A Visit To Radium Hot Springs in British Columbia

Story & Photos by Jan Krause

Each year when our friend Ina visits from Brooklyn, New York, we try to do something different. This time I picked Radium Hot Springs and Kootenay National Park in British Columbia, partly because Rick and I had never been to either place, partly because I figured it would make a good Day Tripper column or two, and partly because I really wanted to soak in the hot springs, which I understood did not smell of sulfur.

So, two Saturdays ago (over Mother’s Day weekend) we drove to BC and had a great mini-vacation despite the not-so-cooperative weather.

A bighorn ram in the town of Radium Hot Springs.

Numerous restaurants (many of which feature schnitzels and spaetzle in this Austrian-flavored town) provide varied and, from what we tried, quite good dining. On our first night there we tried Helna’s Stube, a charming, casually elegant Austrian restaurant with cross-stitched covered menus. The pepper steak (steak au poivre) was the best I’ve ever had.

On Sunday evening we were pleased that at the Old Salzburg Restaurant they were able to seat us without reservations and that we were able to order off the regular menu, instead of having to take the Mother’s Day special. Both restaurants offered seafood, steaks, pasta dishes, and some vegetarian selections in addition to the Austrian specialities, but it took us a while to learn to ask ahead of time whether the iced tea was sweetened or unsweetened before ordering it.

Left: Chalet Europe, which sits 600 feet above the valley floor.

Below: The view from our balcony at the Chalet Europe

After some confusion Saturday night over the coin needed for a locker (a looney—the Canadian dollar coin), we hit the showers and then hurried, freezing, down the long hallway to the hot soaking pool which is heated to between 101 and 104 degrees Fahrenheit. There’s also a cooler full-size outdoor swimming pool nearby which we didn’t bother with since we just wanted to soak away our aches and pains under the night sky. (In addition, there’s a hot tub which, we were told, can be turned into a cold “surprise plunge.”)

Left: Sinclair Canyon at the entrance to Kootenay National Park

The hot soaking pool was somewhat crowded on Saturday night but it’s big enough, at least this time of year, so that we didn’t feel claustrophobic, and when we returned on Sunday night there were very few people in the water. Radium Hot Springs pools are supposed to be the largest in the Canadian Rockies and they’re situated beneath cliffs where sometimes bighorn sheep can be seen. If you’re just going to the hot springs you won’t have to pay the park’s daily entrance fee of C$14 as the fee for the hot springs—C$6.50 per adult— includes park entrance. Call 250-347-9485 for more information.

Right: The hot soaking pook at Radium Hot Springs

Each time we drove up to Chalet Europe we passed a most unusual building, called the Home of a Thousand Faces. The studio, owned by an eccentric chainsaw sculptor, Rolf Heer, is open to visitors when the mood strikes him and there’s often bighorn sheep nearby. The building was an excellent landmark to show us where to turn in for the chalet, but unfortunately, we did not get a tour of the studio.

Left: The home of a Thousand Faces

In part two of this Day Tripper I’ll be writing about our day in Kootenay National Park and at Lake Louise. There’s much to do in the area in addition to Radium Hot Springs and Kootenay National Park. Banff National Park is only 1-1/2 hours away; Bugaboo Provincial Park and Yoho National Park are also within range. The nearby town of Invermere on Lake Windermere (which we didn’t have time to visit) is supposed to be quite lovely and has a restaurant, Strand’s Old House Restaurant, that is recommended by Bon Appetit magazine, among others.

Right: Another view of the home of a Thousand Faces