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Marble Canyon in Kootenay National Park

#2 of 15 sights in Kootenay

Sight · Kootenay National Park

Marble Canyon

Seven bridges, blue water, and a waterfall on a short gorge walk.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Type
Sight
Nearest trail
Right here
Audio stories
3 nearby
  • Trailhead
  • Parking
  • Scenic viewpoint
  • Restrooms
DirectionsMap

Hear the audio tour

Marble Canyon: Beyond the First Bridge

Overview

About Marble Canyon

Why stop

  • Seven bridge viewpoints over vivid water and a deep limestone gorge.

Heads up

  • The small roadside lot can fill at busy times.
  • Steps and bridges can get slick in winter.
Marble Canyon is a short interpretive walk along a steep limestone gorge carved by Tokumm Creek in the northern part of Kootenay National Park. The 1.6 km return route gains about 20 m, so it fits neatly into a drive along Highway 93S. It’s worth walking beyond the first bridge: the gorge keeps changing, and the waterfall and red chairs are at the far end.
Parkwolf’s verdictA short, worthwhile stop

Map

Where it is

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Full map
SightMarble Canyon51.18604, -116.12384
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Plan your stop

Before you go

5 active Kootenay alerts

  • ClosureWatercraft and angling prohibitedWatercraft and angling are prohibited on every waterbody in Kootenay National Park until March 31, 2027, to reduce the spread of aquatic invasive species (AIS), including whirling disease.Official details
  • ClosureSinclair Canyon construction closures and delaysRepairs to the Sinclair Creek Rock Tunnel and rehabilitation of the retaining wall at Sinclair Canyon require construction closures; expect alternating single-lane traffic on Highway 93S and…Official details
See all 5 alerts
A park ranger sits on a dash-mounted phone, talking, as Parkwolf’s Tour Guide plays “Army Cutworm Moths: A Grizzly Bear Buffet” on Grand Loop Road below Dunraven Pass in Yellowstone
Parkwolf Tour GuideThe highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.

Kootenay Tour Guide

Your drive to Marble Canyon, narrated.

Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Kootenay National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.

See the Kootenay audio tour

Recorded for this place

Marble Canyon: Beyond the First Bridge
0:00 / 0:28
“Marble Canyon is coming up, and I'd stop here for dramatic canyon views without a long hike. Seven bridges cross the narrow limestone gorge carved by Tokumm Creek, with blue-green water far below.”

Plays as you drive up to Marble Canyon in the Parkwolf Kootenay Tour Guide.

More stories near here in the app

  • The Shrimp That Was a Claw
  • Paint Pots: Colour in the Earth
  • Stanley Glacier Trailhead: Basin and Fossils
  • Flowers Climbing a Stem
  • 49 audio storiesacross Kootenay’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
  • Wildlife heatmapsfor Grizzly Bear, Gray Wolf, Moose, and 13 more
  • Works offlinemaps, 38 trails, 29 places, and audio download before you lose signal
  • CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
★★★★★
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
JMJamesApp Store review
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4.7 from 8,600+ ratings

Guide

More about Marble Canyon

Seven bridges over Tokumm CreekThe path follows the rim and crosses the gorge repeatedly on seven bridges.

The path follows the rim and crosses the gorge repeatedly on seven bridges. There are stairs and some uphill walking, so “short” doesn’t mean flat or step-free. Take time at several crossings instead of turning back after the first look.

What the water has cutTokumm Creek has carved a narrow channel through limestone, leaving steep walls and pockets of…

Tokumm Creek has carved a narrow channel through limestone, leaving steep walls and pockets of pale rock above the bright water. Look down from the bridges for the sculpted rock and the current far below; the contrast makes the canyon feel deeper than the short walk suggests.

Take in the view from both directionsEach bridge gives you a different angle.

Each bridge gives you a different angle. On the return, look for natural stone bridges inside the gorge; they stand out against the blue-green water. The waterfall is the obvious photo stop, but the successive crossings give you several distinct views.

Make the stop workThe small lot sits beside Highway 93S and can fill during busy periods.

The small lot sits beside Highway 93S and can fill during busy periods. Washrooms are reported at the trailhead, and dogs are allowed on leash. There’s no food stop at the trailhead, so plan your meal elsewhere. Snow and ice can make the steps and bridges slick; traction helps in colder months. Check the current trail report before you go.

canyonwaterfallgeologybridgewalk

Wildlife

Wildlife in Kootenay

All Kootenay wildlife maps
Grizzly Bear41 sightingsGrizzly BearMost seen around 8 PMSighting mapGray Wolf31 sightingsGray WolfMost seen around 8 PMSighting mapMoose22 sightingsMooseMost seen around 6 AMSighting mapMountain Goat84 sightingsMountain GoatMost seen around 7 PMSighting mapBighorn Sheep522 sightingsBighorn SheepMost seen around 7 AMSighting mapElk65 sightingsElkMost seen around 6 AMSighting map

Sighting maps show where each species has been reported across Kootenay. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.

Keep exploring

Near Marble Canyon

See it all on the map

Trails nearby

ModerateTokumm Creek Trail8.6 km · 3.5 hr · At the trailheadA creekside wilderness route with no trail maintenance.EasyMarble Canyon1.8 km · 36 min · At the trailheadAn easy bridge walk over a startlingly deep, turquoise canyon.EasyVermilion River Trail2.9 km · 2 hr · At the trailheadA forest connector between Marble Canyon and the Paint Pots.EasyPaint Pots Trail2 km · 45 min · 2.4 km awayCross the Vermilion River to three iron-rich springs.ChallengingTumbling-Floe Traverse37.7 km · 2.5 days · 2.4 km awayA two-to-three-day traverse from Paint Pots to Floe Lake.ChallengingHelmet Creek Trail28.4 km · 10 hr · 2.4 km awayA long hike from ochre springs to a 300 m waterfall.ChallengingTumbling Creek Trail20.4 km · 6 hr · 2.4 km awayA hard climb to Tumbling Falls and a gateway to the Rockwall.ModerateOchre Creek Trail12.4 km · 4 hr · 2.4 km awayA forested creek walk to the northern Rockwall campground.

More stops nearby

Campground · 0.4 km awayMarble Canyon CampgroundA basic campground in a spruce forest with no cell signal.Sight · 3 km awayPaint PotsThree iron-rich springs stain the ground a vivid ochre.Sight · 5.8 km awayStanley GlacierWaterfalls and a turquoise crossing lead to a glacier basin.Sight · 6 km awayNuma FallsA short bridge walk reveals the Vermilion's sculpted canyon.Campground · 6.3 km awayHelmet / Ochre Junction CampgroundA creekside backcountry camp at the Rockwall trail junction.Sight · 6.9 km awayContinental DivideStand on the divide between the Pacific and Atlantic watersheds.

Parkwolf’s Kootenay ranking

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Take Parkwolf to Kootenay.

The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.

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