Revelstoke With Kids: Exploring Mount Revelstoke National Park!

Mount Revelstoke National Park is a hidden gem located near the town of Revelstoke, British Columbia. This park is known for it’s hiking, biking, epic mountain views, wildflower meadows and more! Whether you’re interested in hiking, a beautiful drive, or just some short walks to viewpoints off the road – you’ll have fun with all the best things to do in Revelstoke National Park with kids.

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If you’re driving from Golden, you’ll have to drive through Glacier National Park to get to Revelstoke National Park. If that’s the case, it’s about a 1.5 hour drive to the base of the mountain. Don’t worry, it’s a totally doable drive for a day trip and if you want to stop on the way to stretch your legs in Glacier National Park there’s a lot of great stops there too. If you’re staying in Revelstoke, you’ll have a quick and easy drive to the base of the mountain.

Roadside Hikes for Mount Revelstoke National Park

If you don’t actually want to drive up the Meadows in the Sky Parkway but are looking for short hikes with kids in Revelstoke National Park, there are a couple of hikes you should check out. Unfortunately, both of these hikes were closed when we visited, but next time we’re there we’ll definitely be hiking these! These two hikes are also the closest to Golden and the town of Revelstoke if you want to minimize driving time.

Giant Cedars Boardwalk

Distance: 0.3 miles (0.48 km)
Elevation: 98 feet (30 m)
Stroller friendly? no

For 2024, this trail is partially opened, but some of the boardwalk is damaged from fallen trees. This trail takes you through an old growth forest with some trees over 500 years old!

Skunk Cabbage Boardwalk

Distance: 0.4 miles (0.64)
Elevation: 32 feet (10 m)

For 2024 this trail is closed for maintenance. But when it reopens, this trail will follow the river and go along wetlands. It’s a good spot for bird watching and it’s a quick stop just off the road.

Drive the Meadows in the Sky Parkway

The Meadows in the Sky Parkway is 26 kilometer (16 miles) paved road that winds up the mountain. It’s a beautiful drive with a ton of opportunities for viewpoints and hikes along the way. Make sure to pick up a map so you can find all the spots you want to stop on the way up. Fortunately, there is good signage for most every stop so you should be able to find all your stops fairly easily, but I really enjoyed having a map.

Stops Along the Meadows in the Sky Parkway

Shortly after entering the Meadows in the Parkway drive, you’ll reach a welcome station where you can buy a park pass if you haven’t already. If you’re going through during hours they are open, this is also a great time to get a hiking map. I loved having access to the map while we were driving up the road.

Note: There are several other stops that you can make along this drive, I’ll include them all in a list here in order from ones you’ll encounter first on your drive up the mountain. However, we chose not to stop at each spot so we could spend more time at the summit.

Nels Nelsen Historic Area & Beaver Lodge Kids Bike Park
Snowforest Campground (if you’re going to camp!)
Nels Nelsen Viewpoint
Revelstoke Viewpoint
Rainforest Viewpoint
Monashee Picnic Area
Columbia Viewpoint
Eagle Pass Viewpoint
Panorama Point
Balsam Lake Picnic Shelter

Nels Nelsen Viewpoint

Nels Nelsen Viewpoint was one of our favorite stops in Mount Revelstoke with kids where you can walk to Nels’ Knickers. It’s a short little trail from the parking spot to where you can be in the pants of a ski jumper (literally). This unique trail is meant to highlight the history of ski jumping in Canada. Lean in to the knickers and get an idea of what ski jumping is like. The pants even have shorter eye holes so kids can also try it out.

Note: There aren’t many parking spaces here, but this trail can also be accessed from the Nels Nelsen Historic Area.

Revelstoke Viewpoint

The Revelstoke Viewpoint is a quick stop along Meadows in the Sky Parkway where you can get a view of the town of Revelstoke.

Panorama Point

Panorama Point is another quick stop along the Meadows in the Sky Parkway. You’ll need to walk a quick 0.2 mile path (300 m) to a bench with epic mountain and valley views.

The Summit of Mount Revelstoke National Park

The summit of Mount Revelstoke is really something special. The views from the top totally blew us away and I could have spent all day there if the mosquitos weren’t so bad (more on that below!) Once you get to the summit you can park and walk 1 km to the summit. Another option is to take the shuttle (more on that below as well). Another trail that goes from the parking lot to the summit is the Upper Summit Trail. It’s 0.6 miles (1 km) one way through the woods if you’d prefer to do that rather than walk on a paved path. However, the mosquitoes were really bad on this trail so be warned!

Mount REvelstoke Summit Easy Trails

Fire Lookout Trail

Distance: 0.3 miles (0.5 km)
Elevation: 36 feet (11 m)

Koo Koo Sint Trail

Distance: 0.6 miles (1 km)
Elevation: 92 feet (28 m)

The trails at the summit are a bit confusing because they do a lot of intersecting and they are all pretty short. This is another time that having a map would be really useful! If you hike to Koo Koo Sint, you will pass Heather Lake on the way unless you take the fire lookout trail instead. Regardless the hikes up at the top all have beautiful views and you’ll be happy no matter which hikes you choose.

Heather Lake

Distance: 0.25 miles (400 m)
Elevation: 33 feet (10 m)

This trail is very easy and an easy hike to tack on if you’re headed to Koo Koo Sint.

First Footsteps Trail

Distance: 0.47 miles (750 m)
Elevation: 24 m (79 feet)

Other Things to do in Mount Revelstoke National Park

Beaver Lodge Kids’ Bike Park

The Beaver Lodge Kids’ Bike Park is a super cute and fun activity in Revelstoke with kids. This bike park is located at the Nels Nelsen Historic area parking lot. You won’t have to drive far into the park to get here.

The bike park is a place where kids 1.5 years and up can work on their biking skills with a fun course and interactive sculptures. If your kids are into biking, this is a perfect place to let them practice some skills so they can mountain bike with you in the future!

Enjoy the Wildflower Meadows

Mount Revelstoke National Park is known for their incredible wildflowers. The town of Revelstoke even has a wildflower festival at the end of July and beginning of August. One of the best places to see wildflowers in Revelstoke is on Meadows in the Sky Parkway. We got to see a huge variety of wildflowers all the way up the road alongside the road and on our hikes.

Bike Meadows in the Sky Parkway

If you’re feeling really ambitious, you can bike the entire Meadows in the Sky Parkway. This paved trail is 16 miles (26 km) and 4600 feet of climbing (1400 m) to reach the top.

Find the Red Chairs

Look for the vibrant red chairs along the trails! Finding the red chairs made a really exciting thing to look for while on our hikes! There are several sets of red chairs throughout Mount Revelstoke National Park.

What are the red chairs? These red chairs were originally placed in 18 locations throughout Canadian National Parks to highlight lesser known locations through the parks. Now there are over 400 red Adirondack chairs (made from 100% recycled plastic saved from Canadian landfills). The red chairs are now a symbol of Canada’s National Parks and makes for a fun break when you’re on a hike.

Things to Know Before Visiting Mount Revelstoke National Park

1. Mosquitos

Unfortunately, mosquitoes can be REALLY bad on Mount Revelstoke. We were NOT prepared when we showed up and it did limit how much hiking we could do. The mosquitoes were the worst at the summit and got much better the lower down the mountain we went. If you bring the bug spray and cover up, you’ll have a much better experience. I would highly recommend some kind of mosquito protection if you’re visiting Revelstoke with kids.

There is even a mosquito forecast here! I’m not sure how accurate it is, since I didn’t find it until after our trip, but it might be useful.

2. Dogs

Mount Revelstoke National Park is not a very dog friendly park. The reason for this is beacuse of repeated incidents of non-compliance with dog on leash regulations. Dog-wildlife encounters were negatively impacting wildlife and there were concerns about triggering aggressive behavior from wildlife. So once you’re on the Meadows in the Sky Parkway, dogs are not allowed past the Columbia Viewpoint.

3. Shuttle

If you want to minimize the amount of hiking you do before you get to the summit trails, you can use the Revelstoke Summit shuttle bus. This bus takes visitors the last 2 km from Balsam Lake and Heather Lake daily through the summer. The shuttle only runs during normal hours so if you’re visiting early in the morning this option probably won’t work for you.

4. You’ll Need a Park Pass

Mount Revelstoke is a National Park. So you’ll need a day pass or a Discovery Pass. The Discovery Pass is worth buying if you’re going to be visiting multiple national parks, but otherwise a day pass should be sufficient.

5. Glacier National Park

Mount Revelstoke and Glacier National Park (no not the US one!) are nearly connected. If you’re going to be in the area, I would highly recommend you visit Glacier National Park as well. In order to get the most out of each park, I would not recommend visiting both in the same day. While it can be done, that’s a lot of driving for the kids and spending a day in each park is what I would recommend.

Glacier National Park Canada with Kids: Easy Hikes & How to Spend One Day!

6. Is Mount Revelstoke National Park Worth Visiting?

Mount Revelstoke with kids is 100% worth visiting. It’s a less visited park compared to some of the nearby Canadian National Parks, but it’s absolutely beautiful. If you like scenic drives, wildflowers, biking, or hiking, you’ll love this park.

7. Can you Drive up Mount Revelstoke?

Yes! You can drive up the Meadows in the Sky Parkway all the way to the first parking lot at the summit. Once there, you can walk the short 2 km to the upper summit or take the shuttle. There are tons of fun stops along the way.

We hope you enjoy your trip to Mount Revelstoke with kids! If you’re exploring other nearby Canadian towns – check out our other guides for Canada.

AND if you’re looking to plan an epic 7 Day Canadian Rockies Itinerary with your kids – we’ve got you covered with incredible hikes and all the best stops!

Revelstoke With Kids: Exploring Mount Revelstoke National Park!