Radium Hot Springs, British Columbia
Radium Hot Springs is a small village in British Columbia’s East Kootenay region, known for the nearby hot springs inside Kootenay National Park. The community has about 1,339 residents (2021) and covers 6.34 square kilometers.
Location and access
- It sits in the Columbia Valley at the junction of Highways 95 and 93, about 16 km north of Invermere and 105 km south of Golden.
- The southwestern entrance to Kootenay National Park is just east of the village.
Why it’s called Radium Hot Springs
- The springs were named after trace amounts of radon found in the water, a decay product of radium. Bathing in the pools involves very small radiation exposure.
The hot springs and pools
- The park hot springs complex has two large pools: a soaking pool around 39°C (102°F) and a 25-meter pool around 29°C (84°F).
- There is also a Plunge Pool that can be as hot as 44°C (111°F) or cooled by a creek running underneath.
Safety and dose
- A half-hour soak gives about 0.13 millirems (1.3 μSv). The air radon level is higher than some guidelines, but the soaking dose remains very small.
Nearby attractions and industry
- Baymag runs a magnesium mine at Mount Brussilof, about 35 km away, with large reserves.
- The area has many golf courses, plus about 675 hotels and motels in the region.
- Wildlife around Radium includes mule deer, grizzly bears, black bears, mountain goats and Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep.
Population and land
- In 2021, 1,339 people lived in 634 of 1,366 private dwellings, on a land area of 6.34 km², giving a population density of about 211 people per km².
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 17:26 (CET).