38 
PARK AND C E M ET E R Y. 
D ev elopment of Canada’s Dominion Parks 
THE VALLEY OP THE TEN PEAKS, ROCKY MOUNTAINS PARK. 
In the recent illustrated report on 
Canada's Dominion Parks, issued by 
Commissioner J. R. Harkin, much evi- 
dence is presented to emphasize the fact 
that the national parks are not national 
ornaments, but are essentially service 
parks; that they exist to render real, 
necessary, and valuable service to the 
people. 
In Rocky Mountains Park the auto- 
mobile road from the east boundary of 
the park to Banff has been considerably 
improved and now affords motorists 
from the prairie cities an excellent op- 
portunity to drive through the National 
park and enjoy the magnificent scenery 
en route. This road is being extended 
and is about completed to Castle, some 
17 miles west of Banff. About a mile 
west of Castle the road crosses the 
tracks of the Canadian Pacific railway. 
A short distance farther on, it crosses 
the Bow river over a two-span steel 
bridge, then winds its way upwards in a 
series of easy gradients to the summit 
of the Continental Divide; thence on 
through the Vermilion pass into the 
province of British Columbia. Con- 
siderable attention has been given to 
afford visitors and residents every fa- 
cility for healthy outdoor enjoyment. 
Additional trails have been opened up, 
roads have been improved, a recreation 
ground has been laid out for l)aseball, 
cricket and football and other sports. 
The children’s playground has been spe- 
cially fitted up for their enjoyment, and 
a commodious building equipped with 
large kitchen, cloak rooms, and all the 
necessary conveniences has been pro- 
vided. The Bow river is navigable for 
motor launches for a distance of some 
10 miles from Banff and, with the Echo 
river. Vermilion lakes, and h'ortymile 
creek, affords delightful opportunities for 
boating and canoeing amid the unrivalled 
scenery of the mountains. 
On the road from Lake Louise to 
Moraine lake — the only road suitable for 
tally-ho traffic in this district — a con- 
siderable amount of work was done be- 
fore orders were received to cease 
operations. The high banks at the 
Moraine end caused many slides which 
imperilled the safety of all kinds of 
vehicular traffic, and the material so dis- 
placed was used for re-surfacing pur- 
poses. The turning point of the end 
of Moraine lake was re-dressed and 
widened; large stones were raked off, 
and the road for a distance of about 2 
miles from the lake was put into good 
condition. 
A large amount of work was done in 
connection with the extension of the 
network of trails throughout the park. 
During the summer, contracts were let 
for four trails, which will open up 38 
miles of new trails. There are now a 
total of 255 miles of trails in Rocky 
Afountains Park. 
In Rocky Mountains park one of the 
most important accomplishments was 
the completion of the new bathhouse, de- 
scribed in the March issue. 
In the spring of 1914 the Dominion 
Parks Branch decided to set apart lOO 
square miles of territory and add it to- 
the district known as ‘'Victoria park,” 
north of the city of Revelstoke, includ- 
ing Mount Revelstoke and other moun- 
tains. The Provincial Government had 
already made a survey of the route to 
the summit, and later had begun to con- 
struct a road. The Dominion Govern- 
ment then decided to continue it to the 
summit, and it was begun in July, 1914. 
The total length of this road, when 
completed, will be about 15 miles, and 
the area of the proposed park will take 
in some forty-eight sections, or 30,720 
acres of rugged scenery. This land is 
of no use for agricultural or buildin,g 
sites, but eminently adapted for scenic 
purposes. 
A pony trail has been built by the 
council of the city of Revelstoke from 
the town to the summit of Mount 
Revelstoke, and some 4 miles beyond, to 
an elevation of 6,500 feet. 
Some 500 persons ascended Mount 
Revelstoke last season; the number >vas 
considerably more this year, but that 
many more will do so when the fine 
1 
LAKE EYA, REVELSTOKE PARK. 
