Located between the Rocky Mountains and Columbia River, this mountain town is a base for skiers heading to Kicking Horse resort and hikers exploring Yoho National Park.
Golden sits at the meeting point of the Columbia and Kicking Horse rivers in southeastern British Columbia, surrounded by six national parks including Banff and Jasper. Walk across the 426-foot-high Golden Skybridge, watch grizzly bears at the Kicking Horse Mountain Resort's refuge, or paddle through the Columbia River Wetlands where hundreds of migrating birds gather each year.
Getting to Golden
Drive 262 kilometers west from Calgary or 713 kilometers east from Vancouver along the Trans-Canada Highway to reach Golden. You can drive to Lake Louise in one hour, Banff in 90 minutes, and Jasper in four hours. This puts you within easy reach of multiple national parks in the Canadian Rockies.
Mountain Biking and Hiking Trails
Three mountain biking networks spread across 100 miles of singletrack trails around Golden. Descend Mount 7's technical downhill runs, or ride the intermediate Moonraker trails including Canyon Creek, which winds along a deep canyon rim. Hikers can take a 2-hour round trip to Gorman Lake or explore Kootenay National Park's eight-mile Stanley Glacier trail, passing waterfalls and walking through a valley filled with loose rock from ancient landslides.
Golden Skybridge Experience
Walk across two suspension bridges hanging 426 feet above Hospital Creek Canyon at the Golden Skybridge, which opened in 2021. Race through the forest on the Railrider Mountain Coaster, zip across the canyon on a zipline, or try axe throwing. Look west to see the Purcell Mountains and east to the Rocky Mountains while crossing the bridges.
Winter Sports at Kicking Horse
Ski or snowboard 4,133 vertical feet of slopes at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort, which has 3,486 acres of terrain. Many runs are steep and receive deep powder snow throughout winter. In summer, bike the mountain's trail network and visit the grizzly bear refuge, where you can learn about these animals from naturalist guides.
River Activities
Paddle the Kicking Horse River from May to September, with the strongest rapids in June. The upper and middle sections include class IV rapids, ranking among Canada's most challenging rafting routes. Nearby, paddle through the Columbia River Wetlands to spot some of the hundreds of bird species that stop here during migration.
Local Heritage
Swiss mountain guides arrived in Golden in the late 1890s when the Canadian Pacific Railway hired them to lead mountaineering expeditions. These guides lived in Swiss-style chalets in Edelweiss Village, which still stands on a hill above Golden today. While trains and logging operations first brought people to Golden, mountain sports and river activities now draw most visitors to the area.
