Revelstoke, British Columbia

Ted. Driving west from Calgary on the fabled Trans-Canada Highway we enjoyed incredible scenery, passing Banff and Lake Louise before entering British Columbia. In Golden, BC, the highway begins to follow the Columbia River, not far from its source at Columbia Lake. About a hundred miles later, on the other side of Rogers Pass, we stopped in the old railroad town of Revelstoke. 

View of Mt Begbie from our hotel

Founded in 1880 by the Canadian Pacific Railway, where the tracks were to cross the Columbia, trains still play an important role here. In fact, the town is named for a man who helped fund the railroad. Nowadays, though, forestry and tourism are the main sources of revenue. 

We had chosen to spend two nights in Revelstoke so that we could explore nearby Mount Revelstoke National Park. 

Pulling up to the park entrance on a bright Sunday morning over Labor Day weekend, we were surprised by a line of cars that wasn’t moving. It turns out that there is just one road into the park called the Meadows in the Sky Parkway. The road ends near the peak in a small parking lot holding not much more than 100 cars. When the lot is full, the park uses a “one in - one out” plan. This means a car can only enter the park when a car leaves. The bad news was that it took over an hour to pass the gate. The good news was that we enjoyed a quiet morning in the forest with nice music and friendly chats with the very apologetic rangers.

Ranger Ben

Ultimately, we made it to the top which was, for obvious reasons, nearly deserted. We took the short hike up to the peak and enjoyed wandering around and admiring the views of the mountains that lay in every direction. 

Lake Revelstoke

The Old Firetower

Selkirk Mountains

Back in town, we enjoyed a nice dinner and then took a walk around town.

Three bridges cross the Columbia River here

We found Revelstoke to be a peaceful town with magnificent views and good restaurants. 

All too soon, it was time to resume our westward trek.