Kootenay National Park of Canada
Interpretive Exhibits
Self-Guided Interpretive Trails
A great way to get an appreciation of Kootenay's diversity is a first-hand experience on one of the park's interpretive trails. These short trails are designed for easy walking, and many are wheelchair accessible. Along the way, colourful interpretive displays reveal the stories behind the park's landscapes, ecology and human history.
Valley View Trail
Trailheads: Redstreak Campground entrance, 2.5 km east of Radium Hot Springs; OR parking area 1 km before the entrance; OR behind the Kootenay National Park Visitor Centre.
Length: 1.8 km one-way. Minor elevation gain and loss; steep ascent from the visitor centre trailhead.
Story: The natural history of a Douglas-fir forest typical of the warm, dry slopes in the Radium Hot Springs area. Features views of the Columbia Valley.
Olive Lake Trail
Trailhead: Olive Lake picnic area, 12 km north of Radium Hot Springs.
Length: 0.5 km return. Wheelchair-accessible trail and boardwalk.
Story: The history of this clear green lake, nestled in the forest at Sinclair Pass, as a natural stopping place for travellers. Displays feature tactile bronze bear paw and fish.
Paint Pots Trail
Trailhead: Paint Pots parking lot, 86 km north of Radium Hot Springs
Length: 1.5 km one-way. Minor elevation gain. Wheelchair-accessible to the ochre beds: 1km one-way.
Story: The geology, Aboriginal significance, and early 20th century mining history of these unusual iron-rich springs and the colourful stained earth of the ochre beds.
Marble Canyon Trail
Trailhead: Marble Canyon parking lot, 89 km north of Radium Hot Springs.
Length: 0.8 km one-way. Minor elevation gain. One set of stairs. Trail criss-crosses the narrow canyon over footbridges.
Story: The erosion of a 40 m deep gorge by the pounding waters of Tokumm Creek. The canyon walls are limestone and dolomite; some is white, resembling marble.
Fireweed Trail
Trailhead: Continental Divide parking area, 96 km north of Radium Hot Springs.
Length: 0.8 km wheelchair-accessible loop.
Story: The drama of a lightning-caused fire that swept through Vermilion Pass in July, 1968, and the vibrant life of today's regenerating forest. Burnt tree snags form part of the exhibit structures.