AREA INFORMATION

Nelson: Nelson is one of the prettiest towns in British Columbia, located in one of the most beautiful settings; a place where life is unhurried and people say hello to visitors. Over 350 lovingly restored turn-of-the-century heritage buildings and facades, breathtaking views and personable citizens make this city a little oasis of genuine civility.

Balfour: A pretty little village on the north shore of the West Arm of Kootenay Lake, at the junction of the lake's North, South and West arms. Balfour serves as the western ferry terminal for the ferry route across Kootenay Lake to Kootenay Bay on the east shore of the lake.

Kootenay Bay: The small lakeside resort community of Kootenay Bay serves as the eastern terminal of the Kootenay Lake ferry, connecting with Balfour on the western shore.

Crawford Bay: The peace and quiet of Kootenay Lake affords visitors to Crawford Bay a wonderful escape from city life, and plenty of opportunities for a variety of water related activities.

Gray Creek: The small community of Gray Creek was once a landing and supply centre for steamboats plying Kootenay Lake in the early nineteenth century.

Boswell: The small lakeside resort town of Boswell is located south of Lockhart Beach Park.

Kokanee Creek Provincial Park is the biggest provincial campground in this part of the West Kootenays, located about 12 miles (19 km) east of Nelson on Hwy 3A, on the north shore of the west arm of Kootenay Lake. The park offers 112 vehicle/tent sites in two campgrounds, Sandspit and Redfish. Its extensive sandy beaches and delta area are backed by a gently rising upland, giving way to the forested slopes of the Slocan Range of the Selkirk Mountains. Open all year, Kokanee Creek has facilities that include hiking and ski trails, a visitor centre with displays, and a boat launch. Nearby is Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park, a mountain wilderness with an extensive trail system for day or longer hikes.

Lockhart Beach Provincial Park is a small, beautifully forested park on the east side of the south arm of Kootenay Lake. As well as a sandy beach, the park has a picnic/day-use area, a car-top boat launch, and 13 vehicle/tent sites. A hiking trail runs along Lockhart Creek through a mixed forest of Douglas fir, western red cedar, and ponderosa pine. It's about 35 miles (55 km) north of Creston on Hwy 3A. From the west, Hwy 3A connects across Kootenay Lake by ferry.

Fry Creek Canyon Provincial Recreation Area is a wilderness area on the western slopes of the Purcell Mountains above the north arm of Kootenay Lake. From Argenta, a rough road leads south 7 miles (12 km) to Johnson's Landing, from where the recreation area can be reached via a 2.5-mile (4-km) trail. Besides wilderness campsites, Fry Creek Canyon has over 6 miles (10 km) of hiking trails. Splendid views of the canyon and surrounding peaks from an old miners' trail along the creek provide photographers with subjects aplenty.

Campbell Bay Provincial Park is one of the newer parks in the provincial system, located on east shore of Kootenay Lake, northeast of Kaslo.

West Arm Provincial Park encompasses a diverse range of habitats, from lakeshore to subalpine, high-elevation forests and alpine areas. The park extends along the shore of Kootenay Lake, from Nelson to Harrop and up to the peaks behind, and features old-growth forests that provide internationally significant habitat for grizzly bear and other endangered species, and for a mountain caribou recovery program.

North of Kaslo on Hwy 31 is Lost Ledge Provincial Park. Situated on Kootenay Lake, it features great fishing from the shore or by boat, as well as secluded campsites in the shade or right on the beach. Another dozen campsites, albeit rustic ones, are located farther north at Davis Creek in Kootenay Lake Provincial Park, just south of Lardeau on the west side of Kootenay Lake. Campers can swim at this semiprimitive site, which also offers good fishing off the creek mouth.

Canoeing & Kayaking: The rocky shores of Kootenay Lake are broken by numerous creeks and encompass hundreds of tiny bays and beaches providing hundreds of miles of shoreline that are great to explore by kayak or canoe. If you're lured to spend more than a day on the water, tackle the three-day, 30-mile (50-km) paddle from Procter near Nelson to Kuskanook on the south arm of Kootenay Lake. There are dispersed camping locations at pocket beaches and creek mouths, as well as formal campsites provided by BC Parks and the BC Forest Service. Among these are Irvine Creek and Wilson Creek Forest Service Recreation Sites, and Drewry Point and Midge Creek Provincial Parks, all of which are marine access only. The lake can be windy, so an early-morning start is strongly recommended.

Golf: Golfers have a number of golf courses to choose from around Kootenay Lake, including the Balfour Golf Course and Eagle View Golf Course in Balfour, Kaslo Golf Club in Kaslo, Riondel Golf Club in Riondel, and the 18-hole championship Kokanee Springs Golf Resort in Crawford Bay. At the western tip of the West Arm of Kootenay Lake, in the city of Nelson, is the 18-hole Granite Pointe Golf Club. The mountain and lake views on these courses are simply stunning. Golf Vacations in the BC Rockies.

Wildlife: The area around Kootenay Lake is largely wilderness, where wildlife that could be encountered includes deer, elk, moose, black bears, mountain goats, cougar, and coyotes. Wetlands at Crawford Bay and the north and south ends of Kootenay Lake provide habitat for over migrating and nesting birds, including swans and pelicans.

The 7,000-hectare Creston Valley Wildlife Management Area is a large expanse of preserved wetland where up to 250 species of upland birds and waterfowl nest. A major stopover for migrating Tundra Swans, the area has the third largest population density of Osprey in Canada, the only nesting population of Forster's terns in British Columbia, and the largest breeding population of Wood Ducks in BC. Guided walks and canoe tours are available for anyone who appreciates nature.

Fishing: It's hard to escape fish in this area of the West Kootenays. It seems that wherever there's water - whether lake, creek, or river - there is fishing. Kokanee Creek and Kootenay Lake maintain considerable populations of various fish species, including kokanee, rainbow and cutthroat trout, dolly varden, burbot, and whitefish. Kootenay Lake supports record-sized rainbow trout, and the world's largest recorded kokanee - almost 10 pounds (4.5 kg) - was taken from the lake. "Kokanee" means "red fish" in the Kootenay Indian language and is the name given to the land-locked salmon that spawn in large numbers in Kokanee Creek in the late summer. Rainbow trout are plentiful in Lockhart Creek on the east side of the south arm of Kootenay Lake.

1. Kicking Horse Mountain Ski Resort  (3½ hrs)            6. Whitewater Ski Resort  (1¼ hrs)

2. Revelstoke Mountain Resort  ( 4¼ hrs)                     7. Kimberley Alpine Ski Resort  (2¾ hrs)

3. Summit Lake - Ski Resort  (2 hrs)                         8. Fernie Alpine Ski Resort  (3½ hrs)

4. Panorama Mountain Village Ski Resort  (4¼ hrs )       9. Red Resort, Red Mountain  (2½ hrs)

5. Fairmont Hot Springs Ski Resort  (3½ hrs)               10. Salmo Ski Hill (1¾ hrs)

The glacier-clad BC Rockies region offers six top winter resorts, plus most of Canada's snowcat, helicopter and backcountry skiing operations. Incorporating the Rockies, the Purcells, the Columbia and the Monashee Mountains, this region is blanketed season-long by deep, dry powder.