Kootenay National Park starts just past Radium, twenty minutes north of Invermere, and Highway 93 runs straight through the middle of it. That is the reason it works as a day trip rather than an expedition — the best-known stops are roadside, not backcountry.

Best Times to Go

Marble Canyon, If You Only Do One

The walk is about 1.9 km return with barely 30 metres of climb, and the path crosses the canyon seven times on bridges — so you are looking straight down into the gorge for most of it. Easy enough for young children, and one of the highest reward-to-effort walks anywhere in the Rockies.

The Paint Pots, Straight After

Roughly a kilometre from the car park, about fifteen minutes on foot. Iron-rich mineral springs have stained the ground and water in reds, oranges and yellows. The ochre here was used by the Ktunaxa for generations, which is worth knowing before you look at it.

The two are linked by a signed trail, so you can walk between them rather than driving.

Stanley Glacier, For a Proper Half Day

The real hike of the three. It climbs through forest regrowing after the 1968 wildfire, then opens above the treeline with the glacier at the head of the valley. Longer and steeper — treat it as a half day with boots and water rather than a stop.

On the Way Home

Radium's pools are on your route back. Doing the park in the morning and the hot springs in the afternoon is the single best full day the valley offers.

The Three Main Stops

A valid Parks Canada pass is required to be in the park at all. Note also that from 19 June to 7 September 2026 the Canada Strong Pass gives free admission to Parks Canada sites including Kootenay — though the pool fees at Radium still apply separately.

What to Bring

This is a national park with roadside stops, which lulls people into treating it like a car journey. The weather does not agree.

Bring:

• Proper shoes, even for the short walks — the canyon path gets slick

• A layer more than the valley temperature suggests

• Water and something to eat, since services inside the park are limited

• Your park pass, or card to buy one

• Bear spray if you are doing Stanley Glacier, and noise on blind corners

Worth packing anyway:

• Swimwear, so Radium on the way home needs no detour

• A charged phone, because signal is patchy and you will want photographs

• Somewhere to put muddy boots in the car