Kootenay National Park, located in the southern Canadian Rockies, can be reached by driving northwest from Banff on Highway 1, from which you turn onto Highway 93 to the northern entrance of the park, located 84 km from Banff. The park also has a southern entrance at Radium Hot Springs.

 

There is no need to move and live near Kootenay National Park. It is most convenient to stay in Banff (or Canmore) and take day trips from there to Kootenay National Park.

 

Recommended Accommodations for Travelers in Kootenay Park

Recommended hotels in Banff:

Fairmont Banff Springs
The highest-quality and most famous hotel in the area: a historic building inspired by Scottish castle architecture and declared a National Historic Site. It is located in Banff National Park and offers 11 restaurants and 14 shops. The resort features two swimming pools (one of them indoor), a high-quality spa, tennis courts, bowling, golf, and additional sports and recreation facilities. Spacious rooms with European design.

Delta Banff Royal Canadian Lodge
A four-star hotel in the town of Banff in the heart of the national park. The hotel features an indoor pool, fitness center, spa, and restaurant. Free internet in all rooms.
Rimrock Resort Hotel
A four-star resort in a convenient location 6 minutes from downtown Banff, with an indoor pool, fitness center, spa, and restaurant.

Holiday Lodge Cabins
Attractively priced vacation cabins in downtown Banff. Each cabin has a private entrance, equipped kitchen, dining area, and free internet.

 

You can also stay in the town of Canmore, located east of the park (about a 15-minute drive east of Banff).

Recommended hotels in Canmore:

Falcon Crest Lodge
A successful 3-star suite hotel offering guest rooms with a kitchenette, washer and dryer, and a fireplace. Each room has a balcony or a small garden. The hotel has two outdoor jacuzzis in the courtyard overlooking the surrounding mountain views.

A Bear and Bison Country Inn
A high-quality bed and breakfast with 10 luxurious rooms featuring a double jacuzzi, fireplace, and a rich breakfast. Free internet. The B&B has a nice terrace with garden furniture facing the mountain views. Free internet in all rooms.

Spring Creek Vacations - Rundle Cliffs Lodge
A four-star suite hotel in downtown Canmore. Every suite has an equipped kitchen and a balcony overlooking the mountain views. Free internet. The hotel features a large outdoor jacuzzi overlooking panoramic views and a billiard room.

 CANADIAN ROCKY'S CHALET An apartment hotel featuring two- or three-bedroom apartments. Each apartment has a living room (where two additional people can sleep), attached bathroom and toilet (larger apartments have two bathrooms), and an organized, equipped kitchen. Each apartment is suitable for 6-8 guests. 

 BARGNASCHT A bed and breakfast with panoramic views of the "Three Sisters" mountains, offering two room types: the "Blue Room"—a double room with a private bathroom and a sitting area (suitable for two people), and the "Green Room"—featuring a double bed, living room with two single beds, private bathroom, and a separate entrance (suitable for four people). Includes a gourmet Canadian-Swiss breakfast.

 Bear & Bison Bed & Breakfast Ten elegantly designed rooms, each featuring a luxurious double bed, fireplace, jet tub, private balcony, and stunning views of the mountains surrounding Canmore. The B&B is located near Banff National Park, Lake Louise, the Columbia Icefield, and many other attractions. A stay at the B&B includes breakfast.

 

Main areas and attractions in the park:

Fireweed Loops

Driving north from Banff, turn west into Kootenay Park. At the park entrance, you first arrive at a place called Fireweed Loops, which features two circular forest walking trails established after the 1968 fire to observe fire damage. Since the fire, the forest has regrown nicely, so these trails are not particularly unique today.

This location also serves as the continental divide and the border between Alberta and BC.

Marble Canyon

After about twenty minutes of driving south into the park from the entrance, you arrive at Marble Canyon, which features a half-hour round-trip walking trail along a rushing river that has carved a deep, narrow canyon into the rocky earth.

Above the canyon, there are bridges for hikers as well as informational signs explaining the canyon's formation. At the beginning of the trail, you can see that the location also serves as a meeting point of two rivers.

Along the trail, in addition to the deep canyon, you can see mountain scenery with trees scorched by a major 40-day fire that occurred here in 2003. Among the burnt trees, young new trees about a meter high are already growing.

There are also several interesting large boulders made up of many thin slices, each about a centimeter thick.

Dog Lake

At this location, there is a forest and riverside walking trail with two suspension bridges over the rivers, but recent floods have destroyed the bridges, and the trail is closed. You should check with the visitor center regarding trail conditions; at the beginning of the season, some may be closed due to snow or flooding.

Scenic viewpoint from the road: Arrival at a high viewpoint overlooking the beautiful valley below with its meandering rivers and surrounding mountains.

Radium Hot Springs

Just before reaching Radium Hot Springs, there is a steep reddish mountain followed by a passage through a narrow canyon, with a river flowing beneath the road you are driving on, creating a rushing waterfall at the canyon exit. There is parking and a short trail for viewing the waterfall.

Hot Springs at Radium Hot Springs

In cool or rainy weather, it is recommended to soak in these hot springs. The site features two pools, one at 39°C and the other at 29°C. There is also a small jacuzzi. Lockers and towels are available for rent, and liquid soap is provided in the showers.

Summary: Kootenay Park has suffered from several fires, and large sections of burnt forests are visible. It also occasionally suffers from floods that cause parts of it to close (check with the visitor center).

For those short on time (the park is long, about two and a half hours of net driving round trip along its length), visiting just the northern part of the park at Marble Canyon is sufficient, because the distance to its southern end is great, hot springs can also be found in Banff, and there is no shortage of interesting walking trails in the other parks.

All articles about the Canadian Rocky Mountains: Banff | Trip from Lake Louise to Jasper |  Lake Louise and Lake Moraine | Jasper | Kootenay Park | Accommodation in the Rockies | Yoho Park

 

 

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