Hike to waterfalls and hoodoos, bike an old coach trail, paddle through wetlands and get up close and personal with a grizzly bear! Of course, we’re talking about family-friendly adventure in the Columbia Valley near Radium Hot Springs, British Columbia.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you buy something from one of our affiliates, we receive a small commission at no extra charge to you. Thanks for supporting this blog!
Table of Contents
What & Where is the Columbia Valley?
The Columbia Valley is an area near the headwaters of the Columbia River in British Columbia, Canada. The valley has the Purcell Mountain range to the west and the Rocky Mountains to the east. It runs roughly from the town of Golden in the north to Canal Flats in the south.
There are several small towns. The biggest and busiest is Invermere on Lake Windermere. Because it is less than a 3-hour drive from Calgary, Albertans flock to the warmer climate of this lake-filled region. Family-friendly adventure awaits!
A Little Slice of Human History in the Valley
The Ktunaxa (Tun-NA-hah) First Nations people have been in the Columbia Valley for more than 4,000 years. In 1807, explorer David Thompson established a fur trading post called Kootenae House near the small community of Wilmer (close to Invermere). By the mid-1800s, miners moved into the area in search of gold and other minerals and coal. European settlers arrived in late 1800s and established farmsteads. The Banff-Windermere Highway opened in 1923. Increased markets for timber led to a logging boom. Tourism also began taking off as visitors discovered the areas’ hot springs, abundant lakes and mountain trails.
Family-Friendly Adventure in the Columbia Valley
We chose the Columbia Valley to get together with my niece and her family for its wide selection of outdoor, family-friendly adventure. We wanted to hike, bike and paddle without driving too far. It was the perfect choice!
Day One: Paddle the Columbia River
We had two options for our first day’s adventure: start at Invermere and float 17 kilometres down to Radium or start in Radium and float 10 km down to Edgewater. Both options require a second shuttle vehicle. The river is cold – fed by glacial creeks. Paddling experience was limited. We decided on the shorter option.
Canoe and kayaks on board, we drove down the hill from Redstreak, through the village and down to the launch site beside the bridge on Forsters Landing Road. The guys drove down to our takeout point at Edgewater and left a vehicle there. It’s a short and easy shuttle.
Zipping up PDFs (personal floatation devices) and slathering on sunscreen, we reviewed river rules and headed off downstream for a little family-friend adventure. The sun shone. Kingfishers chattered noisily on the river’s edge. Eagles sat in tall trees. Side channels veered off and came back in at random. Trees leaning into the water – called sweepers – brought calls of “stay to the center of the river!” Fortunately, the current is slow and there is plenty of time to maneuver.
The only mishap came at the takeout. We sat downstream as the kayaks came into shore in a cluster of bumper boats. One tipped, someone (who shall remain nameless) fell in the water. Her cell phone fell in the river, too. Luckily, the sun was hot and wet clothes quickly dried and she found the phone. Waterproof to almost 2m for 30 minutes – who knew?
P.S. Don’t take the forest road through Briscoe back to Radium. The highway was temporarily closed due to an accident. A local told us about the back road. He said it was recently graded. It wasn’t. In the end, there’s nothing better than a day outside with a misadventure or two and a couple of stories to make you laugh all over again!
Did You Know?
The Columbia Wetlands are a Ramsar site – a wetlands of international importance. More than 260 species of birds use the area, as well as numerous species of fish, reptiles, amphibians, mammals and invertebrates. It’s a veritable biodiversity hotspot!
Day Two: Family-friendly Adventure Biking the Old Coach Trail
Switching PDFs and paddles for bike shorts and helmets, we hopped on our bikes and headed down the hill to town. The Old Coach Trail starts directly across the highway from the visitor centre. It runs 9 km, one-way, from Radium Hot Springs to Dry Gulch.
Knowing that there was the option to pedal out only as far as we wanted, we set off in high spirits. The boys loved the downhill. The up? Not so much.
Brad and I finished the ride to the Dry Gulch parking area and back and met up everyone back in town – where a truck was waiting for those who didn’t want to grind back up the hill to our campsites. Good day, but my advice with kids would be to start earlier – before the heat kicks in and ice cream sounds way more exciting than a dusty trail ride!
Day Three: Head to Golden for Kicking Horse Adventures
While the big boys headed off for an epic hiking adventure near Rogers Pass, the rest of us loaded up for a road trip and a bear-y good day!
Tickets in hand – a gift from our Golden girl! – we strolled around Kicking Horse Mountain Resort above Golden waiting for our time to hop on the chairlift to see Boo – the resident grizzly bear. An adventure pass allows visitor to take a ½ hour tour of the Grizzly Bear sanctuary and then hop on the gondola. The gondola climbs to 7,700 feet for superlative views of the Rockies, the Purcells and the Columbia River Wetlands.
The Bear Facts
Boo was born in the wild. A poacher killed Boo’s mother in 2002. Boo and his brother, Cari, were only five months old. Kicking Horse built the Grizzly Bear Refuge for these bears. Sadly, Cari didn’t survive his first winter at the refuge. He died from a spontaneous twist of his intestines. Boo, however, is going strong! The bears’ names come from the Cariboo Mountains. This is where they were born.
Boo was busy chowing down on grass as we put on our masks and joined the group listening to the guide standing in front of the fenced enclosure. Our focus was more on taking pictures and watching Boo’s antics rather than listening. We enjoyed the information more when Boo wandered out of sight! The rest of our day flew by as we whizzed up the mountain in the gondola for a picnic lunch and a stroll in the alpine. The boys spent another hour blasting around the small bike park at the resort base – good call to load the bikes in the truck, just in case!
Day Four: Family Hike Day Exploring Hoodoos, Lakes and Waterfalls!
Our last day was a mixed bag of short walks. We started with a drive down past Fairmont Hot Springs to an epic geological feature known as the hoodoos. The ice age ended about 11,000 years ago. At this time, the Columbia Valley was filled with water from melting glaciers. Eventually the water retreated. These unique sandstone cliffs were left. The hike up to the hoodoos is easy and the distance is only 3 km round-trip. You can find more information about hiking and directions to the Hoodoos Trail here.
We took Westside Road back to Invermere – taking note of the new Markin-MacPhail Westside Legacy Trail along the way. This multi-use paved trail that will eventually link Invermere to Fairmont would make for another great day of adventure. But our next goal is Lake Enid. We are on a hunt for painted turtles. We found one, but it dove before everyone saw it. The 2.4-km loop walk is still good though. Ice cream is also a perfect fix for not seeing turtles!
Sugared up, we headed back to Radium for one last stroll – to Sinclair Falls. The best option to access the falls quickly is to park just inside the Kootenay National Park West Gate. A trail leads steeply down to Sinclair Creek and back upstream to the fall themselves. It’s a scenic walk through open Douglas-fir forests. The boys hiked back up to the campground from the falls – check out this map to see trails.
One last campfire with s’mores and the trip is over. Well, maybe there’s time to pick up a couple of souvenir t-shirts… yes, you can be a tourist in your own backyard!
Family-Friendly Camping
We chose Redstreak Campground in Kootenay National Park are our basecamp because of its central location in the Columbia Valley. Family-friendly adventure abounds in this neck of the woods. It’s a popular campground and books up fast. Be sure to reserve your spot ahead of time.
More Tips for Planning Your Family-Friendly Adventure
- Reserve Adventure Pass tickets at Kickinghorse for sightseeing and the Grizzly Sanctuary refuge. Note: Boo naps all winter and viewing is only open seasonally!
- If you didn’t bring your own boat, rent a kayak from Columbia Paddle – it includes equipment and pickup after float from Invermere to Radium!
- Be sure to stop in at the combined Radium Hot Springs Visitor Information Center & Kootenay National Park Visitor Information Center – conveniently located at the corner before your drive up the hill to Redstreak Campground – to pick up detailed maps and hiking information for your family-friendly adventure in the Columbia Valley!
Looking for more beautiful B.C. adventures?
Exploring Northern B.C.: Kispiox, Kitwanga and Kitwancool
Wow! It looks like you guys had such a great time here. So many adventures. It looks like everyone had fun!
Yes, we did Jay!
looks like a great adventure, I love the scenery there! Sad to hear about Boo’s little family, glad he’s going strong though and that you got a a few picks of him! I’d be a little intimidated being close to a grizzly bear.
Boo is the poster-bear for education – a positive thing for people to learn about wild bears!
This looks like such a dream vacation (or long weekend) to me. You got to do and see so much – and that scenery is gorgeous!
Always so much than we have time to explore!
Oh my goodness…. I would love a trip like this. I did not know there was a park like this in British Columbia…. I will have to get there and visit with my own family. Looks like lots of adventures to be had and perfect for my favorite past time…hiking 🙂
It’s not a park, exactly. We did stay in Kootenay National Park, but the adventure were around the area, not all in the park!
This sounds like our type of vacation–the hiking, paddling, bicycling. We’d just would prefer no bears.
Boo is safely behind a very tall and sturdy fence!
Those shots on the kayak are so serene!
It was peaceful!
this looks like a fun family adventure! i want to do this!
Do it – you won’t regret it!
I’ve never been to Columbia valley, omg the place is gorgeous!!! I would love to camp there one day.
Hope you get the chance!
Wow! It looks like an amzing time for the entire family! I need to plan our trip for 2021!
Never too early to start planning for next year, Lavanda!
Seems like 4 days wasn’t enough haha! In all seriousness, this looks like a lot of fun!
Not nearly enough time – but then it’s always good to leave a reason to go back 😉
This trip has everything. Hiking, biking, kannuing. My kind of trip. Love it.
Hiking, biking, paddling – always our favourite kind of active travel adventure!
Hello Megan,
Quite the family adventure and beautiful photos. Everyone looks so happy and I think ‘The Greats’ will be looking forward to another trip.
Too true!
This spot looks beyond awesome Megan. Canada and this region remain near the top of my list when the border opens up. Perfect too as we sold the home, have our car and can simply drive cross country and up in this area.
Ryan