Kootenay River - Recreation

Recreation

Many national, provincial and state parks, wilderness preserves, protected areas and national forests lie partially or wholly within the Kootenay River watershed. In Canada, these include those listed below as well as many others.

• Bugaboo Provincial Park
• Creston Valley Wildlife Management Area
• Gilnockie Provincial Park
• Goat Range Provincial Park
• Kianuko Provincial Park

Popular Banff National Park lies just across the BC-Alberta border, Yoho National Park sits to the north, and Glacier National Park in the northeast. The U.S. portion of the watershed includes Kootenai National Forest and Kaniksu National Forest (part of the Idaho Panhandle National Forests, which stretch southwards into the state).

In Kootenay National Park alone, there are over 200 kilometres (120 mi) of hiking trails, ranging from short day hikes to long backpacking trips. Cross-country skiing and snowshoeing are popular on the park's trails in the winter. Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park, which sits right next to Kootenay in the Rocky Mountains, also has an extensive trail system affording extensive views of the surrounding ranges. Kikomun Creek Provincial Park, on the northeast shore of Lake Koocanusa, includes campgrounds and access to boat launches on the east shore of the lake. The Kootenai River Trail along the Montana section of the river, about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) long, follows the river from Libby to Kootenai Falls and the well known Swinging Bridge across the Kootenai. Skattebo Reach Trail, on the lower river, is about 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) long, running from Brilliant to Glade. Further downstream, five separate sites around Kootenay Lake form the Kootenay Lake Provincial Park. West Arm Provincial Park is located on the impounded stretch of the Kootenay River just west of Kootenay Lake, and to the northeast of Nelson. Smaller Kokanee Creek Provincial Park, one of the more popular recreation areas in the West Kootenay, sits across the river from West Arm.

Fishing is generally good on the middle reaches of the Kootenay River and in Kootenay Lake. Westslope cutthroat trout, bull trout, kokanee salmon (the landlocked Pacific salmon), rainbow trout and white sturgeon are among the many species found in the river. Kokanee and rainbows are commonly found in Lake Koocanusa. Kootenai Falls, which drops some 90 metres (300 ft) within a run of a few hundred meters, forms a natural boundary between fishes of the upper and lower river, but Libby Dam, several kilometres upstream, is an even more formidable barrier. Fish in the Kootenay have traditionally been abundant but the construction of the dam may have led to declines in the population of sturgeon, among other fishes, because of changes in water flow. The best season for fishing is from June to November. One may fish from banks, sandbars and islands, or from boats. Because of the size and strength of the river, fishing from drift boats is easier than from the shore. Also, because the Kootenay's primary sources are glaciers, fishing conditions are quite different than most rivers in Montana and Idaho, which are fed by snowmelt. In the United States, the Kootenay, with its “exceptional” trout fishing, is considered a Blue Ribbon fishery.

Steep and strewn with rapids, the Kootenay, despite being unsuitable for commercial transportation of agricultural and mineral products, is considered an outstanding whitewater river. Whitewater rafting is popular on the Kootenay in two stretches: in Jennings Canyon between the Libby Dam in Montana and Bonners Ferry in Idaho, and in the upper reaches of the river in Kootenay National Park in British Columbia.

Rafting the middle Kootenay between Libby Dam and Bonners Ferry is best at flows of 8,000 to 12,000 cubic feet per second (230 to 340 m3/s). The run, about 60 kilometres (37 mi) from east to west, includes Class IV+ rapids and includes Kootenai Falls, which rarely has been run safely, in the middle of its course. In Montana, the river is rated a Class I water under the Montana Stream Access Law for recreational purposes from Libby Dam to the Montana-Idaho border. Class I represents bodies of water that are navigable and suitable for recreation.

Rafting is also popular in some of the Canadian stretches of the river, especially those near the headwaters that have the steepest gradient and the most challenging rapids. Several Canadian outfitters provide trips on the river near Kootenay National Park ranging from a few hours to several days. Canoeing in the numerous sloughs, side-channels and distributaries of the Kootenay that thread through the wetlands of the Kootenay Flats has the additional benefit of watching birds and wildlife in the Creston Valley Wildlife Management Unit and other surrounding marshes. Larger craft such as houseboats are able to travel on Kootenay and Koocanusa Lakes. Rafting and kayaking is also an activity on the swift-flowing Slocan River, the lowermost major tributary of the Kootenay, and in parts of other major Kootenay tributaries as well.