As part of our epic road trip to see Banff and Jasper, we also managed to see other nearby parks in British Columbia to include Mount Revelstoke, Glacier, Yoho and Kootenay. We also squeezed in the Montana State Capitol on our way back to Jackson Hole airport by way of animal-centric Yellowstone. Leave a comment at the end and let me know what you thought!
Mount Revelstoke National Park (British Columbia)
We left Golden early in the morning and drove to Mount Revelstoke National Park. We started with a short easy boardwalk hike called Skunk Cabbage followed by the Cedar boardwalk trail. The real highlight for us was the Meadows in the Sky Parkway up to a parking lot near the summit. From here we had an option to take a shuttle, but opted to walk instead. We find that hiking to a destination makes it more rewarding than taking the easy way. Before heading to Glacier National Park of Canada, we stopped in the little town of Revelstoke so I could get a coffee treat at Conversations Coffee House.
Glacier National Park of Canada (British Columbia)
Easily combined to make for a full day with Mount Revelstoke, we opted for the Great Glacier hike. Round-trip this hike took us about 3.5 hours to hike (approx. 5 miles round-trip). There is quite an ascent going up and once the skies started to clear, gorgeous views of the mountains, a waterfall, and running water in the valley below. We also passed the remains of Glacier House on our way out. I was so tired from carrying Addy a good portion of the way up that once we switched, I had to stay out of eyesight of Addy so we could make it back down without switching again. It was fun listening to Mike entertain her with descriptions of everything he saw from rocks to trees to mushrooms.
We stayed in a Ramada Limited Hotel in Golden, which was a nice hotel and ideally located between Glacier and Yoho. As a bonus, I got 10% off with my key card at Bear & Bone Burger, which was walking distance from the hotel. The gunsmoke burger and yam fries were absolutely delicious and I would highly recommend it!
Yoho (British Columbia)
If you take out Banff and Jasper (which both live up to the hype), Yoho was my favorite Canadian national park that we visited this trip. We ate our free hotel breakfast and then headed to Wapta Falls. This waterfall is a gusher! It was a relatively flat hike out, with some mud and rocks to the view point. Then we continued down in order to get a better view. Next up was one of the most stunning lakes of the trip (not quite Lake Louise or Moraine Lake, but definitely up there) called Emerald Lake. It was a stunning greenish turquoise color. We walked part of the lakeshore path, took in the reflection views and had a memorable photo shoot with Addy. On our way back to the main road, we stopped at the Natural Bridge. This was a nice spot to pop out and take some pictures. The park’s visitor center is in Field – we made a pit stop for our stamp before going to see our last waterfall. From the parking lot, it’s a very short walk to Takkakaw Falls. This narrow and tall fall (the second tallest in Canada) is really cool because you can go down to the rocks along the water for pictures without people. There’s also a spot with one of the “red chairs” that are scattered throughout the Canadian national park system.
Kootenay (British Columbia)
The Paint Pots hike toward Marble Canyon was the only hike we did in this park. From the pot holed parking lot, there’s a bridge with stunning views of the mountains and a river below. Hiking boots are definitely necessary as there are small boards you walk on to stay off the electrified looking water. The ink pot here is unique and we found this hike virtually to ourselves.
As we made our way toward the exit of the park we stopped at Olive Lake. It was a pretty lake with reflections and fish. It was a short drive from here to the exit by Radium Hot Springs. If we had more time, we would have stopped to check these out. The drive is definitely worth taking this route.
Crossing the Border
This time we checked the hours to ensure we wouldn’t have any issues. We found the border crossing virtually empty, but we were the random selectees to pull over and have our car inspected. We hung out in the station while they checked everything out. For sunset, we made it the small town of Whitefish, Montana. This town is adorable and I only wish we had made it before the small independent shops had closed.
We found a Wal-Mart in Kalispell to load up on more snacks and then found a hotel here for the night. Check out my article called, On the Border of Glacier and Waterton Lakes to read about Glacier National Park which we primarily explored on the front end of our trip.
Helena, Montana
As we made our way back toward Jackson Hole, we stopped in Helena, the capital of Montana. The inside was stunning and multi-floored. We joined a free guided tour so we could see inside the chambers. One of my favorite parts about taking Addy to a state capitol building is we’ve started a tradition of taking Addy’s picture on Mike’s shoulders in front of it. We explored the little downtown and found an adorable coffee shop, General Mercantile next to an independent bookstore called Montana Book Company. We don’t really collect any souvenirs on our trips, but one thing I do like to buy is a unique and locally written or illustrated book. On this trip I bought The Chumiss and the Micken, which is an incredibly adorable and beautiful book about the age old question about which came first – the chicken or the egg. It is a children’s book that I enjoy reading to Addy and would recommend to others.
Yellowstone National Park (USA)
When I was pregnant with Addy (June 2018), we crushed Yellowstone National Park. (I hope to write about that trip soon.) Since we were merely passing through for sunset and the following morning on this trip, we weren’t there to see it all, but rather to try and see animals. We took the scenic Beartooth Mountains drive. Then before even entering the park through the Gardiner, Montana entrance (to the north), we spotted a ton of big horned sheep, a herd of elk and pronghorns. Once we finally entered, we found a HUGE male flaunting his rack in anticipation for the fall rut.
Lamar Valley is a must drive if you want to see animals in Yellowstone. Of course, sunrise and sunset also happen to be the ideal times. The people who have scopes and follow the wolves were out in the morning and were generous enough to let us have a look. We could see wolves way out in the valley surrounding a bear trying to feed off the same dead bison carcass. My one non-animal pro tip is to stop in one of the stores and try the $1 huckleberry ice cream sandwich – you will be yearning for a second one!
Grand Teton National Park (USA)
The drive is so scenic from Yellowstone and throughout Grand Teton. We literally only had a few minutes to jump out for a few pictures of the mountains and another huge elk. There is one gas station close to the extremely small airport. It was very easy to return our rental car and get through security here before walking on the tarmac to our plane. It’s also really interesting that this airport offers bear spray rentals! This is definitely something to consider for a future trip as bear spray is more expensive that I thought and you have to properly dispose of it. And in case you’re wondering why we picked Jackson Hole, it’s because Frontier was offering tickets for $249 each! This was a steal for this airport!
Notes for Next Time
- Revelstoke: A longer hike in the Summit Area
- Glacier: Balu Pass
- Yoho: Lake O’Hara alpine area which needs to be booked WAY in advance and looks absolutely unreal.
- Kootenay: Radium hot springs (the actual hot springs) and Juniper-Sinclair Canyon
Treat Yourself to Travel 