This intermediate hike takes you right up to the Kokanee Glacier. For the first part of it, you can do it with regular shoes, but as you get up to the glacier, you’ll want to have good hiking shoes as the rock is very loose. But that’s quite a ways up the trail and most people only go as far as the provincial cabin, a couple of hours up the trail.
The Kokanee Glacier is near at the picturesque town of Nelson, just off of an arm of Kootenay Lake. When heading east of Nelson (you go over the bridge), you’ll see a sign for the Kootenay Glacier on your left. You drive up about a 1/2 hour to Six Miles Lakes, where there is parking available. You’ll see that a number of cars have protection around their tires. These are the people who are camping overnight, as it seems the porcupines like to come out at night and chew on the tires! If you are just there for a day hike, you won’t need to do this.
To get up to the Glacier its about a six-hour, there and back hike. A long, but beautiful trip.
