Glacier National Park, British Columbia

IUCN Category II (National Park)
Glacier National Park
Location British Columbia, Canada
Nearest city Revelstoke, British Columbia
Coordinates 51°18′0″N 117°31′7″W / 51.3, -117.51861
Area 1,349 km²
Established 1886
Governing body Parks Canada

Glacier National Park is one of seven national parks in British Columbia, Canada. It protects a portion of the Columbia Mountains. It also contains the Rogers Pass National Historic Centre, designated for its importance in the construction and development of Canada's first major national transportation route. It is 1,349 km² (521 mi²) in area and was established in 1886. It contains extensive glaciated areas.

Terrain and climate

Glaciers cover much of the challenging terrain in the park, which is dominated by 10 peaks ranging from 8,530 to 11,120 feet (2,600 to 3,390 m) in height.

The steep, rugged mountains, warm, moist climate and wide variety of plant and animal life are typical of this natural region. The park protects unique stands of old-growth cedar and hemlock and critical habitat for threatened and endangered wildlife species such as the mountain caribou, mountain goat and grizzly bear.

Peaks of the Hermit Range, the Bonney and Bostock Groups, the Van Horne Range, Purity Range, Dawson Range, and the especially challenging Sir Donald Range all lie wholly or in part within the park.

Activities

Hiking in Glacier National Park is far more extensive and at higher elevation than in adjoining Mount Revelstoke National Park. Glacier National Park is the acknowledged birthplace of western Canadian sport mountaineering. In 1888, two British mountaineers, Rev. William Spotswood Green and Rev. Henry Swanzy, completed the first recreational technical climbs in the Selkirks. Eleven years later, the services of Swiss guides were provided for guests at the Glacier House hotel in Rogers Pass. Those guides created the network of trails, providing access to local peaks, that has remained to this day. Prior to the completion of the Trans-Canada Highway through Rogers Pass in 1962, climbers accessed Glacier National Park by train. Tied to the railway as it was, mountaineering became an integral part of the history of the park, and continues to be a major attraction for backcountry recreationalists, whose numbers have quadrupled in the past ten years.

The Nakimu Caves lie between upper and lower Cougar Valley in the Selkirk Mountains, just west of Rogers Pass on the Trans-Canada Highway. The Caves are reached by hiking three to four hours up and over a mountain pass from the highway, an elevation gain of over 800 metres. Access is only allowed through a commercial tour, or by winning a personal trip through a lottery system. One Nakimu Cave Pass will be issued for every Saturday or Sunday from approximately mid-July to mid-October.

Facilities

The visitor centre for the park is at Rogers Pass, though information can be found in nearby Revelstoke. There are currently two campgrounds in the park: Illecillewaet Campground (60 vehicle/tent sites) is centrally located near Hwy 1 and has kitchen shelters and washrooms with flush toilets (no electrical hookups or RV sani-station). Loop Brook Campground (20 vehicle/tent sites) is farther west than Illecillewaet and has similar facilities. A third was closed in the early 1990s due to widespread root rot in the trees. There are two designated backcountry campsites in Glacier National Park with tent pads and food storage poles. A Wilderness Pass is required to camp in the backcountry. With Glacier's deep snowpack, none of the campsites are actively maintained during the winter. There are also three backcountry huts, however the access is arduous, and mountaineering expertise is necessary for two of them.

Rogers Pass

The interpretive program in Glacier and Mount Revelstoke National Parks is based at the Rogers Pass Discovery Centre at the summit of Rogers Pass on Hwy 1. This national historic site depicts the human history of the region through fascinating accounts of first climbs, last spikes, lives lost, and railway lines laid. The Rogers Pass Discovery Centre is open year-round except for Christmas Day, and Tuesdays and Wednesdays in November. The Centre is the only frontcountry facility open during the spring and winter, while the campgrounds, picnic areas and trails lie under a two metre blanket of snow. Located near the summit of Rogers Pass, the Centre includes a theatre, an exhibit hall with railway models, natural history displays and wildlife specimens, and the Glacier Circle Bookstore.