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The word "springs" appears in the Banff Springs Hotel and Conference Centre's title for good reason. The hotel and conference center, host to IIE's Industrial Engineering Solutions '98 Conference and Expo and the Industrial Engineering Research Conference, is close to two important hot springs. These springs, in fact, played a central role in the development of the Canadian National Parks system. The Cave and Basin Hot Springs and the Upper Hot Springs are located inside Banff National Park. Those in search of additional thermal wonders can take day trips to other area hot springs. The Radium Hot Springs are located in British Columbia's Kootenay National Park, just over the provincial line from Banff National Park. Bordering Banff National Park on the north is Jasper National Park, a quick drive from Banff on the scenic Ice Fields Parkway-and home to the Miette Hot Springs.
Railroad workers William and Tom McCardell and Frank McCabe stumbled upon the Cave and Basin Hot Springs in 1883, and thought they could get rich by turning the area into a bathing resort. But a fierce legal battle developed over ownership, and in...