Columbia-Rockies

TheColumbia-Rockiesregion is a mountainous area inBritish Columbia.

Map of the Columbia-Rockies travel region

Cities

• 1Revelstoke— a railway town that has become a tourist centre for exploring the mountain parks and skiing
• 2Golden— a year-round destination for adventure sports: skiing, snowboarding, whitewater rafting, hiking, mountain biking, and hang-gliding
• 3Field— a cozy, small town in Yoho National Park

Other destinations

• 1Mount Revelstoke National Park— drive up to the sub-alpine meadows
• 2Glacier National Park— home of the famous Rogers Pass
• 3Yoho National Park— Canada's second National Park
• 4Hamber Provincial Park— straddling the Great Divide on the provincial boundary with Alberta, the park is surrounded on three sides by Jasper National Park

Understand

This region is composed solely of mountainous terrain. The mid-level Monashees mark the western gateway, and the majestic Rocky Mountains mark the east.

Get in and around

Revelstoke

By plane

The nearest airports with scheduled flights are inCastlegar,Cranbrook,Calgary,andKelowna.Calgary's airport is the largest of those and Kelowna is the next largest.

By car

The region is bisected east-west by Highway 1 (Trans-Canada Highway), and for many people, this stretch is the most scenic of the highway's entire length. Exploring by car is the only reasonable way to enjoy this region.

By bus

• Rider Express,toll-free:+1-833-583-3636.Multiple days per week service along the Trans-Canada Highway from betweenCalgaryandVancouverwith stops inCanmore,Banff,Lake Louise,Golden,Revelstoke,Sicamous,Salmon Arm,Sorrento, Chase,Kamloops,Merritt,Hope,Chilliwack,Abbotsford,andSurrey.In Salmon Arm, this service provider offers some trips with timed connections with its route between Salmon Arm andKelowna.In Calgary, this service provider has routes that reachEdmonton.The service provider also has routes that allow travel as far east asWinnipeg.(updated Apr 2022)

By public transit

BC Transit (Revelstoke Transit System),☏+1-250-837-3888.Operates several bus routes withinRevelstoke.(updated Apr 2022)

See

Trans-Canada Highwayat the top of Rogers Pass

• Rogers Passis an important connection between British Columbia and the rest of Canada inGlacier National Parkeast of Revelstoke. The Canadian Pacific Railway and the Trans-Canada Highway both pass through this 1330-m-high gap in the Selkirk Mountains.

Takakkaw Falls inYoho National Park

• Takakkaw Falls,Canada's second tallest waterfall, inYoho National Park.

• Kicking Horse Pedestrian Bridge,in downtownGolden,is the longest covered, free-span timber-frame pedestrian bridge in Canada

• There is lots to see in the region for rail fans. TheRevelstoke Railway MuseuminRevelstoke,andThe Last Spike,at Craigellachie (25 east ofSicamousand 45 km west of Revelstoke, listing under Sicamous) tell the story of the coming of the Canadian Pacific Railway to the region, and the importance of this trans-continental railway in uniting Canada. At theSpiral Tunnelsviewing spots about 10 minutes fromField,you can watch the trans-Canada train spiralling through the mountain.

• Three Valley Gap Heritage Ghost Town(west ofRevelstoke) has many abandoned buildings that have been preserved.

Do

Galcier National Park

There are ways to enjoy the mountain scenery for people of all abilities. There arescenic drives,like the Meadows-in-the-Sky Parkway inMount Revelstoke National Park,boardwalk walks, short and long trails, and backcountry hikes.

Goskiing, snowboarding or snowmobilingfrom the Revelstoke Mountain Resort nearRevelstoke,or from the Kicking Horse Mountain Resort nearGolden.

White-water raftingalong the Kicking Horse River, which is known for having one of the longest stretches of class four rapids in the world. Three companies operate from Golden.

There arehorseback ridingopportunities in the area surrounding Golden.