Kootenay Is Celebrating 100 Years In 2020!
British Columbia’s Kootenay National Park celebrates 100 years this year! The park began as eight kilometres of wilderness on either side of the Banff-Windermere Highway or Highway 93 South. When the road opened in 1923, more than 4500 vehicles travelled the highway. Today, more than 500,000 people visit every year!
On April 21, 1920, the Government of Canada agreed to build a road connecting the Bow and Columbia valleys. In exchange, the Province of British Columbia donated eight kilometres of land on either side of the highway for a national park.
Today the park continues to delight visitors with spectacular hikes, Burgess Shale fossils and the Radium Hot Springs pools. The park is a world leader in wildlife and forest conservation. And, it’s still an amazing drive.
Canada Post has even unveiled a special Kootenay National Park stamp to commemorate the occasion. Be sure to keep checking out Kootenay’s webpage as there will be festivities later this year.
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