Kootenay National Park is located in southeastern
British Columbia, Canada covering 1,406 km2 in the Canadian Rockies,
and forms part of a World Heritage Site. The park ranges in elevations from 918
m at the south – west park entrance, to 3,424 m at Delta form mountain. Kootenay
forms one of the four contiguous mountain parks in the Canadian Rockies; the
other the other three being Banff National Park directly to the east, Yoho National
Park directly to the north and Jasper National park, which does not share a
boundary with a Kootenay national Park. Initially called “Kootenay Dominion
Park”, the park was created in 1920 as part of an agreement between the
province of British Columbia and the Canadian federal government to build a highway in exchange for
title to a strip of land on either side of the route. A strip of land 8 km wide
on each side of the newly constructed 94 km. Banff – Windermere highway was set
aside as a national park. While the park is open all year, the major tourist
season lasts from June to September. Most campgrounds are open from early May
to late September, while limited winter camping is available only at the Dolly
Varden campground.
The park takes its name from the Kootenay River, one
of the two major rivers which flow through the park, the other being the
Vermillion River. While the Vermillion River is completely contained within
park, the Kootenay River has its headwaters just outside of the park boundary,
flowing through the park into the Rocky Mountain Trench, eventually joining the
Columbia River.
The park’s main attractions include the Hot Springs,
Olive Lake, Marble Canyon, Sinclair canyon and the Paint Pots. The hot springs
offer a hot springs pool ranging from 35 o C to 47 o C.
the Paint Pots are a group of iron – rich cold mineral springs which bubble up
through several small pools and stain the earth a dark red – orange color. The Paint
Pots were a major source of the ochre pain pigment for a number of First
Nations groups prior to the 20th century.
Because of the relatively small width of the park
many of the park’s attractions are situated near the road and are wheelchair accessible. A number
of recent forest fires in the northern half of the park in the Simpson River,
Vermillion Pass and Floe Creek areas in 2003 and 2004 have left significant
burn areas readily visible from the highway. Numa Falls is a short drive south
of Marble Canyon and is accessible directly by Highway 93 which cuts through
the park.
Ten minutes north of Radium Hot Springs is Olive
Lake a popular picnic area surrounded by short hiking trails. Just outside the
park’s south – western entrance is the town of radium Hot Springs. The town is
named for the odorless hot springs located just inside the park boundary. The name
originated at the turn of the 20th century when the promotores tried
sell the hot springs as a therapeutic cure and used the sprigs very slight
radioactivity as a selling point. The area around hot springs is also to the
rubber boa snake. The park’s north – eastern entrance connects to Castle
Junction in Banff National Park and the Trans – Canada Highway via Vermillion Pass, a mountain pass across the Continental Divide
Canadian Rockies on the Alberta, British Columbia Border at an elevation of
1,651 meters.
There are many back country attractions in Kootenay
National Park. Floe Lake is a picturesque lake which lies on a 10.7 km hiking
trail accessible from highway 93. Kaufman Lake is also a popular full day hiking
destination. The Fay Hut is accessible from Marble Canyon and the Neil Colgan
Hut located above the valley of the Ten Peaks is a popular mountaineering
destination. There are many multiple – day backpacking trails, some of which are
quite strenuous. The park most notable multi – day hike is the Rockwall Trail,
described by the parks Canada as a 55 km superlative – laden feast traversing
three alpine passes through subalpine meadows and past impressive hanging
glaciers. The trail’s defining feature is a single massive limestone cliff,
towering in some locations more than900 m above the trail below.