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Vermilion Crossing Day-use Area in Kootenay National Park

Picnic area · Kootenay National Park

Vermilion Crossing Day-use Area

A picnic break beside the Vermilion River

Type
Picnic area
Nearest trail
5.9 km
Audio stories
3 nearby
  • Picnic tables
  • Restrooms
  • Parking
DirectionsMap

Hear the audio tour

Vermilion Crossing: Lunch by the River

Overview

About Vermilion Crossing Day-use Area

Why stop

  • An easy way to enjoy the river during the scenic drive

Heads up

  • No food service in the park; bring your own meal

Map

Where it is

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Full map
Picnic areaVermilion Crossing Day-use Area51.02589, -115.98433
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Plan your stop

Before you go

Best time to go

Day-use areas and restrooms generally operate from May to mid-October. Some remain open in winter, but snow may not be cleared after a snowfall. There is no cellular service in the park, so have your route ready before you set out and check road conditions for the drive.

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 Vermilion Crossing Day-use Area, 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.

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Recorded for this place

Vermilion Crossing: Lunch by the River
0:00 / 0:16
“Up ahead is Vermilion Crossing Day-use Area, a public picnic stop beside the Vermilion River. If you've brought lunch, this is a good place to eat it, with tables and a shelter by the river.”

Plays as you drive up to Vermilion Crossing Day-use Area in the Parkwolf Kootenay Tour Guide.

More stories near here in the app

  • A Dam and a Home
  • A River in Several Strands
  • Fossils With the Soft Parts
  • Feet Made for Cliffs
  • 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
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“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!!!!”
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Guide

More about Vermilion Crossing Day-use Area

A riverside pauseVermilion Crossing is a public day-use picnic area beside the Vermilion River on Highway 93…

Vermilion Crossing is a public day-use picnic area beside the Vermilion River on Highway 93 South. The draw is a meal break and time along the riverbank, rather than a long attraction. If you're taking the scenic drive, this makes an easy place to stop for lunch or a snack.

Bring your own foodThere are picnic tables, a shelter and a restroom at the stop.

There are picnic tables, a shelter and a restroom at the stop. Kootenay National Park has no food service, so bring your own meal or snack.

riverpicnicriverside

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 Vermilion Crossing Day-use Area

See it all on the map

Trails nearby

ModerateSimpson River Trail17.6 km · 5.5 hr · 5.9 km awayWildfire recovery on two rivers, with an easy 1.6 km turnaround.ChallengingBall Pass17.8 km · 7 hr · 7.9 km awayA hard climb to a high pass, glacier views and a meadowChallengingFloe Lake21.6 km · 8 hr · 7.9 km awayA long climb pays off at a turquoise lake under the Rockwall.

More stops nearby

Historic marker · 6.5 km awaySir George Simpson MonumentA quick river-view break with a Hudson’s Bay Company story.

Parkwolf’s Kootenay ranking

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

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