Scenic Kamloops Self Guided Audio Driving Tour to Lake Louise

This unforgettable route takes you from the sunny valleys of Kamloops into the heart of the Canadian Rockies, featuring jaw-dropping peaks, serene lakes, and legendary landmarks.

Note: The tour is over 56 miles long, with more than 39 audio stories, and takes about 2-3 hours to complete.

It joined the North Thompson River back in Kamloops, and together they formed the mighty Thompson River.

There are no signs for it. But alongside the river just ahead is the tiny Monte Creek Provincial Park.

The Prichard Bridge crossing the river just ahead makes for a really nice photo, especially at sunsets. It's one of the very last reminders of the days when paddle wheelers were the main mode of transport before our convenient highways and roads.

We're passing by the small village of Chase. Chase was named after Whitfield Chase, the first non-native settler in the area.

The attractive lake along here is the little Shuswap. It's not entirely natural, having been formed by a dam on the South Thompson River by the town.

You'll see some really good signs after we cross the bridge. It's straight ahead to the viewing platform.

The lake was named after the Shuswap Indians, an Interior Salish tribe who sometimes crossed the mountains to hunt buffalo on the prairies.

This town's marketers have given it the slogan heart of the Shuswap. Sorrento was originally known as Trapper's Landing because it was the meeting place of Shuswap Indian trappers returning with their furs. Sorrento's history dates back to 1910.

The arm of the lake. Earlier we passed the arm that's called Shuswap Lake. And remember, there are four long arms of the lake that are all connected.

It's not a place that we need to go visit on this trip, but if you want to know, it's an important area for the preservation of habitat for fish and bird life. It was created in 1956 and covers 60 hectares of beautiful forested upland with all the lumber mills alongside the Trans-Canada highway.

It's a place we should stop and visit. Because it represents a defining moment for Canada. It's a little strange because it represents the end of a story.

This one is the Crazy Creek Suspension Bridge. The bridge straddles over a creek that absolutely roars with snowmelt runoff through the spring and early summer especially.

The Enchanted Forest is actually a very popular stop of interest, especially if you have small children. The Enchanted Forest was the retirement project of Doris Needham and her husband.

Logging is once again visible here, and a number of cedar mills are located along the highway.

It has a fairly obvious name as watersheds from three different valleys drain here.

This is a hotel with restaurant services and a historical museum housing several interesting exhibits. Gordon Bell was the man responsible for this development as a child of the Great Depression.

Walter Moberly, a government surveyor, was the first documented European in this area in 1865.

We are now in the midst of the Monashee mountain range. If you look into the forest, you may notice the large trees, lush undergrowth and abundance of moss.

Across this bridge is the town of Revelstoke. Below us, we get our first look at the important Columbia River. This is the same Columbia River that makes its way through Washington state and opens into the Pacific Ocean near Astoria in Oregon.

Glacier National Park enjoys numerous roaring waterfalls, raging rivers, and soaring peaks. Many of the mountains are over 3050m high or 10,000ft.

The most notable man-made place in Glacier National Park is the buildings and services at the top of this climb at Rogers Pass.

This is Kinbasket Lake. There's also a big sign for entry to the Kinbasket Lake Resort campground. It's not a place that I'm going to say we'll need to stop, but I should point it out.

Below us, we get our first look at the important Columbia River. This is the same Columbia River that makes its way through Washington state and opens into the Pacific Ocean near Astoria in Oregon.

If we turn northeast along here, it would take us into the majestic Blaeberry Valley. From there, the road becomes a dusty Forest Service road that winds its way to the Banff National Park boundary.

The walls and mountain slopes are steep and the rock can be very fragile. For the longest time, this section was just one lane each way because, well, it was just too hard to find a route that was easier and safer to build. It sometimes felt a little scary driving through.

If we feel like we might like to spend an hour or so to take a relatively easy flat walk to one of the Rockies prettier waterfalls, then this could be a great stop for us to make in the summer.

Two huge mountains rise up above us here in the valley, and it's practically impossible for us to see both of them from here in the car, unless we're driving in a convertible with the top down. Both mountains are quite important, but for totally different reasons.

Be careful of traffic turning in and out of the car park. This is actually the most stopped at the viewpoint on the entire length of the Trans-Canada highway.

This pretty lake or large pond we're about to pass is called Wapta Lake. It's considered the source of the Kicking Horse River.

This is where you'll find the Samson Mall, which is just about all there is for town. There's a grocery store here, bakery, visitor info, and other stores. Some of the Lake Louise hotels are here too.