Rocky Mountains

For all of these areas; Black Bears - and in some cases Grizzly Bears - are common; be bear aware. For information on bears in a specific area, contact park staff. For general guidelines on bear safety, visit the Parks Canada 'You Are in Bear Country' page at: http://www.parkscanada.gc.ca/docs/pc/guide/nature/nature02_e.asp.

Kootenay National Park

This park is often forgotten alongside the more popular Rocky Mountain National Parks (eg. Banff and Jasper). Access this park by highway via Radium Hotsprings (a good stop on the way out is the hotsprings at the park entrance). Multi-day trips are possible in the vicinity of "The Rockwall". It is approximately 55 kilometres from end-to-end of "The Rockwall" trail if you travel by way of Floe Lake and Helmet Falls starting at the highway at each end. Note that there is considerable, regular, loss and gain of altitude. If possible camp at Floe Lake, late in the season the Larch trees are beautiful. This is a National Park, different rules apply than those in Provincial parks (eg. book ahead, back country permit required BEFORE heading out).

Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park

While this is a B.C. Provincial Park, the most commonly used access is from Alberta [note: that mountain bikes are now banned from this popular - Bryant Creek - route into the park.]. Mount Assiniboine is the "Matterhorn" of the Canadian Rockies and the area is very beautiful. The park can also be accessed from the B.C. side via Kootenay National Park.

For access from the Alberta side, drive from Canmore Alberta to Mount Shark via the Spray Reservoir road (this is a gravel road for most of the drive). The trail to Mount Assiniboine starts near the parking area north east of Mount Shark. It is 26.7 kilometres from here via Assiniboine Pass to the Lake Magog campground in Assiniboine Provincial Park. This route is strongly recommended for the trip in. To leave Lake Magog, go out via Wonder Pass (pause at the pass and you will see how it got its name), it is 23.2 kilometres from Lake Magog back to the parking lot near Mount Shark. There are several campsites along the way both in and out from Lake Magog. If time is not a problem, there are many spectacular day trips available from Lake Magog campsite.

Mount Robson Provincial Park

With possibly the best scenery of any of the Rocky Mountain parks (national or provincial), this park is highly recommended. This area was designated as a part of the Rocky Mountains World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1990.

Located east of Valemount and just before the Alberta Border, this park is well marked and features an interpretive centre just off the highway. Reservations are strongly recommended for the wilderness campsites in the core area of the park (i.e. Berg Lake and vicinity). Passes are issued by the Visitor Centre located at the Highway to all overnight visitors. [Contact BC Parks at Phone: (250) 566-4325 or Fax: (250) 566-9777 for the latest information on reservation and pass requirements well BEFORE you arrive. Rumor had it on my last visit that reservations / passes would be required for ALL visitors.]

The start of the trail to Berg Lake (a recommended destination) is 2km from the highway (more or less behind the interpretive centre). Overnight parking is allowed here, be sure that you do not leave valuables in your car. The trail distance from the parking lot to the main camp site at Berg Lake is approximately 20km. There is only one significant hill (about 500 metres elevation gain) on the trail to Berg Lake located between White Falls and Emperor Falls Campground. The trail is very good and is well maintained. For those of you not up to hiking 26km with a large backpack, campsites are also located at Kinney Lake (about 6.7km from the trailhead) and Whitehorn Campground (10.5 km from the trail head). Cooking shelters and designated tent pads are at all campsites.

From the Berg Lake (or other near by campgrounds) there are many possible destinations that make good day hikes. For a short walk, go to the cave located above and north of Toboggan Falls. This is a good half day trip and aside from the cave as a destination, there are excellent views from the trail of the surrounding area. For a longer trip (about 21km return to Berg Lake campground), Snowbird Pass is recommended. This trail gives wonderful views of the Robson Glacier as you travel along the glacial moraine enroute to the pass. Snowbird Pass is located on the BC/Alberta border and provides a spectacular view of the Coleman Glacier located in Jasper National Park. A good description of the area is given in Classic Hikes in the Canadian Rockies by Graeme Pole (1995); the hike is called "Berg Lake".