It’s a bone-jarring, at times gut-wrenching, rattle 16 kilometres up the dirt and gravel road that leads to the parking lot, but low slung cars often vie for parking next to SUV’s wrapped in protective chicken wire (porcupines apparently love rubber!). Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park in British Columbia’s Kootenay Region may be a little awkward to access, but the rewards of endless subalpine meadows, deep blue lakes and rocky peaks make the effort worthwhile.

The 32,000 hectare park (established in 1922) is named for its most outstanding natural feature, Kokanee Glacier (and you can find a picture of it on the label of a certain brew with the same first name!). You’ll find the park just north of Nelson in the southeast corner of B.C.

From the parking lot at Gibson Lake, it’s a steady four kilometre uphill climb to Kokanee Lake. At this point the crowds (the dozen or so other hikers you might see on a busy day) start to thin out. Skirting the west side of the lake, we try not to think about the winter avalanche that swept one of Pierre Elliot Trudeau’s sons into the cold, deep water several years back. His body was never recovered.

There is always a sombre moment here before the majesty of rocky summit and alpine meadows festooned with wildflowers inevitably draws our spirits upwards. The rolling terrain leads hiker along an easy three kilometre path towards Kaslo Lake and the Kokanee Glacier Cabin – a luxurious retreat that hikers can book for overnight stays (through the Alpine Club of Canada, see link below). Funded in part by the Trudeau family, the “cabin” is a multi-storey, post-and-beam beauty, with a large shared kitchen and common area and semi-partitioned bunk rooms upstairs. There’s even a shower!

We stopped in for lunch on our hike (although I’ve heard recently that dayhikers are no longer allowed to use the cabin), continuing on after the break another two kilometre to the old Slocan Chief Cabin. The over 100 year old cabin is a testament to the hardiness of early prospectors and is worthy of a visit before heading back down the trail.

If you go:

There are several access roads leading into the park, but we’ve only ever driven the Kokanee Glacier Road (located 20.5 kilometres east of Nelson on Hwy 3A). Turn left off highway, following the gravel road 16 kilometres up to parking area).

Gibson Lake to Kokanee Lake – 445 metres elevation gain.
Kokanee Lake to Kaslo Lake – 60 metres elevation loss (overall).
Kaslo Lake to Slocan Chief Cabin – 105 metres elevation gain.

Note: Dogs are not allowed in the park.