Redstreak Campground – Radium Hot Springs

Another excellent stop on our Canada adventures, this time with an unexpected happy surprise! We had perfect travel weather and loved seeing the birthplace of the Columbia River stretch across the long valley of Fairmont and Radium Hot Springs. We always remark on how many bodies of water there are in Canada, even in their drier years. Somewhere along the way, I spied a perfect moose, standing at the riverbank down below the highway. We were going way too fast to get a picture, but we both saw him. I never don’t get excited about seeing moose.

We drove up the rather steep approach to the campground and got set up in the early afternoon. We had lots of time on the day, so we hiked down, down, down lots of stairs into town. The visitor center had a fantastic relief map of the Kootenay ranges and valleys. I love relief maps because they really help me understand trails and roads.

We were hungry, so we got an early dinner at Goat St. Kitchen and Tap. We got the tacos al pastor with a kale, candied walnuts, feta and greens salad, which was all excellent. While we were waiting for dinner, I got a message that two Altoistes were staying at the same campground and identified us by our Dory decal! So fun! We arranged to say hi the next morning, offering me ample time to make it back up the stairs with no time pressure.

To bolster both my strength and courage, we popped in to Screamers for a chocolate brownie ice cream on a cake cone. This is the popular choice for ice cream in town. But we also walked through the local market, the Mountainside Market, to see what treats they had in stock. I was happy with my ice cream life choices, but the market is very well provisioned and we would be able to find just about anything we need there. They have hot food in their deli area too, in case we wanted to grab a dinner to go. I’m happy to report I made it back up the steps.

The next morning we set out to do the Sinclair Canyon trail, but first stopped to get in some hugs with our Altoiste friends. We hadn’t seen Janet since the first Altogather we went to back in 2018. Kimberly is a new friend! We will get to see them both again in September for an Altogather on Vancouver Island. We’re super looking forward to that. They were confused as to why we were up in Canada so much before the gathering, and we explained how we are going to go all the way home, start the school year, and then come all the way back up. Good thing gas prices aren’t totally stupidly screwed up right now. Oh wait….

We had a lovely chat and set out to find the part of the trail that descends from the campground into the canyon. That turned out to be closed due to road construction. Hmm. We figured we could go the other way around the loop, but then we would end up close to town. Richard’s smart brain figured out that would be an ideal situation for getting more ice cream after the hike. My smart brain figured out that I could send Richard back up the stairs to get the car and save my ass. And that is exactly what transpired. I think the only flaw in that perfectly executed plan was that we didn’t think to fill up with gas during that rescue maneuver. We made through Kootenay the next day, but with not much to spare in the tank.

The Sinclair Canyon trail is on the other side of the highway and you first have to take the trail over to the hot springs. We got nice views of the pools, but we are not hot springs people, and so were not motivated to pay the entry fee to sit in piped hot springs water. Still, it is a pretty atmosphere and I can imagine it being nice. Just not gonna put on my swimming suit for it.

Leaving the hot springs building, you cross the highway and start up the trail on the other side. It’s a climb at first, and then you come to some nice views. Eventually, you get to a fenced overlook just above the rock canyon. Even with all the construction going on, it’s an impressive sight.

Descending from that point, you go down, down, down to the river where it cascades dramatically at Sinclair Falls. The trail gets you close enough that you can hear it and mostly see it, but trees block a full view. There would normally be an overlook off the highway where I assume you can look directly down on it, but that is closed. It’s a really nice hike with lots of wildflowers that make up for all the switchbacks.

We walked along the highway about a mile to get back into town. There was a sidewalk most of the way and we never felt nervous about cars. I can’t say that part is pleasant, but it wasn’t scary or grueling, since it’s all downhill. Once back in town, yes we did go back for more ice cream. I happily plopped myself in a red Adirondack chair and waited while Richard speed ascended the steps back up to the site to get the car. Great plan!

We had one more chat with our friends and they gave us a ton of information about places to go and things to see in Canada. I just love Altoistes. What an amazing community this has become. My favorite thing is to run into them on the road and this stop was made far more special because of it. We loved the campground too, and would for sure stay here again.

Total miles from Cranbrook: 94.5, 15.8 mpg, 4 hours 48 min. Site E4 hookups. Really good free dump with potable water. Pretty good cell service, but not awesome. Just walk toward town and it comes in full throttle. Pull along site going the wrong way if you want the door to open to the picnic table. Electric pole on same side. We turned around so we could have the door open away from the campground road, ran the electric cable under Dory and it reached, no problem.