Kootenay National Park

Kootenay National Park, 543 sq mi (1,406 sq km), SE British Columbia, Canada; est. 1920. In the Rocky Mts. near Kootenay Lake, it contains high peaks, glaciers, deep canyons, and hot springs. The Banff-Windermere Highway crosses the park.

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Kootenay National Park

National park, southeastern British Columbia, Canada. Centred around the Kootenay River, the park occupies the western slopes of the Rocky Mountains, adjacent to Banff and Yoho national parks. Established as a national park in 1920, it covers 543 sq mi (1,406 sq km). From prehistoric times, the area was a major north-south travel route. Pictographs indicate that humans settled near the hot springs 11,000–12,000 years ago. The park's scenery is characterized by snowcapped peaks, glaciers, cascades, canyons, and verdant valleys. Wildlife includes wapiti (elk), moose, deer, bighorn sheep, and mountain goats.

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Kootenay National Park

Parks Directory of the United States / Canadian National Parks

Address: PO Box 220
Radium Hot Springs, BC V0A1M0
Phone: 250-347-9505;
Fax: 250-347-9980;
Phone: 877-737-3783;
Web: www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/bc/kootenay
Size: 1,406 sq. km.
Established: 1920.
Location: Park lies in the southeastern corner of British Columbia, 888 km east of Vancouver and 170 km west of Calgary. It can be reached from the north at two access points on the Trans-Canada Highway: Castle Junction in Banff National Park (via Highway 93 South - the Kootenay Parkway) or Golden (via Highway 95); or from the south via Highway 93/95. The closest full service towns are Radium Hot Springs, just outside the park's West Gate, and Banff, 33 km east of the park's north entrance.
Facilities: Kootenay Lodge (10 cabins and restaurant; open mid-May to late September), visitor centers at Radium Hot Springs and Vermilion Crossing, 4 campgrounds, 200+ km of trails, Radium Hot Springs Pools complex.
Activities: Camping, hiking, mountaineering and climbing, wildlife viewing, boating, canoeing, rafting, fishing, mountain biking, horseback riding, interpretive programs, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing.
Special Features: Park is noted for its remarkable diversity of climate and landscape, from glacier-clad peaks along the Continental Divide in the north, to the dry, grassy slopes of the Columbia Valley in the south, where even cactus grows. Kootenay, Yoho, Banff and Jasper national parks, and Mt. Robson, Mt. Assiniboine and Hamber provincial parks, form UNESCO's Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage Site, one of the world's largest protected wilderness areas. Open year-round, the Radium Hot Springs facility is home to Canada's largest hot springs pool.

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See other parks in British Columbia.