Mount Revelstoke National Park will begin opening its 26-kilometre parkway to motor vehicles this Friday (May 16), as the snow keeps melting back to the summit wildflower meadows.
The Meadows in the Sky Parkway, a two-lane paved zig-zag route that climbs nearly 1,400 metres in elevation from the Trans-Canada Highway to the top of Mount Revelstoke, will be available to motorists starting May 16 for the first 12 kilometres, Parks Canada shared on Facebook.
With snow receding up to around or past the Columbia Viewpoint, where vehicles will initially be permitted to drive up to, this major spring opening for Mount Revelstoke is one of several planned for the May long weekend.
Parks Canada routinely opens up the parkway in phases as snow melts away later into spring and summer, though whether the full 26 kilometres can open is always subject to weather conditions higher up Mount Revelstoke.
Visitors taking hikes along the Summit and Lindmark trails last Sunday, May 11, for example, encountered heavier snow up past the Columbia Viewpoint on both the walkways and parkway, but enjoyed pristine and virtually snowless trail conditions the rest of the way down the mountain.
Other park facilities becoming available Friday include the Snowforest Campground along the first stretch of the Meadows in the Sky Parkway. Farther east in the park along Highway 1, Parks Canada will also open the Skunk Cabbage picnic area and boardwalk to the Illecillewaet River, along with the Giant Cedars picnic area and boardwalk.
Wildlife that visitors can keep their eyes peeled for include moose, black bears, American martens, and — B.C.'s provincial bird — Steller's jays.
Check the latest trail conditions at parks.canada.ca/pn-np/bc/revelstoke/activ/randonee-hiking.
