WHAT TO DO IN THE YOHO NATIONAL PARK AND IN THE GLACIER NATIONAL PARK

Although it loses prominence when compared to the national parks of Banff or Jasper, the Yoho National Park You don't have to envy them too much. It is true that it is the smallest of the four parks that form the Candienses Rocky Mountains, and that it catches a little away from all the tourist turmoil, but this does not mean that it does not have an unquestionable attraction and a few places of a natural beauty almost insuperable. The Yoho National Park It can boast lakes, waterfalls and environments just as incredible as those of its neighbors, and here we will tell you the best what to see and do in Yoho National Park.

We go through the Yoho National Park and then the Glacier Nationa Park on the Trans-Canada Highway (Hwy 1), returning to Vancouver after spending a few days in the Rocky Mountains. This road is neither more nor less than the longest in the world, with a total of 7,821 km, and connects one end of the country with the other. It is one of the epic journeys that we have in mind, but for now we settle for everything seen and lived ...

This is the map with the route that we did, where we indicate the most outstanding points and the places to visit in Yoho National Park and in Glacier national park, on the way to Revelstoke:

One of the rarest viewpoints we found throughout the trip. From here you will not have privileged views of any lake, or glaciers or mountains with very high peaks. Here you will see, with a bit of luck, how in front of you one of those very long Canadian freight trains appears and disappears at the same time in a spiral tunnel. This engineering milestone was the answer to save the slope down the slope of Cathedral Mountain.

In tongue Believe, one of the First Nations that occupied this territory since time immemorial, Takakkaw It means "magnificent. But it is also the second highest waterfalls in Canada, with 373 meters. Now only with this presentation, you can imagine that it was a place that could not be missing in our itinerary. However we arrived at an early date, and we found the access road cut off (normally it is open between mid-June and mid-October). The visit is made after traveling the 13 km of the Yoho Valley Road panoramic road, a winding route that crosses a lush forest and with some interesting stops, to free parking. From there walk for about 10 minutes until you reach the viewpoint.

In addition, this is a good place to do some of the best hiking trails in Yoho National Park, such as the one that goes to Yoho Lake, or to Twin Falls, and the famous Iceline trail (about 20 km long if you do the complete loop).

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Probably the Yoho National Park's most famous lake, and in a way we can understand why: it is these beautiful glacial lakes of water and framed between high mountains that are reflected in its turquoise waters. The parking lot is right next to the lake, but we recommend that you walk a little along its left bank and enjoy it from other panoramas. In addition the walk is very nice. The complete circular route is about 5 km. You also have the option to rent a canoe, as if you were in the Retiro Park in Madrid, and have a fun hour.

And, why not, to stay! Right on a shore is the Emerald Lake Lodge, with over 100 years of history, where you can also enjoy its cuisine. An insurmountable whim ...

Although, for us, the best of this detour was the Natural bridge, a small waterfall on the Kicking Horse River, with curious rock formations, including a natural bridge. It is a perfect place to take a coffee and improvise a picnic on its shore.

This curious town is on the same Hwy 1, just before the turnoff for Emerald Lake, and is home to the little residents of Yoho National Park. We drove around with the car through its barely 4 streets, but we found it quite charming. There are some bed and breakfast in wooden houses that seem anchored in the past and several restaurants, one of them, The Truffle Pigs Bistro, all painted blue and apparently with some very interesting proposals.

In the same crossing is the Yoho National Park Visitor Center, one of the most complete of the whole trip, and in a very cool environment, next to a small lake and with a picnic area. From there, on the other side of the highway, we saw our last bears on the trip through the Rockies, a mother with her two young, one of them climbing a tree! They were there so hot, until a ranger arrived with his shotgun and hit a few shots in the air to scare them. By the way, Field is already in the province of British Columbia, so you will have to delay an hour (well !!!).

A friend recommended that we visit this lake, which is apparently one of the most beautiful in Canada. But doing so is not so simple, they want to protect it from mass tourism, so to enjoy it you have to book one of the limited places which are made available on the website of the parks in Canada. It can be reached by bus (with the reservation), or walking along a gravel path of 11 km, and there you have the possibility to camp and spend several days discovering its surroundings, as it is an area with lots of walks that must be super cool . We don't get to go, so we can't comment, but we're sure it will be worth it.

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With its 30-meter drop, it cannot compete in height with the Takakkaw Falls, but in awe. And is that the Wapta Falls It is one of the largest in BC in terms of water volume. Surprising its width of 150 meters, which occupies the entire length of the Kicking Horse River. As with your neighbor, you can only visit between June and October, so we want to go. If this is not your case, you have to know that to arrive there is a 2 km detour on the Trans-Canada highway to the parking lot, and from there a trekking of about 2.5 km that takes you to the viewpoint over the top of the falls. If you continue you will reach the bottom of the falls.

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It is the highest restaurant in Canada, more than 2,400 meters above sea level. Obviously this luxury has a price, or rather two: the menu is not quite backpacking, but to get there you have to take a gondola in the Kicking Horse Mountain Resort It costs $ 110. We discarded it as we knew this ...

Although we have already left Yoho National Park behind, we continue on a high road, surrounded by a lot of glaciers in the Glacier National Park (in total 131). Actually from the road we can only intuit them, and the best place to do it is the Roger Pass, a historical mountain pass at 1,300 meters it was probably one of the last and great challenges to connect Canada with the transcontinental railroad. The problem was the inability to cross the barrier of the Selkirk mountain, but Albert Bowman Rogers, a worker at the Canadian Pacific Railway Company, discovered this gap in 1881 and then took the opportunity to continue the work. It was also used to declare these two national parks in 1885: Glacier and Yoho, which in the end would be the second and third oldest in Canada (after Banff).

This is a good place to make a rest stop, to read the informative panels of your history, and even to start a walk through the national park. Also a few kilometers further south, in the Illecillewaet Campground, other walks leave, the most important one that reaches the Illecillewaet Glacier, better known as Great glacier.

These two short trails on wooden walkways are an ideal opportunity to enjoy the natural environment without having to get too tired. They are next to the road and it won't take you more than half an hour each. The first is introduced into a forest of giant cedars, some with more than 500 years, and has a length of 0.5 km.

The second crosses a swampy area, covered with aquatic vegetation where, when summer is coming, the yellow flowers of this plant whose name does not promise too much "fetid cabbage", or also known as swamp cabbage.

We did night in the city of Revelstoke, where there is a stop (or rather a climb) almost mandatory. The Meadows in the Sky Parway is a winding road that climbs up the Mount Revelstoke National Park To the clouds There are several panoramic points in its 22 km distance, but keep in mind that access to the park closes at 5 pm. We had time to stop a couple of them, in the first 10 km. To pass you have to pay the entrance fee, which is included in the annual national park pass. The price for those without a pass is $ 7.80.

These are the essentials of things what to see and do in Yoho National Park and Glacier National Park National Parks, in the Rocky Mountains of Canada. As you can see, not everything is concentrated in Banff or Jasper, and you can enjoy equally incredible places in this somewhat more remote area.

Video: Yoho, Glacier and Mount Revelstoke National Parks of Canada (April 2024).