Yoho National Park
We dipped into Yoho for a few days and were not disappointed with our decision. This is only a short distance from Lake Louise and our main reason for going there was to go to white water rafting on the wonderfully named Kicking Horse River
Accommodation – We stayed in Whispering Spruce campsite which I would not recommend – it was not a Canada Parks campsite. We were unable to get into any of the Canada Parks campsites as they were full. For a link to the Canada Parks websites in Yoho click on the button.
Rafting
We did a full day of white water rafting on the Kicking Horse River with a company called Alpine Rafting which was a great experience and would highly recommend them (lunch is included in the full day). The morning was a bit flat (as advertised as the family section), but then in the afternoon you had grade 3 and 4 rapids which were great fun. You can only do the afternoon session but this would only take 1hour so we opted for the whole day. The other option is their “adventure trip”, where you get a helicopter to a bit of the river where it’s all Grade 3 and 4 for the whole day
Our campsite was near Golden which is a town I wouldn’t write home about. It’s a transitory town which people use as a base to go white water rafting (best area in BC for this) and hikes in Yoho National Park
Walking
While we were in Yoho we also did a lovely hike to the Takakkaw Falls which I would heartily recommend. it is called –
Iceline Trail, 21km, 824m elevation – hard –
One hour drive from Golden
This is a loop trail that starts and ends by the Takakkaw Falls which are beautiful
The start is through a forest with a lot of switch backs and at a steep gradient
You’re then walking alongside some glaciers with staggering views over the national park
There are multiple options of trails to take but the 21km is absolutely breath-taking albeit tough
Emerald Lake is another beautiful lake where there is a flat 5km loop around the circumference. Lots of swimming and canoeing.
