The Golden Triangle Road Trip

The Golden Triangle is a stretch of highway that includes three National Parks and some wonderful places to stay along the way. Why choose this particular road trip? There are many reasons why I was interested in exploring this route, one being the absolute beautiful stops in these places as well as the more quiet nature of these spots. If you like to get away from the crowds of Banff, but still want to get into cute mountain towns and see nature then this might be the trip for you!

The Triangle starts from Castle Junction if you are coming from Banff or Calgary, and you have a choice between two directions. You can drive North towards Golden or, like we did for our trip, you can start down the Hwy 93 South towards Radium.

I have written the blog in the direction and the itinerary that we followed, starting in Kootenay National Park. I have provided links to all of our stays, eats and fun if you want to follow our footsteps!

Kootenay National Park

We started our drive down the 93 South and boy are there some gems along this stretch of road! Not only are the views just breathtaking but the stops along the drive are not worth missing. We didn’t have time for everything along this road, but we stopped at all that we could. Marble Canyon was the first and a short walk will take you to the crystal clear waters of this sculpted canyon. It is only a five minute walk to discover the first part of this beautiful stop, and if you want to continue further, you can follow the canyon higher.

Our next stop was not much further down the road. Look for the signs for Numa falls, you won’t be disappointed by this gem. Again this is a short walk to the main attraction where you will lay your eyes on deep blue waters crushing down a turbulent waterfall and gracefully flowing down the river canyon. This stop is a favourite of mine in the winter, but in the summer the water is so blue it’s hard not to be mesmerised by it.

We kept driving towards Radium where we were camping for the night. We couldn’t stop at The Stanley Glacier hike due to lack of time but it’s a short 4km breathtaking hike that would be an excellent fit for this itinerary. We decided to pass a few other hikes close to Radium as it was getting late, but we revisited these the next day so I will circle back to that during the Radium portion of the blog.

Radium British Columbia

We got into Radium just in time for Dinner and we were told the Horsethief Pub was the spot to go. Will and i are both plant based so I was a tad skeptical that they might have limited options however they had some amazing in house made veggie burgers! It was exactly what we were craving.

After dinner, we worked our way up to The Redstreak Campground where we had an O’TENTik booked for the night. These “glamping” style tents are provided by Parks Canada and have six bunks with sleeping pads, a table, outdoor fire pit and bear bins for an easier camping experience. They are so darn cute!

The next day was a busy one! We started off our day exploring the campground. There are so many trails and walks nearby I wish we had more time! We then headed to the Info Center to get some information about Radium and see the local hikes or activities in the area. If we had more time, I would have loved to rent some bikes and take them on the Old Coach pathway. Instead we grabbed some breakfast at the local Big Horn Cafe.

We packed our bags and drove back down the Hwy 93 South to grab some shots of the ionic Sinclair canyon that we drove through and then headed towards Dog Lake for a like hike. It is only a 20 min drive from Radium.

The hike is beautiful! It starts by crossing a suspension bridge over bright blue water and then a lovely fresh smelling hike through the woods. You then pop out at a beautiful green-blue lake! We saw a few frogs and different species of birds along the way. It only takes a couple hours and doesn’t have very much elevation so I would say it is a very child friendly hike.

We drove back towards Radium after this with a short stop at Olive Lake. These crystal vibrant bluish-green waters always captivate me when I drive past. It is directly off the road so you can’t miss it. The lake is really something spectacular when it is a perfect reflection and you can even spot fish!

Lunch Time calls for Leo Burrito! Every time I drive through Radium in the summer this is the spot to get the best Burritos. I am a frequent customer here. They also have a mini Golf if you want to play a round with the family! You can get Ice cream here at Leo but Will and I opted to go a bit more traditional with heading to Screamers for some sorbet.

After some food and treats we decided to go for another small hike down to the Sinclair Canyon. You can do the entire canyon hike which not only gives you the below to top look at the famous canyon in Radium, but also a great view of the valley on the other side. We decided to just check out the waterfall in the interest of time. The waterfall is powerful and beautiful and gives a unique perspective looking up. You can also go to the lookout above and look down the canyon.

After our walk, we headed to our hotel to check in, The Piccadilly. This little accommodation was so quaint and adorable! It has a double decker bus from England that has tables in it for their amazing breakfast. It felt like a little B&B.

Will and I freshened up and then went for dinner at The Old Salzburg restaurant. This is a European style place with lovely food and a nice patio. We enjoyed some drinks and Will ordered very German inspired beer and food to keep the theme!

Our last stop for the night was a little walk to Valley View Lookout for sunset. It is just on the way up to the Redstreak Campground and you can walk up from behind the visitor centre. We were treated to a stunning sunset over the town of Radium. Orange, yellow, red, pink and purple danced across the sky. It was a lovely way to spend our last evening. We took photos until dark and then headed back to our hotel.

The next morning Will and I enjoyed an amazing pancake breakfast in our Piccadilly bus and then headed to the Hot Springs for an essential soak! You can’t come to Radium without a soak in the Radium Hot Springs! This place is such a popular spot and if you come early it’s not too busy. We had a great time chilling in the warm water and taking in all the healing properties of the natural Hot Spring. That wrapped up our Radium Portion of the Golden Triangle quite nicely!

The Town of Golden

Golden was the next destination on our Tour of the Triangle. We drove down Hwy 95 from Radium to Golden. There are a couple nice stops along this stretch of highway. Our first stop was Bee Land. This is an amazing store full of Honey from local hives and preserves. They also have some good wines. If you’re hungry they have good sandwiches too!

From here you can continue on or if you’d like you can venture into Bugaboo Provincial Park. There are some great hikes in the Purcell area. One in particular takes you to Lower Bugaboo Falls which is a shorter hike and very rewarding. We didn’t have time for this but have it on our list for next time!

We decided to explore the Columbia Wetlands Outpost where we rented a canoe and paddled part of the wetland. There are hundreds of birds and mammals to find in this wetland, it is the largest intact wetland in all of North America. Many migratory birds can be found here and it’s almost a guarantee you’ll see an Osprey in the summer! We had a lovely paddle looking for birds and enjoy the beautiful day. It was so easy to have the canoe already at the docks and ready to launch.

After our paddle, we continued onto Golden. We decided to get up the Gondola for the afternoon and explore Kicking Horse Mountain! We did a quick stop to Double Black, a cafe at the bottom of the hill and we grabbed a couple of veggie burgers to take with us to the top. Food in hand we headed into the Gondola and had a bird’s eye view of the resort. It is an amazing biking resort in the summer, plus lots of hikes at the top and a Via Ferrata! Lunch was great with the valley view. We explored some trails for a bit and took some photos, then we headed back down to catch the other lift up to the Grizzly bear sanctuary.

Boo is a rescued Grizzly who’s mother was shot by a poacher. He now lives on Kicking Horse mountain at a large refugee built for him. He can no longer return to the wild but has a happy home and life here at Kicking horse. His presence gives education to visitors about the threatened Grizzly species and provides a way to safely see a Grizzly close up. Will and I joined in for an interpreter talk about Boo and we were very lucky to see him! Sometimes he is sleeping durning the day and his habitat is very large. He wasn’t super close to us but lucky Will brought his binoculars and we had a good look.

After our time at Kicking Horse, Will and I explored Golden Downtown. There is a beautiful pedestrian bridge across the river and a lovey river walk being built for patio’s along the river. Our favourite restaurant in town is Reposados, it is a Mexican place that has the most amazing tacos!

Before Dinner we checked into our Room at the beautiful Kicking Horse River Lodge. We headed into town to have dinner at Eleven22. They have delicious food and great cocktails here! We had one last stop before the end of the day here in Golden.

After Dinner, Will and I cruised over to the new Golden Skybridge to check it out. I wanted to enjoy sunset here above Hospital Creek. The two suspension bridges are incredibly long and span across the canyon. They also have just opened their zip-lining! We had some fun looking down from the expansive bridge and getting some nice photos in the Golden light. It was an excellent way to wrap up our time in Golden!

The next morning we quickly grabbed some breakfast at BlueBird Cafe and hit the road to Yoho National Park! The last leg of our journey on the Golden Triangle.

Yoho National Park

The drive back to Banff is along Hwy 1 towards Lake Louise from Golden. This takes us directly through the heart of Yoho NP and some of the most breathtaking mountain areas I have ever experienced.

If you have the time for the short hike to Wapta Falls, this is one of the first hikes you’ll find along the road. We decided to do another hike but this is a good alternative if you have the time.

Our first stop was the Natural Bridge. The turn off is just before Field, BC and it takes you to both Natural Bridge and Emerald lake. The Natural Bridge is beautiful all times of the year, and I have put both summer and winter photos to show the transition of this amazing area. Water has carved solid rock over thousands of years to bring us the phenomenal cave and waterfall.

We can continue from there to Emerald lake. This is one of the most popular lakes in Yoho due to its crystal blue water and towering mountains above. There are some great walks around the lake if you’d like to get a small hike in. We opted to grab a couple cocktails at Emerald Lake Lodge before taking off down the road.

We continued driving not far up Hwy 1 to the Takakkaw Falls turn off. This valley road takes you up to the most incredible waterfall that just overtakes the valley with its power. The word “Takakkaw” means Magnificent in Cree. It is well named!

After our detour to Takakkaw, we continued up the hill to Wapta Lake. There is a small parking lot on the opposite side of the lake that starts the hike to Sherbrooke Lake and Paget Lookout. The lake is a much easier hike if you want to discover another deep blue lake, however if you want to gain some elevation and overlook the Valley, then Paget lookout is the place. We went up to Paget lookout and had a magnificent view of the mountains surrounding us. You can see deep into the valley of Lake O’hara as well!

What a full day! After we came down the mountain we decided to treat ourselves and wrap up our Golden Triangle Trip with dinner at the Truffle Pigs. The menu here is so amazing and every time we are near Field we have to eat here! They have a great drink menu and some amazing vegan options. We saluted our lovely trip and wrapped it up with this tasty dinner. Back home for us!

I hope you enjoyed our Golden Triangle Journey! Most information about my Blog can be found on the https://tourthetriangle.ca/ Website. There are also itineraries and alternative activities that we may have missed here.

Our Trip was in partnership with Tourism Golden, Tourism Radium and Canada Parks.