Things to do in Radium Hot Springs

Radium Hot Springs sits at the south end of Kootenay National Park, roughly 135 km (1 h 45) from Banff via Highway 93 South through Sinclair Canyon, whose narrow red-walled gap opens right onto the site. The pools here are run by Parks Canada, not a private hotel spa: a hot soaking pool kept around 39 degrees and a separate cooling pool near 29 degrees, fed by mineral water that's odourless (the sulphur smell some people expect isn't present).

Hours shift with the season, roughly 9am to 11pm in summer and shorter in winter, with periodic closures for maintenance. A swimsuit is required and isn't reliably available on site, though lockers and towel rental usually are. A Parks Canada pass covers the park itself, around 11 CAD per adult per day, but entry to the pools is a separate admission on top of that.

Don't confuse this village with any other hot springs operation on your itinerary; this is the one at Kootenay's south gate.