YOHO NATIONAL PARK AND VICINITY - Canadian Rockies: Including Banff and Jasper National Parks - page 303

Golden
From the western boundary of Yoho National Park, the TransCanada Highway meanders
down the beautiful Kicking Horse River Valley to the town of Golden (pop. 4,400), at the
confluence of the Kicking Horse and Columbia Rivers. As well as being a destination in
itself, Golden makes a good central base for exploring the region or as an overnight stop
on a tour through the Canadian Rockies that takes in the national parks on the western side
of the Continental Divide.
Although Golden is an industrial town through and through—with local mines and
huge logging operations that include a lumber mill that opened in 1999—it also has a repu-
tation for local outdoor-recreation opportunities, most notably for its four-season resort,
white-water rafting down the Kicking Horse River, golfing the fairways of one of the re-
gion's best courses, and hang gliding.
SIGHTS AND RECREATION
Take Highway 95 off the TransCanada Highway, and you'll find yourself in the old section
of town, a world away from the commercial strip along the main highway. There's not
really much to see in town, although you may want to check out the small museum on 14th
Street. The 8.8-kilometer (5.5-mile) Rotary Loop is a paved walking and biking trail that
leads across the river from downtown via an impressive timber-frame pedestrian bridge,
then upstream across Highway 95 (10th Ave. S) to the campground.
The Columbia River Wetland, which holds international significance not only for its
size (26,000 hectares/64,250 acres) but also for the sheer concentration of wildlife it sup-
ports, extends as far north as Golden. One easily accessible point of the wetland is Re-
flection Lake, on the southern outskirts of Golden. Here you'll find a small shelter with a
telescope for viewing the abundant birdlife.
MM Kicking Horse Mountain Resort
Summer or winter, as you descend into Golden from Yoho National Park, it's easy to make
out the ski slopes of Kicking Horse Mountain Resort (250/439-5400 or 866/754-5425,
www.kickinghorseresort.com ) across the valley.
The resort's eight-person detachable Golden Eagle Express gondola transports visitors
high into the alpine mid-June-September in just 18 minutes. The 360-degree panorama at
the summit is equal to any other accessible point in the Canadian Rockies, with the Purcell