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 While Cranbrook, Fairmont Hot Springs, Invermere, Radium Hot Springs and Golden have airports and bus service, the majority of visitors arrive with their own vehicles. We recommend you come to the valley with a vehicle or arrange access to a vehicle as there is so much to see and do up and down the region.
There are three main access points to the valley:
No. 1: Coming from the United States (Kingsgate and Roosville border crossings) or from Creston in the west or Fernie in the east— follow Highway 3 (Crowsnest Highway) to Cranbrook and follow the signs to Invermere/Radium Hot Springs (Highway 93/95).
The Highway 93/95 drive takes you past Fort Steele and Wasa while the Highway 95A route takes you to Kimberley and through to the junction of Highway 93/95. Both routes offer lots for tourists, from glorious mountain/valley scenery to shopping to heritage stops. It usually takes anywhere from 75 to 90 minutes to drive from Cranbrook /Kimberley to Invermere.
It is a diverse and never boring drive. From hillsides with ponderosa pine, common rabbit and antelope brush and bluebunch wheatgrass, you come upon lush sloughs, such as the beautiful Kootenay River sloughs near Wasa. You will pass through wide open spaces like the Skookumchuck Flats and return to pine and larch forests between Skookumchuck and Canal Flats leading to the stunning drive along Columbia and Windermere Lakes to the Invermere crossroads.
No. 2: Coming from Banff/Calgary — take the TransCanada Highway to Castle Mountain Junction and follow the signs to Kootenay National Park (KNP)/Radium Hot Springs. This is one heck of an introduction to the valley as you pass through part of Banff National Park and right through the heart of KNP. See Pages 54 to 56 for more on KNP.
No. 3: Coming from Golden — turning off the TransCanada Highway into Golden, follow the signs for Highway 95 and Radium Hot Springs/Invermere.
All routes to the valley are beautiful but this one hour drive to Radium/Invermere contains incredibly rich vistas as the highway runs alongside the Columbia River Wetlands.
You pass through sleepy hamlets and by pastoral settings that will stay with your memory for life. Luckily there are numerous spots to pull over and savour the sights. Autumn, when the leaves are changing, is an especially stunning time to drive this highway.
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