Yoho National Park

Yoho National Park

Province: British Columbia.

Area: 1313 sq km / 507 sq mi

Altitude: 1098-3562 m / 3604-11,690 ft

Established: 1930

Access

Road:

TransCanada Highway 1 (Calgary-Banff-Lake Louise-Kicking Horse Pass-Golden-Kamloops-Vancouver).

The Yoho National Park extends over part of the western flank of the Rocky Mountains, adjoining both the Banff and Kootenay National Parks. As the fourth largest nature reserve in the Canadian Rockies it encompasses some magnificent and extremely varied mountain scenery, with snow-covered peaks, thundering rivers, majestic waterfalls and delightful mountain lakes (especially in the eastern section of the Park in the vicinity of the main range). The Park's two chief areas of interest are the valley of the Kicking Horse River and the over 20 km / 13 mi Yoho Valley ("yoho" is Cree for "awe"). In 1985 all four National Parks in the Rocky Mountains were adopted by UNESCO's World Heritage Programme on account of their great scenic beauty and the extent to which they have preserved their natural environments.

The TransCanada Highway passes through the Park making access very easy. There are viewpoints at three particularly scenic spots. Side roads branch off the Highway to major places of interest.

History

The history of the Yoho National Park is closely linked to the building of the trans-continental railway. The first white man to reach the area was almost certainly the geologist Sir James Hector, a member of the Palliser Expedition charged with reconnoitering road and rail routes through the Rocky Mountains. Hector made his way over the Vermilion Pass and into the Kootenay Valley which he followed northwards. Crossing another little pass he arrived at Beaverfoot Creek, a tributary of the Kicking Horse River. Near the Wapta Falls he was kicked so badly by his horse that his companions at first took him for dead. With great difficulty the little expedition struggled back to the valley of the Bow River by way of a pass they christened "Kicking Horse" on account of the incident.

1884 saw the construction of the Kicking Horse Pass section of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Initially the gradient at some places on the descent to Field was as great as 4.5 per cent (1 in 31/2) and several serious accidents occurred when brakes failed on the downward run. In 1909 two spiral tunnels were built, reducing the gradient to 2.2 per cent.

Following completion of the railway, Canadian Pacific also built the first tourist accommodation in the area. A stretch of road laid along the disused section of the original track in 1927 eventually became part of the Trans-Canada Highway. In 1886 some 26 sq. km (10 sq. mi.) in the vicinity of Mt Stephen (3199 m (10,500 ft); near Field) were declared a protected area and named Dominion Park. This modest beginning was eventually to lead to the creation of the Yoho National Park in 1930.