 Bighorn Sheep A word or two on your excursion:
- Do not disturb the wildlife
- Please leave the area you visit undisturbed and be sure to carry out your garbage
- User fees in effect for national parks
A word or two on safety:
- Obey posted signs and keep to designated trails
Kootenay Trout Hatchery
Stocking up to 150 lakes in the east and west Kootenay regions, this large hatchery produces 2.5 million trout fingerlings each year. Species raised here include rainbow and cutthroat trout, brook char and the endangered Kootenay River white sturgeon, BC's largest freshwater fish. Walk through an extensive interpretative area featuring aquariums, educational models and displays. You can also see turtles, fish and water insects in the outdoor turtle pond and stroll through the beautifully groomed hatchery grounds. Visitors can view (and possibly feed) some trophy-sized trout in the moat outside.
The hatchery is located on Highway 3, 20 minutes southeast from Cranbrook.
A word or two on your visit:
- No admission fee in effect
- Approximate time required: 1-1.5 hours
> Kootenay Trout Hatchery website
Height of the Rockies Provincial Park
Height of the Rockies is a vast, 68,000-ha (168,031-ac) park that stretches northwest along the Continental Divide. It borders Elk Lakes Provincial Park in southeastern BC, and Banff National Park and Peter Lougheed Provincial Park in southwestern Alberta. Along this great divide a range of habitat supports high concentrations of elk, mule deer, bighorn sheep, moose, cougars, black and grizzly bears as well as mountain goats.
The park's Connor Lakes are also a significant source of eggs for the Kootenay Hatchery's native cutthroat stocking program.
Six major trailheads are accessible by summer logging roads. You can reach the southern portion of the park through the community of Elkford.
> Height of the Rockies Park website
Elk Lakes Provincial Park
Elk Lakes Park is a sub-alpine wilderness found above the tree line in the Kootenay Rockies. Rugged peaks, alpine meadows and clear lakes create an outstanding habitat for a range of wildlife. Spruce grouse, wrens, juncos, snipe, flickers and Clark's nutcrackers are common birdlife, as are transitory ospreys and blue herons.
At lower elevations you'll see scores of red squirrels and snowshoe hares. Beavers have taken up residence near the Elk Lakes and upper reaches of Cadorna Creek. The old-growth forest surrounding Elk Lakes provides excellent habitat for cavity-dwelling birds and small mammals.
Wander amid the park's many meadows to encounter elk, white-tailed deer and moose. You may even be lucky enough to spot a bighorn sheep, mountain goat, grizzly or black bear.
Elk Lakes Provincial Park is a 1.5 hour drive north from Sparwood.
> Elk Lakes Park website
Kootenay National Park
Kootenay National Park attracts an array of wild visitors: those migrating from the north in winter, and those inhabiting the region year round. The park offers good grazing conditions for bighorn sheep, mountain goats, elk and moose. Harder to spot are bears, wolves and coyotes. Grizzlies visit the avalanche slopes in spring, digging for tender lily bulbs.
Near Radium Hot Springs, you'll find a band of bighorn sheep enjoying their summer range in the area. Mountain goats can be spotted in the Mount Wardle area. Good wildlife viewing opportunities are also found south of the Vermilion crossing. Finally, the Animal Lick beside Highway 93 in the park is a natural salt lick and a big draw for many animals.
You can reach Kootenay National park from Golden via Highway 95 or from the south via Highway 93/95.
> Kootenay Park website
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. Its craggy mountain peaks are home to mountain goats and bighorn sheep while the lower valleys draw elk, deer, coyotes, wolves and the more elusive lynx.
The Eastern Slope Grizzly Bear Project is striving to preserve these magnificent creatures in Yoho. Commonly known as silvertips, the Rocky Mountain variety has long hairs along the shoulders and back that are frosted with white, thus giving the bears a grizzled appearance.
In the high alpine meadows of Yoho, you'll find smaller bird species such as the rare water pipit, horned lark, gray-crowned rosy finch and white-tailed ptarmigan. Two rare aquatic species, the dipper and harlequin duck, are also found here. Grassland falcons, hummingbirds, jays and Clark's nutcrackers are commonly seen as well as migrating warblers, hawks and eagles.
Yoho National Park is located 40 minutes from Golden, along Highway 1. It borders Banff and Kootenay National Parks.
> Yoho Park website
|