Kootenay Lake, British Columbia

About

The rugged shoreline of Kootenay Lake stretches 120 km along the great gaps between the low mountains of southeastern British Columbia. The Selkirks and Purcell Mountain ranges can be seen from along Kootenay Lake's shore, as can the great Kokanee Glacier.

Prior to the 1800s, the Lower Kootenay Indians were the sole inhabitants of this resource rich land, drawn to the lakeshore seasonally to collect huckleberries and catch Kokanee salmon. In the 1860s a few European settlers began to harvest the resources of the land. In the early 1900s, the CPR started publishing brochures touting the area as a great oasis for establishing orchards, and a significant number of English settlers were lured over. Apples, strawberries, and especially cherries are the most successful crops.

The region is a 4-season sports and recreation destination for bikers, hikers, skiers, campers and boaters.

Backcountry Hiking and Wilderness Camping in Kokanee Glacier Park

As you make your way through the lush cedar, hemlock and spruce forests of Kokanee Glacier Park’s lower elevations, to the wildflower-filled meadows of its alpine heights, tip your hat to the rugged miners of earlier years, who carved the trails that now bring recreational pleasure to hundreds of hikers every summer.

Many of the Park’s 85 kilometres of hiking trails follow the century-old paths of fortune-seekers who mined the rich mineral veins in the area’s hard granite rock. The miners used the trails to haul supplies in, and ore out, over steep wilderness terrain. Their grit and determination have provided a legacy to today’s hikers and backcountry campers, who can choose from more than 20 routes through one of British Columbia’s most beautiful mountain parks.

Kokanee Glacier Park, located in the Slocan Range of the Selkirk Mountains, between Slocan Lake and the North Arm of Kootenay Lake, covers 32,035 hectares. It includes 3 glaciers – Kokanee, Caribou and Woodbury – and more than 30 glacial lakes, including Kokanee Lake, Sapphire Lakes, Joker Lakes, Gibson Lake, Kaslo Lake and Tanal Lake. It is filled with creeks, deep valleys and soaring peaks (Kokanee Peak, cloaked in the Park’s namesake glacier, rises 2,774 metres in the middle of the Park). Most of the Park sits above 1,800 metres in elevation, with forests of Englemann spruce, lodgepole pine, alpine fir, hemlock and western red cedar at lower levels, subalpine and alpine meadows of dwarf blueberry, heather, moss and lichen at higher levels, and avalanche paths covered in alder and huckleberry.

While hikers in Kokanee Glacier Park are most likely to encounter smaller mammals such as hoary marmots, martens, ground squirrel and pikas, and birds such as American Dippers, Sharp-shinned Hawks, Franklin Grouse and Golden Eagles, they may also be fortunate enough to catch sight of mountain goats, deer and black bears. Park users should be aware that this is also grizzly country. The Park was expanded in 1995 to protect grizzly bears, and is carefully designed to keep humans away from prime grizzly habitat. Some areas are closed seasonally when bears are known to be feeding on nearby berry patches.

Sport fishers in Kokanee Glacier Park can expect excellent catches of rainbow trout, cutthroat trout, and Dolly Varden.

• Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park is located 34 kilometres northeast of Nelson, British Columbia, west of Kootenay Lake.

• There are 5 access roads to the Park’s trails, including Kokanee Creek via Highway 3A, Woodbury Creek via Highway 31, Keen Creek via Highway 31A, Enterprise Creek via Highway 6 and Lemon Creek via Highway 6. Expect rough terrain on some routes.

• There are more than 20 designated hiking trails in Kokanee Glacier Park, ranging from easy to difficult; most are in the moderate range. Easy trails include: Gibson Lake Trailhead Loop Trail, 2.5 kilometres; Kokanee Lake to Kaslo Lake, 3 kilometres (includes alpine meadows), Woodbury Creek to Sunset Lake, 3 kilometres. Moderate trails include; Gibson Lake to Slocan Chief Cabin, 8.3 kilometres, Gibson Lake to Kokanee Lake, 4 kilometres, Enterprise Creek to Slocan Chief Cabin Trail, 10.2 kilometres, Enterprise Creek to Tanal Lake, 6.4 kilometres, Woodbury Creek to Woodbury Cabin Trail, 8 kilometres, Lemon Creek to Slocan Chief Trail, 14.3 kilometres. Difficult trails include; Woodbury Creek Trailhead to Silver Spray Cabin Trail, 7 kilometres, with elevation gain of 1,016 metres, and many switchbacks. Check for temporary closures or seasonal restrictions.

• The Park is open year-round, but hiking season runs from July to October. Trails may remain snow-covered well into early summer.

• There are several designated wilderness camping areas throughout the park and 2 8-person backcountry cabins, the “Woodbury” and the recently-constructed “Silver Spray.” Check for seasonal camping and cabin fees, and campfire restrictions.

• All hikers should be equipped with appropriate footwear, rain gear, extra warm clothing and food. Only experienced mountaineers should venture onto snowfields and glaciers.

• Parked vehicles should be protected with chicken wire to deter porcupines that chew on rubber hoses and tires!

A Steamy Soak at the Ainsworth Hot Springs

A natural shower, a rejuvenating steam bath, a relaxing, mineralized soak at the privately-operated Ainsworth Hot Springs, on the western shore of Kootenay Lake between Balfour and Kaslo, a series of springs from the Cody Caves area work their way down through porous rock, increasing to a temperature of 40 – 42 degrees Celsius. The steamy water falls down from the roof of a horseshoe-shaped cave into waist-deep water. The hot water is piped in to a main outdoor pool overlooking Kootenay Lake and the Purcell Mountains. Bathers can explore the cave’s tunnels, carved out by miners attempting to increase the flow of hot water from the springs.

Carefree Cruising on the Kootenay Lake Ferry

The views are priceless, and the ride is free! The Kootenay Lake Ferry, a year-round service provided by the British Columbia Ministry of Highways, is billed as the longest and most scenic free ferry crossing in the world. The trip between Balfour, on the lake’s West Arm, to Kootenay Bay, on the eastern shore, offers million-dollar views of the Selkirk and Purcell Mountains that frame the waterway. Service is provided 20 hours a day by 2 vessels, the MV Balfour and the MV Osprey 2000. Ferries leave both terminals every 50 minutes in the summer season (Victoria Day in May -Thanksgiving Day in October), and every 100 minutes in the winter season. Check for specific sailing times. The MV Osprey carries up to 80 vehicles; foot passengers can walk on at any sailing.