GOLDEN, 54km west of Field and midway between Yoho and Glacier national parks, is the nearest town to either. Despite its name and mountain backdrop, the part of Golden most people see is little more than an ugly ribbon of motels and garages at the junction of Hwy 1 and Hwy 95. The town proper occupies a semi-scenic site down by the Columbia River, way below the highway strip, but only if you use the municipal campsite or book one of the many rafting and other tours based here will you do anything but look down on it from above. The town has a small museum at 1302-11th St (July & Aug daily 9am-5pm; $3; tel 250/344-5169). The main infocentre is at 500-10th Ave N (year-round; tel 250/344-7125, fax 344-6688), but a small infocentre also sits at the strip’s southern end disguised as a plastic and wood tepee (June-Sept). Two hundred metres north is the bus terminal, next to the Chinese-Canadian Golden Palace Restaurant – open 24 hours a day, like several of the local joints. All the motels on the strip – try the Selkirk Inn, Hwy 1 (tel 344-6315 or 344-5153; $80-100) – look over the road or onto the backs of garages opposite. None has anything you could call a view of the mountains, but at least the big Sportsman, 1200-12th St N (tel 344-2915 or 1-888/477-6783; $60-80), is off the road. Around 16km northwest of Golden, the Blaeberry Mountain Lodge, on Moberly School Road (tel 344-5296; $80-100), is first-rate and beautifully situated: accommodation consists of two simple but comfortable log cabins, a lodge and a tepee. There are also plenty of outdoor activities and the owners will often pick you up in Golden if you’re travelling without your own transport.