Canada Guide
Alberta and the Rockies
Yoho National Park
Wholly in British Columbia on the western side of the Continental Divide from Lake Louise, YOHO NATIONAL PARK's name derives from a Cree word meaning "wonder" – a fitting testament to the awesome grandeur of the region's mountains, lakes and waterfalls. At the same time it's a small park, whose intimate scale makes it perhaps the finest of the four parks and the one favoured by Rockies' connoisseurs. The Trans-Canada Hwy divides Yoho neatly in half, climbing from Lake Louise over the Kicking Horse Pass to share the broad, glaciated valley bottom of the Kicking Horse River with the old Canadian Pacific Railway. The only village, Field, has the park centre, services and limited accommodation (the nearest full-service towns are Lake Louise, 28km east, and Golden, 54km west). Other expensive accommodation is available at the central hubs, Lake O'Hara, the Yoho Valley and Emerald Lake, from which radiate most of the park's stunning and well-maintained trails – hiking in Yoho is magnificent – and a couple of lodges just off the Trans-Canada. Thus these areas – not Field – are the focal points of the park, and get very busy in summer. Side roads lead to Emerald Lake and the Yoho Valley, so if you choose you can drive in, do a hike and then move on at night.