This park is the smallest of the Canadian Rockies' four national parks, and it surrounds the quaint, tiny town of Field. It's well worth a visit for the postcard views and mouthwatering cuisine at the homey Truffle Pigs Cafe. The Trans Canada Highway passes through Kicking Horse Pass and by Wapta Falls (just a short hike from the road). Be sure to see Yoho Valley and Takakkaw Falls, as well as the Burgess Shale Fossil Beds, the subject of evolutionary theorist Stephen Jay Gould's popular book Wonderful Life. The shales are some of the most significant fossil beds in the world—a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in fact—so permits are required, and visitors must be escorted by a park warden or interpreter. The interpretive center has guided tours as well as displays of fossil specimens. About 300 mi/483 km northeast of Vancouver.
