Yoho and Kootenay

On the British Columbia side of the Rockies, immediately west of Banff, two parks get a fraction of their neighbour's traffic while offering much the same mountains. Yoho holds Takakkaw Falls, among the highest in Canada, fed directly by a glacier and loud enough to be heard from the car park, and Emerald Lake, whose colour comes from glacial rock flour suspended in the water. It also holds the Burgess Shale, a fossil bed of extraordinary importance where soft-bodied Cambrian animals were preserved in detail, visited only on long guided hikes with a permit. Kootenay runs south along Highway 93 through the Marble Canyon and past the ochre Paint Pots, ending at the Radium hot springs. Both are quieter than Banff and cheaper to stay in.

What you actually see

• Takakkaw Falls - the glacier-fed fall, among the highest in the country.
• Emerald Lake - the intense turquoise lake and its lodge.
• The Burgess Shale - the Cambrian fossil beds, on a guided permit hike.
• Marble Canyon and the Paint Pots - the gorge and ochre springs in Kootenay.

When to go

June to September is the season; the Takakkaw Falls road is closed by snow from October until late June, and the Burgess Shale hikes run only in summer and book out early. Autumn larches in late September are superb and quieter.

Honest expectations

The road to Takakkaw Falls has tight switchbacks that buses must reverse through and it opens late in the season. Burgess Shale access is strictly by guided hike, which is long, steep and must be booked well ahead; you cannot simply walk up. Emerald Lake parking fills by mid-morning in summer.

Nearby

Lake Louise and Banff are just east; Golden and the Columbia valley lie west.