Day: January 21, 2026

Mt. Revelstoke National Park

August 9, 2025

After passing through Glacier National Park I continued west on Hwy 1 to Mt. Revelstoke. It is located next to the highway, near the town of Revelstoke.

(Photo credit: Parks Canada)

I stopped at the information kiosk between the two Parks and the ranger there suggested I get to Mt. Revelstoke sooner rather than later, as parking near the top gets scarce as more people arrive. She was right.

The Trans Canada Highway doesn’t even go through the Park, but runs along part of the southern edge. Once I got close to town I pulled off onto the entry road and found that the only road in the Park is the “Meadows in the Sky Parkway,” a 16-mile, two lane road comprised of a set of many switchbacks (and with a low speed limit) which leads to the top. There were a handful of parking areas for hiking trails along the way.

This one looks down at the town of Revelstoke. Beyond it is the Columbia River, and the mountain in the distance is Mt. Begbie, which is almost 8,000 feet tall. I proceeded all the way up to the small parking area at the top (which I had to walk to as vehicles were lining up along the access road). There was a small cabin with rangers to answer questions.

The sign reports recent wildlife sightings:

There wasn’t even a view from this vantage point, and one had to hike out to the actual mountain peak to see anything. There was a sign indicating I was at 6,360 feet elevation.

I asked if there were places to get views on the way back down and stopped at two of the places that were suggested to me.

I should also mention that as I was driving up the mountain I was interested to see a sign in the road prohibiting dogs “beyond this point”. Of all the Parks I have been in I have never seen that restriction. Apparently, some dog owners would let their pets run loose, contrary to Park rules (which pretty much all Parks have. Pets must be on a leash). This often resulted in bear attacks, and then the bears might think that, hey, this might be a nice place to hang out. So this Park decided to ban dogs altogether above a certain elevation.

When I got back down I went into town to get something to eat and then started back to Golden, a 2 1/2 hour drive. When I had stopped at the kiosk earlier the ranger had suggested two places I would now pass on my way home. The first was a place called the Skunk Cabbage Boardwalk, a wetlands area next to the Illecillewaet River (the name is pronounced Ill-a-silhouette) and the water flows down from an enormous glacier of the same name in Glacier National Park. It is well south of the highway and not visible from the road.

I walked towards the boardwalk but met some people coming back who told me that there was a chain across the pathway that prevented anyone from going any further. I found out later that there were probably birds nesting in the area and authorities didn’t want them to be disturbed.

So I drove to the Giant Cedars Boardwalk just up the road, and the lack of vehicles there should have been a clue. It, too, was closed:

It is in a small rainforest and some of the trees toppled, severely damaging the boardwalk.

So although it was a nice day it was incredibly disappointing in many respects. I was hoping to see much more, especially in Glacier, but it just wasn’t meant to be.

Later in my trip when I shared with my family where I had been one of my brothers, an avid skier, asked me about the ski area at Mt. Revelstoke. I told him I never heard of it, and didn’t recall seeing any signs for it.

I looked into it and found that the Revelstoke Mountain Resort is across the road from the National Park, and is located east of the town of Revelstoke. It is actually located on Mount MacKenzie. It features the longest vertical drop in North America, at 5,620 feet (from a top elevation of 7,300 feet), and they compare themselves to Breckenridge in Colorado, which is an enormous resort, and is where my brother who asked me about it worked for one season after getting out of college. Revelstoke Mountain Resort is one third the size of WhistlerBlackcomb near Vancouver, and the longest run is over 9 miles!

Glacier National Park (Canada!)

August 9, 2025

After returning to Golden from Jasper National Park I had now seen parts of 4 of the 6 Parks I planned to visit while I was based in Golden. Today I would go west, continuing on the Trans Canada Highway which brought me to Golden, to visit Glacier and Mount Revelstoke National Parks. Of course there is a Glacier National Park in the United States (in northwest Montana) which connects to the Canadian border but on the other side of the border the Canadian National Park there is called Waterton. I will visit it later in my trip.

I arrived in Golden towards the end of the day August 7 and left early on the 8th to backtrack and go north to Jasper. As I embarked on my drive west today I had my first good look at some of the mountains around Golden.

Those are all located west of Hwy 1 (the TCH) and actually sit between Golden and Glacier NP, which is located due west of town. I would have to drive northwest on Hwy 1 to the town of Beaver before turning back south to get to Glacier.

(Photo credit: Parks Canada)

The map above shows the two Parks I would visit today. Compared to the Parks I have seen so far these are quite small. Glacier NP covers 521 square miles and spreads out on both sides of Hwy 1. About 10 miles separate the two Parks, and Mount Revelstoke covers only 100 square miles, all on the north side of the highway.

Here is another map showing some more details:

(Photo credit: Parks Canada)

As you can see, the Trans Canada Highway (Hwy 1) is the only road passing through Glacier National Park, although there are several hiking paths which branch off in multiple directions.

I saw this impressive mountain as I approached the Park.

Once again I am faced with the naming problem. I suspect that may be Mount Dawson (because it has snow on it and is over 11,000 feet tall) but it is located pretty far off the highway so I may be mistaken.

This, I believe, is Mount MacDonald, which is about 9,500 feet tall.

After seeing these two mountains as I approached the Park the area next to the road narrowed as it started to climb up to Rogers Pass. Before getting to the Visitor Centre there I stopped at one of the parking areas for the Hermit hiking trail. Here I found several signs with some stern warnings.

First, I was now in avalanche country.

As you can see from the “You are here” X, the road is passing through near the base of these mountains, creating both a significant avalanche risk (though hopefully not on August 9) and also preventing me from seeing other mountains on either side of the highway.

Another sign warned me that I was in Grizzly and Black bear country and that I should take appropriate safety steps (e.g. don’t hike the trails alone, keep your distance from wildlife and carry bear spray). There was also a warning about mountain goats in the area, asking me to report any sightings. Curiously the sign didn’t ask me to Dial 911 for emergencies but, rather, listed a traditional phone number with area code. I presume this is because there generally isn’t cell service in any of the Parks and you would need to send an emergency text IF you could find a satellite signal.

I later read that the number one cause of death among visitors to Glacier National Park is water. People underestimate the power and extreme cold of the water within the Park, and if they should fall into it they are quickly overcome.

I resumed driving and stopped at the Rogers Pass Discovery Centre, only to find it closed, but for the bathrooms (which are called washrooms in Canada). It is being renovated and/or replaced and was not open. I had apparently gained some altitude as when I looked across the parking lot as I was leaving I could see a mountain back from where I had just come.

As I was about to pull out onto the highway I could see a few more mountains spread out before me.

Further up the road I came to a spot where they were doing some road work.

When I mentioned this to my Airbnb host in Golden he said it is a long overdue project to widen the highway from 2-lanes to 4-lanes.

So that was really all I saw of Glacier National Park. There are lots and lots of mountains, and a large number of glaciers, but you can’t see them without getting off the road, and even then you may not see very much.