Driving in British Columbia along the Yellowhead highway close to a ridge line that blocks your view, sets you up for this incredible visual surprise. As you come around a sweeping bend on Hwy 16, the ridge on your right gives way to an opening between two mountains and in the middle sits Mount Robson. Mount Robson Provincial Park, the second oldest park in British Columbia’s park system, is truly one of the world’s crown jewels. The mountain for which the park is named guards the park’s western entrance. At 3,954 meters (12,972 feet), Mount Robson, the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies, towers over the lesser surrounding peaks. Winter or summer, this is one of the finest views in the Rocky Mountains. Just as the early trappers, hunters and explorers felt in awe at the mountain’s magnificence, travelers today experience the same feelings. It was cloudy when we arrived, 1:30 pm, June 30th. This is a view of the mountain’s south face.
With Alberta’s Jasper National Park as its easterly neighbor, Mount Robson Provincial Park comprises a portion of one of the world’s largest blocks of protected areas. Designated as a part of the Canadian Rocky Mountains World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1990, Mount Robson provides everything from developed, vehicle-accessible camping to remote valleys that seldom see a human footprint. Mount Robson Provincial Park also protects the headwaters of the Fraser River. From it’s pristine alpine source, the Fraser River gains strength and size to match any of the world’s major rivers.
Flora and fauna are typical of the western slope of the Rocky Mountains, North Continental Range. One is able, on some trails, to travel between three different vegetation zones during a day hike. Over 182 species of birds have been documented in the park. All wildlife indigenous in the Rocky Mountain can be found here. Mule and Whitetail Deer, Moose, Elk and Black Bear call the lower elevation home while Grizzly Bear, Caribou, Mountain Goat and Mountain Sheep inhabit the higher elevations. With over 217,000 hectares of mostly undisturbed wilderness available, wildlife populations are allowed to ebb and flow with minimal intervention by humans
