About Parks Canada's mountain national parks

The Mountain National Parks consist of Banff, Yoho, Kootenay, Jasper, Mount Revelstoke, Glacier and Waterton Lakes National Parks which are located in the provinces of Alberta and British Columbia. Banff, Jasper, Yoho, Kootenay and Waterton Lakes are all situated in the Canadian Rockies. Glacier and Mount Revelstoke Parks are in the Selkirks, which are part of a larger group known as the Columbia Mountains. Starting with Banff in 1885, these parks were established to preserve and protect the unique and spectacular mountain wilderness so that the landscapes might be enjoyed unimpaired by future generations.

The mountains of the Mountain National Parks range from gently sloping 2500 metre (8,200- foot) hills to towering rocky peaks with steep, vertical faces. Many of these mountains are massive peaks rising as high as 3747 metres (12,293 feet), which are comprised of complicated, fractured glaciers that are hundreds of metres thick, crevasse-laced icefalls and knife-edge ridges.


A Parks Canada Mountain Safety Specialist practices safe glacier travel techniques.