Kicking Horse Pass

Welcome to the treacherous and magnificent Kicking Horse Pass. You are standing at an elevation of one thousand six hundred and forty-three meters, making this the absolute highest point on the Trans-Canada Highway. …

As we trace the rushing, milky-blue water of the river westward, we must address the peculiar, violent origin of the pass's name. In the late summer of eighteen fifty-eight, a geologist and surgeon named Dr. …

We now approach a section of the valley that is legendary in the annals of railway engineering. When the Canadian Pacific Railway originally built the tracks down the western slope of this pass in eighteen eighty-four, they faced…

Nestled deeply in the shadow of the surrounding peaks, at the very bottom of the steep western descent, lies the tiny, picturesque community of Field, British Columbia. With a permanent population of fewer than two hundred…

Standing in the valley, cast your gaze sharply upward to the looming, dominant presence of Mount Stephen, towering ominously over the town of Field. While its glaciated peak is breathtaking, its true significance lies hidden…

As we continue westward, out of the national park boundary and toward the town of Golden, we enter the most treacherous and narrow section of the route: the Kicking Horse Canyon. For decades, the Trans-Canada Highway through this…

Stepping out of the vehicle and walking along a safe pullout, take a moment to observe the intense, specialized ecology of the pass. Because of the extreme elevation and the steep, narrow topography, the Kicking Horse Pass…

As our journey through the Kicking Horse Pass concludes, look back up toward the Continental Divide, where the dark peaks scrape the sky. This narrow, violent corridor of rock, water, and ice is far more than just a scenic drive;…