Castle Junction is a locality where the northern extent of the

Banff–Windermere Highway The Banff–Windermere Highway, also known as the Banff-Windermere Parkway, is a highway which runs through the Canadian Rockies in British Columbia and Alberta in Canada. It runs from Radium Hot Springs, British Columbia to Castle Junction, Al ...

( Highway 93) intersects with 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 ...

( Highway 1), the

Bow River The headwaters of the Bow River in Alberta, Canada, start at the Bow Glacier and Bow Lake (Alberta), Bow Lake in Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies, Canadian Rocky Mountains. The glacial stream that feeds Bow Lake (Alberta), Bow Lake ...

, and

Bow Valley Parkway Highway 1A is the designation of two alternate routes off the Alberta Highway 1, Alberta portion of Trans-Canada Highway 1. However, it is not the only name used for spurs off Highway 1 - Alberta Highway 1X, Highway 1X is another such designation. ...

(Highway 1A) in

Banff National Park Banff National Park is Canada, Canada's first National Parks of Canada, national park, established in 1885 as Rocky Mountains Park. Located in Alberta's Rockies, Alberta's Rocky Mountains, west of Calgary, Banff encompasses of mountainous ter ...

, Alberta. It is named after the nearby

Castle Mountain Castle Mountain () is a mountain located within Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies, approximately halfway between Banff and Lake Louise. It is the easternmost mountain of the Main Ranges in the Bow Valley and sits astride the Castl ...

, clearly visible from the junction. The area is also referred to as Castle Mountain; however, the official location is approximately southwest of Castle Junction along the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , 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 Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

. Work started here in 1910 on the Auto Route of the Great Divide, a project to build a highway across the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...

, when construction began on a road from Castle Junction to Banff. Following an interruption caused by

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, construction wrapped up in 1923 when the newly constructed road between

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

and Banff was joined to the Windermere Highway via the road between Castle Junction and Banff. Prime Minister

Mackenzie King William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who was the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A Liberal ...

changed the name of Castle Mountain to Mount Eisenhower in 1946 to honour the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

general

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

. Correspondingly, Castle Junction was called Eisenhower Junction. Castle Mountain was officially restored to its original name in 1979, at which time Eisenhower Junction was also renamed Castle Junction. A group of lodges and the Castle Mountain

campground Campsite, campground, and camping pitch are all related terms regarding a place used for camping (an overnight stay in an outdoor area). The usage differs between British English and American English. In British English, a ''campsite'' is an ...

are within a kilometre of the junction. Several hiking trails are available in the vicinity. The trailhead for hikes to Silverton Falls and Rockbound Lake is approximately 200 metres east of Castle Junction. The remains of Silver City, a 19th-century settlement founded by

prospectors Prospecting is the first stage of the geological analysis (followed by exploration) of a territory. It is the search for minerals, fossils, precious metals, or mineral specimens. It is also known as fossicking. Traditionally prospecting rel ...

at the base of Castle Mountain, are nearby. Also nearby is the site of the

Castle Mountain Internment Camp A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

used during World War I.

References

Banff National Park Localities in Improvement District No. 9 {{AlbertaRockies-geo-stub