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Shared itinerary · Yoho and Kootenay National Parks, British Columbia

Yoho and Kootenay in 3 days

Three days across Yoho and Kootenay: Takakkaw Falls, Field, Natural Bridge and Emerald Lake, a Lake O’Hara day if you hold a bus reservation (Wapta Falls if not), then Kootenay top to bottom over Vermilion Pass to Radium Hot Springs. 14 stops with times and notes.

From the guide Yoho National Park: the best value hour of the Rockies

Choosing between plans? Compare every Canadian Rockies route

Updated

Distance

222 km

Spiral Tunnels Viewpoint → Radium Hot Springs

Days

3

Stops

14

Each day of Yoho and Kootenay in 3 days: route, stops and distance
DayRouteStopsDistance
Day 1Spiral Tunnels Viewpoint to Emerald Lake533.2 km
Day 2Lake O’Hara to Wapta Falls254.0 km
Day 3Marble Canyon to Radium Hot Springs7135 km

Day 1: Spiral Tunnels Viewpoint to Emerald Lake

33.2 km

Yoho’s waterfalls and the lake that outshines its neighbours.

  1. 08:30

    Spiral Tunnels Viewpoint

    Sight

    Watch a freight train enter the mountain and cross above its own tail. Trains pass every 30 to 60 minutes.

    10.4 km · 20m drive to next

  2. 09:30

    Takakkaw Falls

    Park & nature

    Canada’s second highest waterfall at 373 metres, a ten minute walk from the lot. The access road’s switchbacks are closed to trailers.

    13.5 km · 25m drive to next

  3. 12:00

    Field

    Food & drink

    Lunch in the two-street railway village. The visitor centre handles Lake O’Hara and Burgess Shale bookings.

    6.2 km · 10m drive to next

  4. 13:30

    Natural Bridge

    Park & nature

    The Kicking Horse River has bored through its own rock dam and keeps drilling.

    3.2 km · 10m drive to next

  5. 14:45

    Emerald Lake

    Activity

    Walk the 5.2 km shoreline loop. The colour is real and strongest June through September.

Day 2: Lake O’Hara to Wapta Falls

54.0 km

Earn one of the hard-to-get days, or take the wild valley south.

  1. 08:00

    Lake O’Hara

    Activity

    The alpine basin above Lake Louise’s fame with none of its crowds. Bus seats are won by lottery months ahead. No seat? Walking the 11 km road in is allowed, and still worth it.

    32.5 km · 40m drive to next

  2. 15:00

    Wapta Falls

    Activity

    The full width of the Kicking Horse dropping 30 metres, via an easy 4.6 km round trip. The plan B that never feels like one.

Day 3: Marble Canyon to Radium Hot Springs

135 km

Kootenay top to bottom: over Vermilion Pass and down to Radium.

  1. 08:30

    Marble Canyon

    Activity

    Seven bridges zigzag over a dolomite slot barely a canoe wide and 37 metres deep.

    3.1 km · 10m drive to next

  2. 10:00

    Paint Pots

    Park & nature

    Ochre beds and iron-orange springs that Ktunaxa people quarried for centuries.

    5.8 km · 15m drive to next

  3. 11:30

    Numa Falls

    Park & nature

    A picnic stop where the Vermilion River folds through a rock notch.

    36.7 km · 30m drive to next

  4. 12:30

    Kootenay Crossing

    Sight

    Where the highway crosses the Kootenay River and the valley opens wide. This is the mid-park point the road builders met at in 1922.

    33.6 km · 15m drive to next

  5. 13:30

    Kootenay Valley Viewpoint

    Sight

    The whole southern valley and the Mitchell Range in one long look.

    4.3 km · 10m drive to next

  6. 14:15

    Olive Lake

    Park & nature

    A jade pool with a boardwalk at Sinclair Pass summit.

    11.2 km · 15m drive to next

  7. 15:30

    Radium Hot Springs

    Activity

    Finish in the 39 degree pool inside the red walls of Sinclair Canyon. Towels and suits are rentable, no excuses.