Mount Revelstoke National Park
Mount Revelstoke National Park in British Columbia, Canada, offers access to numerous hiking and cross-country skiing trails leading to various scenic attractions and alpine meadows. The wide array of impressive plant and animal life is a nature-lover's paradise. The 1938 meter (6356.6 ft.) summit which is 26 road km (16 miles) from the parks entrance is the head of several trails varying in difficulty. more info
There are over 64 km (40 miles) of trails in the park. The Giant Cedars Trail is a beautiful, easy walk that leads through an old growth forest of cedar and hemlock which are up to 1000 years old. There are also a series of cross-country ski trails available.
The park is a place of contrasts, from dense old-growth rainforest of giant cedar and pine to subalpine forest, and finally alpine meadows and tundra. Marvel at the spectacular view of the ice-clad peaks of the Monashee Mountains and, to the east, the Selkirk Mountains. The Giant Cedars hiking trail takes you through a stand of ancient Western Red Cedars, and the Skunk Cabbage trail introduces you to jungle-like wetland, a birder's paradise.
Revelstoke is famous for summer wildflower displays on the summit of Mount Revelstoke. Each year the meadows of the upper subalpine zone blossom into brilliant color by the middle of August.
In 1908, the City of Revelstoke broke a trail to the summit of the mountain and later completed trails to some of the alpine lakes. Local citizens lobbied the provincial and federal governments for construction of a road to the summit. Mount Revelstoke was established as a National Park in 1914, after considerable advocacy by local residents, in recognition of its unspoiled mountain scenery, its sub-alpine wildflower meadows, and its potential for recreational use. The Meadows-in-the-Sky Parkway was built between 1911 and 1927.
At the same time, skiing was booming as a popular activity. Mount Revelstoke's ski jump was one of the first in Canada and was internationally renowned as one of the finest natural jumps in the world. Several world ski jumping records were set here.
The city of Revelstoke is located at the parks entrance and is 637 km (398 miles from Vancouver. The Trans Canada Highway #1 passes through the southeastern section of the park.
Mount Revelstoke National Park of Canada protects, for all time, a portion of the Columbia Mountains Natural Region, in the interior wet belt of British Columbia. The steep, rugged mountains, warm, moist climate, and variety of plant and animal life are typical of this natural region.
Mount Revelstoke National Park contains stands of old-growth cedar and hemlock, a forest type which is rapidly declining outside of protected areas. The park also protects a small herd of the threatened mountain caribou and provides habitat for grizzly bear and mountain goat.
Ecologically and geologically, the area is distinct from the Rocky Mountains to the east and the Coast Mountains to the west.
Mount Revelstoke National Park, Weather
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