YOHO NATIONAL PARK AND VICINITY - Canadian Rockies: Including Banff and Jasper National Parks - page 281

PARK ENTRY
Unless you're traveling straight through and not stopping, a permit is required for
entry into Yoho National Park. A National Parks Day Pass is adult $9.80, senior
$8.30, child $4.90, up to a maximum of $20 per vehicle. It can be used in the other
national parks and is valid until 4pm the day following its purchase. The Discovery
Pass, good for entry into Yoho and all of Canada's national parks for one year from
purchase, is adult $67.70, senior $57.90, child $33.30, to a maximum of $136.40
per vehicle. Both types of pass are available from the Field Visitor Centre and at
campground kiosks. For more information on passes, go to the Parks Canada web-
site ( www.pc.gc.ca ) .
THE LAND
The park extends west from the Continental Divide to the western main ranges of the
Rocky Mountains. The jagged peaks along this section of the Continental
Divide—including famous Mount Victoria, which forms the backdrop for Lake
Louise—are some of the park's highest. But the award for Yoho's loftiest summit goes to
3,562-meter (11,686-foot) Mount Goodsir, west of the Continental Divide in the Ottertail
Range.
The park's only watershed is that of the Kicking Horse River, which is fed by the
Wapta and Waputik Icefields. The Kicking Horse, wide and braided for much of its course
through the park, flows westward, joining the mighty Columbia River at Golden. The park
has many individual geological features of interest, including Takakkaw and Twin Falls,
Natural Bridge, Leanchoil Hoodoos, Emerald Lake, and Lake O'Hara.
FLORA
Elevations within the park cover a range of more than 2,500 meters (8,200 feet), making
for distinct vegetation changes and more than 600 recorded species of plants. Douglas
fir is the climax species at lower elevations, but lodgepole pine dominates areas affected
by fire. Western red cedar, hemlock, and the delightful calypso orchid can be found in
the damp eastern shoreline of Emerald Lake. At higher elevations, where temperatures are
lower and precipitation is higher, the familiar subalpine forests of Engelmann spruce and
subalpine fir thrive. The northernmost extent of larch exists around Lake O'Hara. Larch