The campground owner suggested an alternative or "backdoor" way to Kootenay National Park. Instead of using State Route 93, we drove past Windermere and Columbia lakes to the tiny community of Canal Flats. In the middle of town, we took a turn, returning east and followed the dirt road all the way to Kootenary Valley Viewpoint. It was a wild and wonderful drive. The whole way was beautiful, plain and simple.