Glacier National Park protects the heart of southeastern British Columbia’s Selkirk and Purcell Mountains, the highest ranges in the Columbia Mountain system. At the centre of the park is Rogers Pass, site of the final link of the Trans-Canada Highway and not far from The Last Spike, where the railway linking Canada’s scattered settlements was completed in 1885.
Glacier is known for its firsts. Not only was it B.C.’s first national park (and second in Canada, after Banff), but it was here that two British mountaineers introduced mountain climbing purely for recreational purposes to North America in 1888. Mountaineering enthusiasts and backcountry hikers today follow ground-breaking paths laid down by legendary Swiss guides more than a century ago.
Receiving up to 10 metres of fresh snow every winter, the park’s deep-powder trails attract ski-touring enthusiasts from around the globe. In the summer months, giant trees in the world’s only inland cedar rainforest offer cool hiking trails on hot days.