, five river crossings by cable car in the west (bring gloves for pulling cable), and other water crossings that must be forded. It can be done in either direction and takes about 5 days to complete. A historic route first used by local Aboriginal peoples, it was developed by miners in the 1890s and traversed by Canada’s Governor General, Earl Grey, in 1908. The remains of a cabin constructed for use by Grey stands near eastern trailhead. The best time to do the hike is from August to mid-September.

Two to three-day hikes include Findlay Creek Trail and Dutch Creek Trail. Fry Creek Trail, on the western side of the park, can be done in a day.

Purcell Wilderness Conservancy Provincial Park is located northeast of Kaslo, northwest of Kimberley and west of Invermere. Access to the east side of the park is via Forest Service Roads off Highway 93/95; distances from the highway to the trailheads vary from about 35 – 75 km (22 – 47 mi). Access to the west side of the park is off Highway 31, through the communities of Argenta and Johnson's Landing.

A word or two on your excursion:

• Level of difficulty: difficult
• Time required: half a day – 5 days

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Valhalla Provincial Park

Valhalla Provincial Park touches most of the western shoreline of Slocan Lake and encompasses most of the Valhalla Range of the Selkirk Mountains. Highlights include the New Denver Glacier in the north, an impressive group of mountain spires in the south, a chain of sub-alpine lakes, dense red cedar and western hemlock forests, isolated beaches, roaring rivers and many cascades and waterfalls. Several Aboriginal pictographs (rock paintings) along the lakeshore can be viewed by boat. Native wildlife species include mountain goat, mule and white-tailed deer, cougar, golden eagle, alpine ptarmigan, and grizzly and black bear. Always use bear-proof food caches at campsites.

Sharp Creek Trail (difficult) begins just north of Sharp Creek, on the western shore of Slocan Lake, and terminates at the foot of the New Denver Glacier. It’s a steep hike that gains 1,700 m (5,577 ft) in elevation over 8.8 km (5.5 mi) and takes about 8 hours to complete, one way.

Wee Sandy Creek Trail (difficult) is a historic logging trail that begins at the mouth of Wee Sandy Creek, on the western shore of Slocan Lake, and extends 14.4-km (8.9-mi) to Wee Sandy Lake. Approximately 11 km (6.8 mi) from the trailhead is Iron Creek Cabin, an old trapper's cabin that can be used as shelter. The hike takes approximately 10 hours, one way.

Nemo Creek Trail (moderate) makes a good day hike at approximately 4 hours each way. It begins just north of Nemo Creek, on the western shore of Slocan Lake, and gains 905 m (2,969 ft) in elevation over 4 km (2.5 mi) on its way to an old trapper’s cabin. Along the way, it takes in old-growth cedars and hemlocks, Lower Nemo Falls and the Rock Castles, a group of unusual rock formations that resemble castles.

Another popular route is Bannock Burn to Gimli Ridge, a 2-hour hike that gains 600 m (1969 ft) over 4 km (2.5 mi). The view over Mulvey Basin from the ridge is spectacular.

The Drinnon Pass/Gwillim Lakes Trail and the Slocan City/Evans Creek/Beatrice Lake Trail both require route finding, mountaineering skills and climbing equipment. The trails lead to picturesque viewpoints, as well as to some unique sites such as the remnants of an old logging flume. Exercise caution as many of these areas are prime grizzly habitat.

Valhalla Provincial Park is located near the community of Slocan (on Highway 6), on the western shore of Slocan Lake. It can be accessed via Forest Service Road, trail or water. There are public boat launches in New Denver, Silverton and Slocan.

A word or two on your excursion:

• Level of difficulty: moderate – difficult
• Time required: 2 hours – multi-day

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Yoho National Park

The name "Yoho" comes from a Cree word expressing awe, which is fitting, as awe-inspiring sights and sounds abound in this national park.

Twenty-eight peaks rise over 3,000 m (9,843 ft) to preside over gem-coloured glacial lakes, some of Canada's highest waterfalls as well as forests dense with western redcedar and western hemlock.

There are historic railroads, roaring rivers, spiral tunnels hidden within mountainsides and steep rock faces where mountain goats roam. You won't want to miss Burgess Shale, which contains the world's finest 505-million-year-old Cambrian-aged fossils of soft-bodied marine organisms.

The park offers over 400 km (249 mi) of hiking trails catering to all skill levels. The Wapta Falls Trail is an easy, relatively flat trail that takes you to a viewpoint overlooking Wapta Falls. The hike is about an hour each way. The falls plummet 30 m (98 ft) along the Kicking Horse River.

The Yoho Valley Trail is a moderate, 7.9-km (4.9-mi) hike with an elevation change of 300 m (984 ft). Starting from Takakkaw Falls Campground, hike along the Yoho River past a number of smaller waterfalls en route to the spactacular Twin Falls. The trail takes three hours each way, but the more adventurous can take an alternate route back. Follow the Whaleback Trail, which traverses a scenic ridge, onto the Iceline Trail. This return route is about 20 km (12.4 mi).

Yoho borders Banff and Kootenay National Parks along the Trans Canada Highway.

A word or two on your excursion:

• Rated: easy to difficult
• Approximate time required: 1 hour to multi-day
• Opening of trails depends on snowpack

> Yoho Park website

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