The Kicking Horse River is in the

Canadian Rockies The Canadian Rockies (french: Rocheuses canadiennes) or Canadian Rocky Mountains, comprising both the Alberta Rockies and the British Columbian Rockies, is the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains. It is the easternmost part ...

of southeastern

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

, Canada. The river was named in 1858, when James Hector, a member of the Palliser Expedition, reported being kicked by his

packhorse A packhorse, pack horse, or sumpter refers to a horse, mule, donkey, or pony used to carry goods on its back, usually in sidebags or panniers. Typically packhorses are used to cross difficult terrain, where the absence of roads prevents the use of ...

while exploring the river. Hector named the river and the associated

pass Pass, PASS, The Pass or Passed may refer to: Places *Pass, County Meath, a townland in Ireland * Pass, Poland, a village in Poland * Pass, an alternate term for a number of straits: see List of straits *Mountain pass, a lower place in a mounta ...

as a result of the incident. The

Kicking Horse Pass Kicking Horse Pass (el. ) is a high mountain pass across the Continental Divide of the Americas of the Canadian Rockies on the Alberta–British Columbia border, and lying within Yoho and Banff national parks. Divide Creek forks onto both s ...

, which connects through the Rockies to the valley of the

Bow River The Bow River is a river in Alberta, Canada. It begins within the Canadian Rocky Mountains and winds through the Alberta foothills onto the prairies, where it meets the Oldman River, the two then forming the South Saskatchewan River. These w ...

, was the route through the mountains subsequently taken by the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canad ...

when it was constructed during the 1880s. The railway's Big Hill and associated Spiral Tunnels are in the Kicking Horse valley and were 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 Framers Guild, local volunteers were joined by carpenters and timber framers from Canada, the United States and Europe. The bridge structure is long, with a

Burr arch The Burr Arch Truss—or, simply, Burr Truss or Burr Arch—is a combination of an arch and a ''multiple kingpost'' truss design. It was invented in 1804 by Theodore Burr, patented on April 3, 1817, and used in bridges, usually covered bridge ...

structure. The bridge was completed in September 2001. The

Trans-Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway (Canadian French, French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the A ...

traverses the river at several points from

Yoho National Park Yoho National Park ( ) is a national park of Canada. It is located within the Rocky Mountains along the western slope of the Continental Divide of the Americas in southeastern British Columbia, bordered by Kootenay National Park to the south and ...

to Golden, British Columbia. The river is spanned by the new Park Bridge. Kicking Horse Mountain Resort, named for the river and pass, is located in the

Dogtooth Range Dogtooth or dog tooth may refer to: * Dogtooth (anatomy), a relatively long, pointed tooth * Dogtooth, North Dakota, United States * ''Dogtooth'' (film), a 2009 film directed by Yorgos Lanthimos * Dog-tooth, an ornament found in medieval arch ...

of the

Purcell Mountains The Purcell Mountains are a mountain range in southeastern British Columbia, Canada. They are a subrange of the Columbia Mountains, which includes the Selkirk, Monashee, and Cariboo Mountains. They are located on the west side of the Rocky Moun ...

, on the west side of the town of Golden.

Course

The Kicking Horse River begins at the outlet of small Wapta Lake and flows southwest. It receives the Yoho River upstream from Field. The river continues to flow southwest until after it drops over Wapta Falls, when it takes a near hairpin turn and flows northwest into the

Columbia River The Columbia River ( Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia ...

in Golden.

Waterfalls

The river has three waterfalls along its stretch. The first is the Kicking Horse Cascade, a long talus cascade which occurs just below the first highway crossing of the river below Wapta Lake. The second is the Natural Bridge Falls near Field. The final and largest is Wapta Falls, one of the largest waterfalls in Canada in both volume and width. They are over wide.

Natural history

History

PSM V78 D430 Natural bridge across the kicking horse river in bc

The River’s unusual name stems from an incident near Wapta Falls in August 1858, Sir James Hector writes: "A little way above this fall one of our pack horses, to escape the fallen timber, plunged into the river, luckily where it formed an eddy, but the banks were so steep that we had great difficulty in getting him out. In attempting to recatch my own horse, which had strayed off while we were engaged with the one in the water, he kicked me in the chest, but I had luckily got close to him before he struck out, so that I did not get the full force of the blow. However, it knocked me down and rendered me senseless for some time. This was unfortunate, as we had seen no tracks of game in the neighbourhood, and were now without food; but I was so hurt that we could not proceed further that day at least." - James Hector chronicles, 1858

James Hector

As surgeon and geologist to the Palliser Expedition from 1857 to 1860, Hector explored the country from the

Red River Colony The Red River Colony (or Selkirk Settlement), also known as Assinboia, was a colonization project set up in 1811 by Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk, on of land in British North America. This land was granted to Douglas by the Hudson's Bay ...

(Winnipeg) to Vancouver Island. He made many important observations regarding the geology and ethnology of the Canadian West and the Rocky Mountains, discovering the Kicking Horse Pass and giving the Kicking Horse River its name.

2019 Derailment

On 4 February 2019, a

freight train with 112 cars and 3 locomotives derailed near the Big Hill of

. The train landed in the river, and three crew members were killed.

Recreation

Several whitewater rafting companies, as well as kayakers and canoeists, use the river. The first company to raft the Kicking Horse river is named Kootenay River Runners. They continue to raft trips on the Kicking Horse daily, as well as two other nearby rivers. There are three main sections of the Kicking Horse River used for such recreation. The upper canyon (accessed via Beaverfoot Road off Highway 1 West) is a class 3-4 whitewater run suitable for canoes, kayaks and rafts. Prior to a landslide in the upper canyon, boats had to portage a one kilometre stretch of rapids in order to avoid getting caught on rocks. After the landslide, the river was narrowed, allowing boats to pass freely through the rapids. Nowadays, this stretch is named Portage/Shotgun, hence the previous need to portage the area. The middle canyon (accessed via Kicking Horse rest area) is a class 4-5, depending on water levels. This run is suitable only for experienced kayakers and rafters. Commercial rafting companies avoid this section, due to the risk involved. The lower canyon is another class 3-4 whitewater run that is run by commercial rafting companies at suitable water levels. Prior to the start of the 2016 rafting season, Canadian Pacific railway installed a gate, prohibiting road access to the lower-canyon. Because of this, many rafting companies have been forced to stop rafting this portion of the river, resulting in revenue and job loss. The Kicking Horse is home to many varieties of freshwater fish, making fishing a viable activity.

Major tributaries

* Sherbrooke Creek * Yoho River * Emerald River *

Amiskwi River The Amiskwi River is a stream of about in length in British Columbia, Canada. It is a tributary of the Kicking Horse River. The name ''Amiskwi'' is a Cree word for ''Beavertail''. Just as there is an Otterhead River and an Ottertail Rive ...

* Otterhead River *

Ottertail River Kootenay National Park is a national park of Canada located in southeastern British Columbia. The park consists of of the Canadian Rockies, including parts of the Kootenay and Park mountain ranges, the Kootenay River and the entirety of the ...

*Porcupine Creek * Beaverfoot River *Glenogle Creek

Notes

{{authority control Rivers of British Columbia Canadian Heritage Rivers Columbia Valley Tributaries of the Columbia River Rivers of the Canadian Rockies Kootenay Land District