Kicking Horse River

The Kicking Horse River is a river located in the Canadian Rockies of southeastern British Columbia, Canada.

The river was named in 1858, when James Hector, a member of the Palliser Expedition, was kicked by his packhorse while exploring the river. Hector survived and named the river and the associated pass as a result of the incident. The Kicking Horse Pass, which connects through the Rockies to the valley of the Bow River, was the route through the mountains subsequently taken by the Canadian Pacific Railway when it was constructed during the 1880s. The railway's Big Hill and associated Spiral Tunnels are in the Kicking Horse valley and necessitated by the steep rate of descent of the river and its valley.

Kicking Horse Pedestrian Bridge in Golden is the longest authentic covered timber frame bridge in Canada. Planned as a community project by the Timber Framer's Guild, local volunteers were joined by carpenters and timber framers from Canada, the United States and from Europe. The bridge structure is 150 feet (46 m) long, with a 210,000-pound Burr arch structure. The bridge was completed in September 2001.

The Trans-Canada Highway traverses the river at several points as it travels west from Yoho National Park to Golden, British Columbia. The highway features some great scenery, and motorists should be aware that numerous upgrade projects are underway to improve the roadway that may result in slight delays during their travel. The river is spanned by the new Park Bridge section which has now been completed and provides a spectacular drive. An HD Video of this section and Park Bridge can be seen by clicking this supplied link: Ten Mile Hill HD Video.

N.B. Kicking Horse Mountain Resort, which gets its name from the river and pass, is not located in the Canadian Rockies, but opposite the pass across the Rocky Mountain Trench in the Dogtooth Range of the Purcell Mountains, on the other side of the town of Golden.