All waterbodies are closed to watercraft and fishing in Yoho and Kootenay National Parks.

To prevent the spread of whirling disease, all waterbodies in Yoho and Kootenay National Parks are closed to watercraft and angling until March 31, 2025.

This closure is necessary to protect vulnerable fish populations and sensitive ecosystems from aquatic invasive species. There is no treatment for whirling disease. Once established, it is very difficult to eradicate. Protect park waters. Respect all closures.

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Established in 1886 the history of Yoho National Park is bound up with a railroad, spiral tunnels inside mountains and stories of runaway trains, but also offers spectacular and unique natural beauty with 28 mountain peaks more than 3000 m in height and over 400 km of hiking trails. 

The park has many waterfalls including Laughing Falls, Twin Falls, Wapta Falls and one of Canada's highest at 254 m (833 ft.), Takakkaw Falls. Silt carried by streams from melting glaciers is responsible for the deep and rich turquoise colour of Emerald Lake and Lake O'Hara. 

One of the world's most important fossil finds, the Burgess Shale, is located here. Designated a World Heritage Site in 1981, the Burgess Shale Formation contains the fossilized remains of more than 120 marine animal species dating back 515 million years.  Visit the Burgess Shale Foundation for more information. 

Yoho National Park also offers a good variety of mountaineering and climbing routes including the President (3,138m), Vice President (3,066m), Mount Stephen (3,199m), and the peaks around Lake O'Hare. Takakkaw Falls is well known for ice-climbing. More information on climbing in the national parks.

Yoho National Park Fast Facts

• 400 km of hiking trails
• In 1909 Charles Doolittle Walcott discovered one of the most important fossil locations in the world - the Burgess Shale
• Takakkaw Waterfall is the third highest waterfall in western Canada, towering 384 metres (1,260 feet)
• Wapta Falls is the largest waterfall on the Kicking Horse River and is 30 metres (98 feet) high and 150 metres (490 feet) wide
• Lake O’Hara is one of the most spectacular places in Canada and can only be accessed by foot or by taking the Parks Canada bus
• 28 mountain peaks more than 3000 metres in height
• Emerald Lake is the largest lake in Yoho National Park
• 61 lakes and ponds

For more information visit Yoho National Park.