Continental Divide

Continental Divide is a day-use stop on Highway 93 at Vermilion Pass, where the Pacific and Atlantic watersheds part. A wooden sign and concrete marker make the geography easy to grasp. It’s a good short stop if you’re already driving the Banff–Windermere Highway; I wouldn’t make a special trip for the marker alone.

There’s a 0.5 km loop and a 2 km loop here. The shorter Fireweed Trail passes through quiet, shaded forest, with signs explaining how the woods grew back after the 1968 Vermilion Pass wildfire. It’s a gentle way to stretch the stop beyond a photo.

The main photo is the wooden divide sign with its arrows to the Atlantic and Pacific, above the concrete marker. Include both in one frame and the reason for the stop is clear. Some of the sign lettering has faded, so the geographic idea is easier to take in than every word.

There’s parking and picnic tables, but toilet availability is unclear, so don’t count on one here. Kootenay National Park has no restaurants; the separate Kootenay Park Lodge general store has snacks and drinks during its season. Cell service is unavailable in the park, so download the park’s audio tour before you set out.

The 94 km Banff–Windermere Highway opened in 1923. A trip between Banff and Radium Hot Springs once took a full day by Model T; now the divide is one of the short stops that makes the drive more than a point-to-point run.