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| The portal to Kootenay |
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| A long time ago |
... and then again in 2004 with the family ...
We were headed to a part of Canada along the Alberta/BC border where there are four Canadian National Parks nestled together along the spine of the Canadian Rockies.
We did stop briefly to see if we could watch the spiral railroad, a train that descends a steep slope in a series of circular tunnels carved in the mountain. We had seen it before, but it’s fun to watch.
In Radium Hot Springs (AKA Radium), we stayed at a Best Western (nice and more affordable than Jasper). Radium is a small town with restaurants and lodging and an occasional Bighorn Sheep. Not much else.
Because of the relatively small width of the Park, many of its attractions are situated near the road and are wheelchair accessible.
I was hoping to see birds and I thought I might have seen a Townsend’s Warbler, which would have been a lifer. But, it’s probably more likely that it was a Yellow-rumped Warbler, one of the few birds we saw regularly. I looked and looked, but could never find a new bird.
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| A place far, far away |
The area is gorgeous (perhaps among the MOST gorgeous places on Earth) and certainly merits multiple visits. Plus, when we had gone before, we had seen lots and lots (and lots!) of Bears, both Black and Grizzly.
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| A Black Bear on the Icefields Parkway |
Scott had decided he wanted to reprise our former trip and decided to add it on to the Grand Teton/Yellowstone adventure.
This was something Caty and I had also talked about doing, perhaps with Becca, so I felt bad going without her. But, hey, you can always go back.
Because this was added on to an existing plan, we didn’t really think much about the season. That’s a bit unfortunate because it was very early in the Canadian Rockies scheme of things. Yes, there were few crowds. But, there was also lots of snow and some areas were not really available for walking and/or driving. You have to wait until July for full access.
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| Kootenay's Numa Falls can be reached easily, so ice was not a problem |
It's odd that I didn’t think about that because I consciously decided not to go to Glacier National Park because I knew Going to the Sun Road wasn’t open yet. We also had recently been there. Plus, there were no entrance passes available.
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| Glacier National Park, 2021 |
Glacier is one of the growing number of U.S. National Parks that require timed entrance passes and, thus, really good advance planning.
So, we spent the night in Kalispell, Montana, to give us ample time to cross the Canadian border (it's usually quick, but you never know).
We hadn’t been to Canada since pre-pandemic. I followed all the guidelines, including creating ARRIVECAN accounts for Scott and me into which we uploaded vaccination data.
Canada wasn’t requiring a recent COVID test to cross the border by land, but did say we might be selected at random to take a test. So, there was a little trepidation. Don't you just love how COVID has amped up travel anxiety?
We decided to enter Canada at the Roosville Border station, which is open 24 hours. I had no idea what to expect. What it turned out to be was a non-event. After waiting about 15 minutes for the one car in front of us, we cruised up to the gate and presented our documents. The agent thanked us for being ready (makes me think the car in front of us wasn’t) and we were through in two minutes.
Then, we drove through beautiful green farmland and forests to our first night’s lodging in Radium Hot Springs, British Columbia. Unfortunately, we didn’t really stop for any photos, so you will have to trust me that it was pretty.
Our itinerary included two nights in Radium Hot Springs to give us ample time to explore Kootenay, Yoho and southern Banff. Then, we would drive the 140 mile-long scenic Icefields Parkway, ending up in Jasper National Park, where we would spend three nights.
Next, we would drive back down the Parkway to Waterton Lakes National Park, which sits on the U.S. border above Glacier National Park.
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| Waterton Lakes |
We would cross back into the U.S. at the Carway Border Station. There used to be a border crossing within the two Parks, but it is closed indefinitely.
I Shoulda Known
Now, before I go on, this is the part where I reiterate that I should have done a bit more research. I have been to all these places before, so what was there to check? A few things that I may or may not have discovered online.
First, I DID check to make sure Canadian Parks don’t require timed entry passes. They do not.
But, what I didn’t know was that Kootenay National Park, where we had previously seen a high number of Black Bears, including lots of cubs, has apparently had lots of car/Bear issues.
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| Lots of pretty scenery; just no stopping |
So, they have installed massive wildlife fences all along the highway. It protects the animals, but also means that you don’t see many Bears along the road. And, it you did, you might not be able to stop because many areas are marked a ”No Stopping” zones.
This combined with the still-closed roads and trails, made our time in Kootenay much shorter than anticipated.
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| Most of what we saw was just driving from Radium to Jasper and back |
The few Bears we did see were late in the day very close to the town of Radium Hot Springs and two were in areas where police had stopped and were preventing viewing.
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| We stopped briefly for this late-afternoon Grizzly right outside Radium Hot Springs |
Next, we planned to spend some time driving the Johnson Canyon Highway in Banff. That had been a great spot for Elk, Black Bears, Bighorn Sheep and Grizzlies on previous trips.
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| The road in 2013 |
Plus, it’s beautiful. Well, it is also now closed to cars. In fact, when we were there it was closed to ALL traffic. In a few days it was slated to open to bicycles. But, for 2022, no cars would be allowed while they were assessing how to best handle this sensitive wildlife corridor.
Well, there’s always Yoho.
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| False advertising? |
Maybe.
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| Yoho Bears in 2014 |
Yoho is in the midst of major (and pretty scary-looking) road construction. Sometimes the road is closed. Sometimes it is not clear whether the road is closed or not.
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| Photo: Blackwell Piling |
Radium Hot Springs is on the west of the main mountains and has a pass that goes straight through to Banff and connects with the Icefields Parkway. But, you can also drive north from Radium and go through another pass that comprises Yoho National Park.
On day two, we went that way. After driving an hour, we encountered a sign saying the road through Yoho was closed, which would mean an hour back to where we had started. But, lots of traffic was still going toward the pass. And, the Transport Canada website said it was open. So, we continued on and found that it was indeed open. We informed a Transport Canada person about the issue and she said that the “folks in BC” couldn’t get it right and she would handle it.
But, even though the road was open, it had lots of traffic and intermittent construction delays. Plus, on our one foray, it was rainy. So we didn’t spend much time there.
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| You could barely see it in 2013 |
Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your stance on nature vs. industry), trees have grown up to the point where you can barely see the trains anymore. So, we moved on.
Finally, I had wanted to see both Lake Louise and Banff again. We had been there several times before and had a good time ...
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| Horseback riding in Banff and parking lot wildlife viewing in Lake Louise, 1993 |
... but Scott had some recollections of crowds and difficult parking (true, but maybe a bit overblown). He definitely does not want to go back.
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| A less-crowded area of Banff |
We made it to the Lake Louise parking lot late one day, but didn’t stop and we never went back.
Instead, we spent most of our time traversing the Icefields Parkway, driving its length several times.
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| Icefields Parkway |
With all these new developments, we could have spent less time in Kootenay and Yoho. Maybe one night in Radium instead of two or maybe even just stay in Jasper and use that as a base? Still, we enjoyed our time.
So, what did we do? Or rather, what did we see? Because we didn’t really do very much.
Radium Hot Springs/Kootenay National Park
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| That's me; Photo: Scott Stevens |
Every time we go to Radium, we say we will visit the actual hot springs, but we never get around to it. This time was no different. As much as I like hot springs, the whole getting undressed, getting wet and getting dressed again is a pain. I much prefer a hot springs that I can walk to from my cabin or campground.
The name of the springs and the town come from the small traces of radon (a decay product of radium) found in the water. Fortunately, the amount is not enough to be dangerous.
The town sits at the western entrance to Kootenay National Park – and a dramatic entrance it is. The highway passes over the river through a narrow rock portal.
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| A very cool entry |
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| Dramatic landscape |
The 543 square-mile Park, which was created in 1920 as Kootenay Dominion Park, sits on the western (BC) side of the Continental Divide, with Banff National Park on the eastern (Alberta) side.
It is only ten miles wide, bisected by Highwy 93S.
It comprises parts of the Kootenay and Park mountain ranges, part of the Kootenay River and the entirety of the Vermilion River. Elevation ranges from 3,012 feet at the southwestern park entrance to 11,234 feet at Deltaform Mountain.
You might notice that the Park is spelled Kootenay and, in Washington State, there is a Kootenai River. Same root; different spelling (like Shoshone/Shoshoni).
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| Castle Junction where Kootenay meets Banff |
Archaeological evidence shows that humans have been either traveling through or temporarily residing in the area for about 10,000 years. Pictographs found in the hot spring caves indicate that Ktunaxa people first made more permanent use of the area, particularly the hot springs, several hundred years ago.
European fur traders, trappers and explorers left their mark on the area, but it was little visited until the road was completed in 1920 as part of the deal to create the Park.
As I said, we didn’t do much, but we did stop at Numa Falls, where the gorgeous river courses through a narrow canyon.
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| Numa Falls |
Later, we stopped at Marble Canyon for more beautiful turquoise water and steep canyon walls.
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| Marble Canyon (I love the split boulder in the middle of the river) |
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| The most common bird |
Mainly, we saw American Robins.
Everywhere.
All the time.
An icy (and closed) trail prevented us from going to the Paint Pots, a cold-water mineral spring system that deposits ochre in various shades of yellow, red and brown. The ochre was collected by the Ktunaxa people for use as pigments and the iron oxide was commercially mined for use in paint manufacturing for nearly two decades until the Park was established. It looked interesting (and a bit messy for hiking).
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| It was barely spring that far north |
On more thing about Radium Hot Springs: if you go there, go to the Big Horn Café for pastries. The name of the place gives no indication that it is an extraordinary bakery with delicious croissants, turnovers and pot pies. Definitely worth a stop.
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| Photo: Big Horn Cafe |
We spent little time in Yoho or Banff, so I won’t even cover those Parks. In my next installment I’ll talk about the Icefields Parkway and Jasper National Park.
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