Kokanee Glacier Park

Persons visiting Kokanee Glacier Park are reminded that this is a wilderness area without supplies or equipment of any kind. Visitors must equip themselves with suitable clothing, hiking boots, a warm sleeping bag, a tent with a waterproof fly, and a Primus-type stove for cooking.

Hikers planning to venture off established trails should have good route-finding abilities that include map reading and compass skills. Only experienced mountaineers with ropes, ice axes, and crampons should attempt traverse routes or venture onto glaciers and snowfields. In the event of an emergency, contact the RCMP. Everyone entering wilderness areas should inform a responsible person of their intentions, including an estimated time of return. 
 

• Trail Conditions Report [PDF] (October 24, 2022)
• Park visitors should be aware that this is a high elevation park and that severe weather events can happen throughout all the seasons. This is particularly the case in late spring and fall.
• Dogs are not permitted anywhere in Kokanee Glacier Park.
• The Alpine Club of Canada is now the custodian of the Kokanee Glacier Cabin at Kaslo Lake.
• User fees pay for the upkeep and maintenance of the facilities. For more information on our user fees, here is our fees page. 
  Please note: Families are two adults and up to three children, 16 and under living in the same house. Children are those 16 and under. For Kokanee Glacier Cabin, there are summer and winter rates (based on per person per night basis).

For Woodbury and Silver Spray Cabins,  summer only rates (based on per person per night basis) and, a reservation system is in place, as walk-ins are not guaranteed space. Both cabins are closed during winter.  This is due to the hut location(s) itself being associated with avalanche hazard (ie. hut location is within an avalanche path).

• History: Established in 1922, this is one of the oldest parks in the province. Geologically, this area is composed of an immense system of granite rock known as the Nelson batholith. During the earth’s cooling process, slower-cooling mineralized solutions was subjected to great pressure that caused them to be pushed into holes and cracks in this granite mass. These became the deposits and finger-like veins, rich in gold and silver ore that caused the local mining boom at the end of the 19th century. Several mines paid quite well but most were worked for only a few years. Many of the park’s trails were originally built for miners hauling ore and supplies. Today we can only marvel at the tenacity of those prospectors, who clung to steep rock faces throughout the park while trying to scratch a living from their mining claims.
• Conservation: The park’s primary roles are to:
  • Represent sub-alpine, alpine landscapes and associated ecological resources of the Selkirk Mountain ranges.
  • Conserve grizzly bear and mountain goat habitat.
  • Maintain the characteristics and qualities of the natural environment and associated features, and
  • Conserve cultural heritage of the early alpine mining history of the West Kootenays.
• Vegetation: Vegetation is typical of this elevation, with exposed bedrock and gravel moraine near the peaks where only lichens and a few other hardy plants survive. Stunted Engelmann spruce and white-bark pine are common at the timberline, with beautiful sub-alpine flower meadows in the wetter areas. The numerous steep slopes and avalanche paths support slide alder and huckleberry. The lower, more protected slopes are forested with Engelmann spruce, subalpine fir, lodgepole pine, hemlock and western red cedar. The few pure stands of subalpine larch are particularly stunning in October when their needles turn golden-yellow in the fading sun.
• Wildlife: Bird species such as the blue grouse and Franklin grouse inhabit the forests, and ptarmigan are often seen in the open areas. Golden eagles are occasionally seen soaring majestically overhead. Small animals such as the hoary marmot, pika, ground squirrels, and marten are common, while larger species such as the mountain goat, mule deer and black bear are present in lesser numbers. The park contains most of the range for several grizzly bears, and further protection of significant grizzly bear habitat was the main reason for the expansion of the park in 1995. Separation of people and grizzlies is an important management objective - for the protection of both parties. To protect these endangered bears, areas such as the Coffee Creek drainage have no development and use is discouraged. Other trails are carefully designed to avoid bear habitat or closed at certain times of the year when bears are known to be feeding on ripe berries nearby.
  • General Wildlife, Marine & Outdoor Ethics Information

BC Parks honours Indigenous Peoples’ connection to the land and respects the importance of their diverse teachings, traditions, and practices within these territories. This park webpage may not adequately represent the full history of this park and the connection of Indigenous Peoples to this land. We are working in partnership with Indigenous Peoples to update our websites so that they better reflect the history and cultures of these special places.