The parkway from Radium Hot Springs through Kootenay National Park extends for 105 km into Banff National Park at Castle Junction.   There are a number of excellent hiking trails along the route which we have done – Floe Lake, the Rockwall, Stanley Glacier, Marble Canyon, Ball Pass, Hermit Falls, and Goodsir Pass.   But there are also some shorter day hikes starting at the lower end near Radium.   Just past the entrance gate is a parking area for a loop route that combines the Juniper Trail through Sinclair Canyon to the Hot Springs and then the Redstreak Trail winds down the other side of the canyon to the campground and then down to the start.

The trail dropped quickly using switchbacks into Sinclair Canyon.   We hiked up the creek to Sinclair Falls and back down to a bridge crossing of Sinclair Creek on its way to the Columbia River below Radium.

Once on the north side of the creek the trail climbed steadily to get above the rocky bluffs of the canyon.   At the top were some views west down the parkway to the Columbia River Valley with the Purcell Mountains beyond.

As we crested another hill, we had a view up to snowy Sinclair Peak in the Rocky Mountains.

The trail then continued east toward the Hot Springs.

We crossed the parkway and walked through a plaza next to the pools to get to a short bridge over the creek, then we started up the Redstreak Trail.   This is a north-slope forested trail winding across the steep hillside.   In one quiet section in a deep gully was this sign.

The trail entered the top end of the campground, then dropped back down to the highway to a viewpoint down into the gorge.   The Sinclair Canyon Loop was about 5.5 km taking about 2.5 hours, well worth our time on a spring day when the upper areas are still blanketed in snow.