KOOTENAY NATIONAL PARK AND VICINITY - Canadian Rockies: Including Banff and Jasper National Parks - page 252

Sights and Recreation
ROAD-ACCESSIBLE SIGHTS
The eastern access to Kootenay National Park is Highway 93 (also known as the Banff-
Windermere Road), which branches west from the TransCanada Highway at Castle
Mountain Junction, 29 kilometers (18 miles) northwest of Banff and 27 kilometers (16.8
miles) southeast of Lake Louise. From this point, Highway 93 climbs steadily for six kilo-
meters (3.7 miles) to the Continental Divide, crossing it at an elevation of 1,640 meters
(5,650 feet). The divide marks the border between Kootenay National Park to the west and
Banff National Park to the east.
West from the Continental Divide
Immediately west of the divide is the Vermilion Pass Burn. Lightning started the fire
that roared through this area in 1968, destroying thousands of hectares of trees. Lodgepole
pine, which requires the heat of a fire to release its seeds, was the first plant species to
sprout up through the charred ground. More than 40 years later, effects of the devastating
fire are still obvious. Along the short Fireweed Trail you'll see the growth of a new forest
on the floor of the old. Mount Storm (3,161 meters/10,370 feet) is the distinctive peak to
the east.
Beyond the Vermilion Pass Burn pullout, the devastation caused by a more recent fire
(2003) becomes apparent. Also started by lightning, it began as a number of fires, which
came together to cross the highway, burn entire watersheds, and extend high up the sur-
rounding mountains to the extent of the tree line.
Marble Canyon
Be sure to stop and take the enjoyable self-guided trail, one kilometer (0.6 mile) each way,
which leads along this ice-carved, marble-streaked canyon and through the remains of a
forest destroyed by wildfires in 2003. The walk takes only about 30 minutes or so, yet as
one of several interpretive plaques says, it takes you back more than 500 million years.
From the parking lot, the trail follows a fault in the limestone and marble bedrock
through Marble Canyon, which has been eroded to depths of 37 meters (130 feet) by fast-
flowing Tokumm Creek. As the canyon narrows, water roars down through it in a series
of falls. The trail ends at a splendid viewpoint where a natural rock arch spans a gorge.
Marble Canyon is also the trailhead for the Kaufmann Lake Trail.