Kootenay National Park
VISIT Kootenay National Park:
Park Details
Kootenay National Park was established in 1920, and has a total area of 347,520 acres (543 square miles, or 1,407 square kilometers).
| Address | 7556 Main Street East, Radium Hot Springs, BC, V0A 1M0 |
|---|---|
| Phone | 250-347-9505 |
| Hours | 24 hours, 365 days a year |
| Entrance Fee | Free to $11, depending on age |
| Learn More | Official Website |
When to Visit: Weather vs. Peak Visitation
We crunched 30 years of historical weather and/or park service data to find the best months to visit Kootenay National Park. We looked for the optimal temperatures, the least amount of snow and rain, and stayed away from peak visitation months if we could help it. All this data then helped us paint a picture as to what the absolute best time to visit Kootenay National Park is.
Our data shows the best months to visit Kootenay National Park are September, July, August & May.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Park Visits | data unavailable | |||||||||||
| Precipitation | 28 | 21 | 29 | 36 | 49 | 56 | 27 | 29 | 28 | 28 | 37 | 25 |
| Avg Temp | 34 | 36 | 42 | 52 | 64 | 72 | 79 | 78 | 70 | 54 | 39 | 33 |
| Max Temp | 42 | 43 | 52 | 67 | 80 | 84 | 90 | 90 | 83 | 71 | 50 | 42 |
| Avg Temp | 22 | 23 | 30 | 37 | 44 | 51 | 56 | 54 | 47 | 39 | 29 | 21 |
| Min Temp | -3 | 1 | 9 | 24 | 32 | 41 | 44 | 43 | 35 | 23 | 9 | 0 |
Kootenay National Park Road Trips
Many family vacations consist of stringing one or more national parks together during a week-long trip. Creating these types of trips is our specialty! Here are the road trips we've created where Kootenay National Park is visited.
| Trip Name | Trip Miles | Trip Days |
|---|---|---|
| Glacier to Canadian Banff & Kootenay | 1,035 | 9 |
Other Nearby National Park Sites
From national monuments, to historic sites to seashores and more, here are the other parks closest to Kootenay National Park.
| Name | Distance |
|---|---|
| Banff National Park | 54 km |
| Jasper National Park | 54 km |
| Yoho National Park | 66 km |
| Glacier National Park | 100 km |
| Mount Revelstoke National Park | 134 km |
| Waterton Lakes National Park | 240 km |
| Glacier National Park | 313 km |
| Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area | 344 km |
| Elk Island National Park | 376 km |
Nearest Ski Resorts
For those of you who are the diehard outdoors type, visiting a national park on a ski trip can be quite the adventure. Here are the ski resorts within 100 miles of Kootenay National Park:
| Name | Location | Summit | Difficulty Score™ | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Banff Sunshine Village | Banff, AB | 8,957 ft | 68% | 39 km |
| Panorama Mountain | Panorama, BC | 8,038 ft | 87% | 51 km |
| Mount Norquay | Banff, AB | 6,998 ft | 53% | 54 km |
| Lake Louise | Lake Louise, AB | 8,650 ft | 66% | 58 km |
| Fairmont Hot Springs Resort Ski Area | Fairmont Hot Springs, BC | 5,200 ft | 44% | 71 km |
| Kicking Horse | Golden, BC | 8,218 ft | 90% | 71 km |
| Fortress Mountain Resort | Kananaskis, AB | 8,400 ft | 57% | 72 km |
| Nakiska Ski | Kananaskis, AB | 7,415 ft | 60% | 75 km |
| Summit Lake Ski Area | Nakusp, BC | 3,018 ft | 11% | 131 km |
| Kimberley Alpine Resort | Kimberly, BC | 6,500 ft | 62% | 138 km |
Nearest Airports
When visiting a National park, many people are faced with either a very long drive across country, or a much shorter flight.
Large Airports
A large airport has scheduled major airline service with millions of passengers per year. This type of airport always accepts international flights. Here are the closest large airports to Kootenay National Park.
| Name | Code | City | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calgary International Airport | YYC | Calgary, AB | 155 km |
| Edmonton International Airport | YEG | Edmonton, AB | 321 km |
| Vancouver International Airport | YVR | Vancouver, BC | 532 km |
| Seattle–Tacoma International Airport | SEA | Seattle, WA | 586 km |
| Portland International Airport | PDX | Portland, OR | 757 km |
Medium Airports
A medium-sized airport has scheduled regional airline service. This type of airport may or may not accept international flights. Here are the closest medium-sized airports to Kootenay National Park.
| Name | Code | City | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cranbrook/Canadian Rockies International Airport | YXC | Cranbrook, BC | 149 km |
| Castlegar/West Kootenay Regional Airport | YCG | Castlegar, BC | 207 km |
| Kelowna International Airport | YLW | Kelowna, BC | 248 km |
| Lethbridge County Airport | YQL | Lethbridge, AB | 282 km |
| Penticton Airport | YYF | Penticton, BC | 290 km |
| Kamloops Airport | YKA | Kamloops, BC | 297 km |
| Glacier Park International Airport | FCA | Kalispell, MT | 323 km |
Credits: Campground data provided by USCampgrounds.info. Map shapes from CartographyVectors. Weather data from NOAA. Airport data from OurAirports.com. Images from Unsplash, Flickr and Parks&Trips. All data has also been updated and augmented by Parks&Trips.