Yoho National Park Self-Guided Driving Audio Tour

Right now, we’re driving through Kicking Horse Pass. Long ago, the Kootenay people used this very pass to cross over these mountains on their way to Banff. But how did it end up with the name “Kicking Horse”?

Yoho is one of Canada’s smaller national parks, but it’s certainly not “small” by any other metric. Coming in at over 500 square miles, this sprawling wilderness is packed with incredible scenery and wildlife.

Note: The tour is over 50 miles long, with more than 27 audio stories, and takes about 1-2 hours to complete.

Buy once, use for one year! Ideal for extended visits and return trips over the next 12 months.

Coming up in a moment will be a hiking trail to another lake, Sherbrooke Lake. This secluded lake rarely gets crowded and it tucked at the base of two mountains, making for some incredible views! The trail to get there is six miles long and takes at least two hours to complete, but it’s worth it if you’re seeking some solitude!

Coming up is the Spiral Tunnel Viewpoint. In the 1880s, Canadian Prime Minister John MacDonald and the Canadian Pacific Railway company had to solve some thorny problems when it came to the Rocky Mountains and the promise of a transcontinental railway. First off, how do you get a steam-powered train with around 20 cars up and over mountains that are 10,000 feet tall? MacDonald promised his people it would happen. So the Railway company had to figure it out.

Up ahead, we have the option to take a detour to Takakkaw Falls. The road is only open from July through September. The detour takes about 15 minutes each way, but it’s well worth the trip. Takakkaw Falls towers at a staggering 1,200 feet, and visitors can get surprisingly close to this deluge!

After we round the next bend, we’ll see the top of Wapta Mountain. This peak clocks in at 9,114 feet. Clergyman James Outram and his friend J.H. Scattergood climbed Wapta with a Swiss guide for the first time in 1901. Most mountains around here have European names, but this one actually has a First Nations name. Do you remember what “wapta” means in the Nakoda language?

Towering off to our right is Mount Field, home to one of the most important paleontological finds in Canada. It’s the Burgess Shale, a huge swath of sedimentary shale loaded with fossils!

A fascinating overlook is coming up in just a moment. Here, we’ll see a natural bridge of rock spanning the width of the Kicking Horse River. How did this Natural Bridge form? The answer lies with the Kicking Horse River. It flowed on flatter ground near the town of Field, slow and lazy. But right around here, the river starts a downhill journey to join with the Amiskwi River. Gravity makes it flow faster and a little rougher.

Just ahead is our final destination on this tour: Emerald Lake! And we’ll finish with someone we started the tour with: Tom Wilson. Wilson has the distinction of being the first European settler to lay eyes on this gorgeous glacial lake. He even named it! And this time, historians are pretty sure he isn’t lying about the discovery.