This hike follows a forested creek for most of the way. Terrific views are available just past the pass.

GORA trail crew report, June 5, 2018:
Road access to the trail head remains good.
With regards to the trail, in the past two years avalanches have caused havoc on half of the slide paths resulting in two instances where significant reroutes were developed to circumvent the debris.  At the 4.0km point on the trail an avalanche extended the slide path onto the trail.  The effort to clear the trail at this point was hampered by snow beneath the debris but we are confident the trail was re-established.  We are unable to provide information regarding trail conditions beyond this point.  The Mt Drysdale slide path may be problematic.

Trailhead
Hike up the road for 50 m and you will find the trail on your left (marked by flagging).

Trail
The trail leaves the road and drops down to the creek which it crosses on a single log bridge with a rope railing (caution required).

The trail then follows the north bank of the creek for 2 km, passing through five slide paths on the way. After the fifth slide path, the incline steepens. The next section of trail is well built, but it climbs 400 metres in just over 2 km. Eventually you will cross the last slide path, just below Mt. Drysdale, and from here the pass is just over a kilometre away.

Wolverine Pass is marked by a National Park sign. If you continue a few hundred metres into Kootenay Park, you meet the Rockwall trail and get the real rewards for this hike. Turn right, and within 500 metres you get a great view of the Tumbling Glacier, as well as Tumbling Creek and the Vermillion River valley all the way to the divide. Turn left, and within a km you are at Rockwall Pass, with a great view of… well, a rock wall. But an impressive rock wall, to be sure. [read more]

It is possible to continue north or south on the Rockwall trail, but go much further than we suggest and you’ll find yourself on a steep descent… which means a steep ascent to get back to the pass, and to your car. The National Park campgrounds are all down in the valley bottoms, but you can camp on the west side of Wolverine Pass, outside the park. And then you don’t have to hump your sleeping gear up those killer hills.

Cautions

• Horses and hunters use this trail.
• East of the pass, National Park rules apply.
• This trail is a wildlife corridor. Watch for bears.

From Golden drive east on the Trans Canada for 25.7 km and turn right onto the Beaverfoot Forest Service Road (FSR).
All sign markers on the Beaverfoot FSR take their reading from the bridge over the Kicking Horse River (set your odometer to “0” on the other side of the bridge).
Note: new logging roads can be built in any given year; so there may be more junctions than noted below.

[read more]

Follow the Beaverfoot FSR to 23.5 km

23.5 km take left fork.

31.7km take the left fork and continue past Moose Creek branch to the Wolverine Branch.

Drive up the Wolverine Branch for 8.7 km (you must track this as there is no 8.7 km sign).

Along the 8.7km of Wolverine Branch, take the left branch at the first three Y-junctions until you reach a broad sweeping switchback to the right.

Do not take the sweeping turn and instead continue straight ahead for about 1 km to a small landing on your right and a trailhead kiosk (40.3 km from the point at which you set your odometer to “0” ).  Park here.

The trail is located 50m further up, on the opposite side of the road.