Slow down one day soon to enjoy the scenic, historic highlights of the Bow Valley Parkway
by Rob Alexander
A black wolf lopes quickly across the narrow road. A herd of bighorn sheep appears suddenly at the base of a long line of cliffs. A beautiful vista, complete with river, freight train and mountains pops into view as the forest thins. A morose statue commemorating a Ukrainian First World War prisoner of war camp is found surrounded by pine trees.
These surprises, and many more, can be found along the Bow Valley Parkway, located on the north side of the Bow River, well away from the mad rush of the Trans-Canada Highway.
The 50-km long parkway starts at an innocuous looking turn-off 5.5 km west of the Banff town site and offers a calm - the speed limit is 60 km/hr -and beautiful drive on a winding road.
A scenic curve in the railway near the Bow River makes for a great photo opportunity on the Bow Valley Parkway.
It is quite easy to spend an afternoon or even a day exploring this highway and the numerous pullouts along the way make it easy to pull over.
A series of interpretive signs detailing the human and natural history of the region can be found at all of the major interpretive turnouts, which are marked on maps and signs along the parkway with a large "E".
The parkway starts alongside the Bow River and almost immediately climbs onto a broad bench at the base of the mountains in the Sawback Range, named for its saw-like appearance.
A monument along the Bow Valley Parkway stands in remembrance of a dark time in Canadian history. This was the site of the Castle Mountain Interment Camp, which was used to house enemy aliens, mostly of Ukrainian descent, from 1915 to 1917.
After 3 km, the parkway splits and separates into two travelling lanes. Look for bighorn sheep for they are often found along this section of the parkway.
Shortly after the lanes rejoin, look for a picnic area called Muleshoe. It is one of the most beautiful locations in the Banff area in autumn, a result of the tall and numerous balsam poplars. Muleshoe itself is named for the U-shaped pond that was once part of the river course.
At 10 km, the parkway enters the Sawback prescribed burn, completed in the spring of 1999. Parks Canada has been using controlled burns over the past six years to rejuvenate the forest, create grazing for deer, elk and bears, and in some areas control exploding populations of mountain pine beetle. The beetles are responsible for destroying millions of trees in British Columbia. Fire is an integral part of life in the Canadian Rocky Mountains and trees such as lodgepole pine, which predominate along the parkway, rely on heat for their cones to open.
Wolves have been also spotted moving through these burned areas.
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Castle Mountain is one of the Canadian Rockies' most distinctive and beautiful peaks, with the best roadside views from the Bow Valley Parkway.
Beyond the Sawback burn, the parkway passes through a series of small meadows and splits once more, where it comes back together shortly before the 20 km mark. In the next kilometre the parkway crosses Johnston Creek. Nearby, on opposite sides of the creek, are a campground and the Johnston Canyon Resort.
Three kilometres west of an open area known as Moose Meadows, is a small clearing next to the railway and a tall radio antenna, the site of short-lived Silver City. When word got out in 1883 that silver had been discovered in the region, a small, but immediately prosperous town sprang up as prospectors and miners began to arrive, but the only people to find any riches were the men who staked the silver mine and founded the town. They had salted the mine. Two years later, the town was dead and its population of 1,000 had left.
From Silver City, it's another 3 km to Castle Junction where, much like Johnston Canyon, you'll find a campground, a small resort complete with a series of cabins and a nearby hostel.
Rising over the junction is its namesake, Castle Mountain. This 2,766 m (9,076 ft.) mountain truly looks like its namesake, and when it is awash with early morning or evening light and partially obscured by clouds, it is one of the most striking mountains in the Rockies. After the Second World War, the mountain was named Mount Eisenhower in honour of General Dwight D. Eisenhower; however, it was not a popular name with the locals, who pushed to have the original bestowed on the mountain once more.
Castle Cliffs, a viewpoint and interpretive pullout, can be found immediately west of Castle Junctions.
Just down the road, still in the shadow of Castle Mountain, is one of the Bow Valley's sadder legacies - the site of the Castle Mountain Interment Camp used to house enemy aliens, Ukrainians mostly, from 1915 to 1917. A monument, complete with a statue of a Ukrainian worker with a hand held out, stands at the edge of the lodge pole pine forest. A small plaque asks the simple question: "Why?"
The parkway splits once more after the interment camp and rejoins just before the small and quiet Protection Mountain campground.
Beyond the campground and a long, straight section of highway, the road crosses Baker Creek. On the left are the picturesque Baker Creek Chalets, easily recognized by the red tin roofs of the buildings, and a fine place to stop for lunch or dinner, or for the night. As the parkway winds its way closer to Lake Louise, look across the valley for the tallest, most imposing mountain - the 3,544 m (11,626 ft.) high Mount Temple.
One of the best views of the railroad can be found at Outlet Creek, known as Morant's Curve. Nick Morant, a photographer with the Canadian Pacific Railway, popularized this S-bend in the tracks with his black-and-white photographs of steam trains rounding the corner.
Shortly after Morant's Curve the parkway passes the Corral Creek picnic area before dropping back down to join the Trans-Canada Highway and Lake Louise.
Rob Alexander is a Canmore-based writer with a particular interest in the fascinating human and natural history of the Bow Valley. He is co-author of the new book, Exshaw: Heart of the Valley, with Dene Cooper. See a story on the new book in the LIVE IT section of this edition of SolaraLife.
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