Banff National Park to Cranbrook BC

July 18, 2025

We left our camping spot in Banff National Park and began our drive on the Icefields Parkway to Castle Junction and then turned onto highway 93 towards Radium Hot Springs.

(Click on Photos to see slideshow)

We entered the Kootenay National Park and then crossed into British Columbia. Visitors have been exploring Kootenay National Park by car since 1923.The 94-km drive through the park via Highway 93 twists and turns through valleys and over two mountain passes. We continued to see glaciers and glacial blue rivers.

As we approached the village of Radium Hot Springs, we drove through the Iron Gates Tunnel and then continued on Highway 93 passing through narrow Sinclair Canyon and descending quickly to the town of Radium Hot Springs. The hot springs are very popular, but, we didn’t stop for a soak.

Continuing on, we passed through invermere, Windermere, Fairmont Hot Springs, and Canal Flats. We drove along the Columbia River and I saw several beautiful yellow Canola Fields.

Cranbrook BC was our destination. It is a town located along British Columbia’s southern Trans-Canada highway, nestled in a beautiful, scenic valley surrounded by views of the Rocky Mountains and the Purcell Mountains.

We had reservations at the St. Eugene KOA located near the St. Mary’s River surrounded by the Kootenay Rockies. The drive to the CG was a long, curvy, downhill, two lane road. It seemed like it went on forever!

Upon arrival to the campground, we discovered that check-in time was not until 3PM. With the time change from AB to BC, we arrived one hour earlier than planned… 1PM. We were allowed to register, but could not go to our assigned spot. The registration personnel were young girls that did not have the authority to let us go to our sight. Soon, more RV’s arrived and added to the line of RV’s alreay waiting. Finally, management decided to let us go ahead park. Not a good way to start our stay!

The KOA was nice and was located on the grounds of the St. Eugene Golf Resort & Casino. On our first night, we walked around the campground and decided to go to the Casino. We took the stairway from the campground up to the Hotel/casino. As we were entering, I noticed a sign stating that ID was required to enter the Casino. Unfortunately, I did not have my ID with me since we only planned on walking around the CG. However, I did have my phone with me and had photos of my ID’s. That was not acceptable, so we were not allowed to enter. Strike 2 for Day 1! No gambling for us!

July 19

In the beginnig of our trip, in ID, a fellow RVer reccomened that we make a stop in Fernie. He told us he preferred Fernie over the town of Banff. We knew that we liked Banff, so we did not take his advice. Now, since we are close to Fernie so we decided to make the drive.

Fernie

Fernie is small mountain town (pop 5200) located in the East Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. Fernie is 1 hour east of Cranbrook, 45 minutes north of the USA-Canada border. It is surrounded by the Rocky Mountains and is most well known for its Alpine Ski Resort.

We drove through the historic downtown with its boutique shops and restaurants. In my mind, it doesn’t compare to Banff! Fernie is more rustic and Banff is more upscale. My preference…Banff.

We drove up to the Ski Resort and saw several really nice Homes/Cabins/Ski Chalets. I imagine that Fernie is a beautiful place to be in the winter when skiing is the prime activity!

On our way back to Cranbrook, we stopped at a roadside picnic area and had our lunch. Roadside picnic areas are much more plentiful in Canada and remind me of my childhood countryside trips in Indiana.