Kootenay National Park

Southeast British Columbia is the location of the Canadian Kootenay National Park. Its area is 1,406 square kilometers. The Kootenay National Park has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984.

In its neighborhood is the Yoho National Park and in the northeast is the Banff National Park. The highest mountain, Deltaform Mountain, reaches 3,424 meters.
The eponymous river Kootenay has its source in the Kootenay National Park. The Kootenay River got its name from the tribes of the Kutenai or Ktunaxa.
As part of the Canadian Rocky Moutains National and Provincial Parks, the Kootenay National Park is one of the largest protected areas in the world.

Touristic in Kootenay National Park

Kootenay National Park is open all year round. Accordingly, it is also designed for tourists and offers many attractions. The park is a crowd puller, especially in summer. This is also due to the fact that the hiking areas are relatively easy to walk and many birds can be observed. The plants bloom in their full glory in summer. The park offers the best opportunities for leisure activities, especially for outdoor enthusiasts. In addition to fishing, water sports and camping, you can also go cycling here.
In winter, the park offers downhill and cross-country skiing. An absolute highlight among winter tourists is a ride in a snowmobile. This national park is the only one that has such a wide range of climates. Because winter sports are not only possible in the seasonal winter months, but can also be practiced all year round on the snow-covered mountain slopes.

The region of the park offers everything from glaciers to desert. By the way, the motto of the park is: From the cactus to the glacier, which beautifully expresses what visitors can expect here. The particularly mild climate ensures that the summers in the southern area can be quite dry and sometimes very hot.

Creation of the Kootenay National Park

Kootenay National Park was established in 1920. It resulted from the first road connection through the Rocky Mountains. The line was built from the village of Banff and the road led to Windermere. However, since they wanted to protect the magnificent area, a natural strip, each eight kilometers wide, was declared a nature reserve at about the same time. Just two years later, the highway was completed and could be used. Today it has a total length of 94 kilometers. Today the route is called Kootenay Parkway. Of course, this leads past many well-known sights of today’s Kootenay National Park. So you can also experience a great sightseeing tour through the park from your car.

Animals of the Kootenay National Park

The most important populations of large mammals are deer, roe deer, mountain goats and ibex. Sometimes the animals simply stand in the middle of the road. The park’s black bears are difficult to see because they are very withdrawn. One should also be careful not to confront them. Coyotes and wolves also live in the park area. The moose, on the other hand, can be seen more often. With a little luck, visitors may spot one of the rare ospreys.

There are a lot of insects in the park, which like mosquitoes can also be a nuisance. When visiting, make sure you wear suitable clothing and carry insect repellent with you.

The so-called paint pots are particularly interesting. This is a type of earth that is rich in color pigments. In the past, the indigenous people used this earth to dye fabrics or pots. The earth colors are explained by natural mineral additives. Today the place becomes a tourist attraction and is often overcrowded.