Parking
Use the Natural Bridge parking lot, about 4 km west of Field on Emerald Lake Road. Parking is limited.
Overview
About Kicking Horse Fire Road
Why go
- Gentle riverside road after the opening hill
- Picnic site 1.8 km from the start
Heads up
- Long return walk, with the opening descent to climb on the way back
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Yoho map
Full mapElevation1,141–1,228 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
5 active Yoho alerts
- ClosureYoho Valley Road closed for avalanche seasonYoho Valley Road is closed to vehicles from mid-October to mid-June because of avalanche risk. - Parks Canada’s current trail report lists no vehicle access to trails in the Yoho Valley.Official details
- CautionWatercraft and angling prohibited in YohoWatercraft use and angling are prohibited on all waterbodies in Yoho National Park until March 31, 2027, to reduce the spread of aquatic invasive species, including whirling disease.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Yoho Tour Guide
Your drive to Kicking Horse Fire Road, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Yoho 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 Yoho audio tourRecorded for this trailhead
Natural Bridge: The River Beneath the Rock0:00 / 0:26
“Up ahead is Natural Bridge, where the Kicking Horse River squeezes beneath a limestone ledge.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Yoho Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- The Miner Who Built Mountain Steps
- How a Soft Body Becomes a Fossil
- The Conifer That Drops Its Needles
- Yoho Visitor Centre: Fossils and a Useful Break
- 35 audio storiesacross Yoho’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Grizzly Bear, Mountain Goat, Black Bear, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 54 trails, 58 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!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Kicking Horse Fire Road
A long, gentle out-and-backKicking Horse Fire Road follows a forested old road beside the Kicking Horse River from Natural…
Kicking Horse Fire Road follows a forested old road beside the Kicking Horse River from Natural Bridge to the old Otterhead River bridge. Plan on about 6.9 km each way, or 13.8 km (8.6 miles) round trip, and roughly four hours on foot. Published one-way figures range from 5.8 to 7 km; the shorter figure’s end point is unclear, so use the longer bridge route for planning.
The road and its stopsThe road drops downhill from the parking area, then settles into a gentle riverside track; that…
The road drops downhill from the parking area, then settles into a gentle riverside track; that first descent becomes the uphill on your return. A picnic site sits 1.8 km from the start. Farther along, the winter route passes the Emerald River, crosses the Amiskwi River bridge, and continues left along the fire road to Otterhead. The meeting of clear turquoise and silty water near the route is its most distinctive river view.
Winter use and dogsIn winter this is also a groomed Nordic route, shared with skiers.
In winter this is also a groomed Nordic route, shared with skiers. Dogs are not allowed on trackset portions; elsewhere they must remain leashed and under physical control. Grooming and snow conditions change, so check the park’s current trail report before setting out.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Yoho
21 sightingsGrizzly BearMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
55 sightingsMountain GoatMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
61 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
66 sightingsElkMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
26 sightingsMooseMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
10 sightingsBald EagleMost seen around 7 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Yoho. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
