Nelson, Kootenay Lake and the hot springs of BC’s most laid-back mountain region
The Kootenays are British Columbia at its most unhurried — heritage main streets, the world’s longest free ferry, and a chain of hot springs strung between mountain ranges. Five days links Nelson, Kootenay Lake, Ainsworth and the Columbia Valley.
| Day | Where | Plan | Stay |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nelson | Arrive, Baker Street heritage downtown, lakefront evening | Nelson |
| 2 | North Kootenay Lake | Ainsworth caves soak, Kaslo and the SS Moyie | Ainsworth / Kaslo |
| 3 | The free ferry | Balfour ferry to Crawford Bay, artisan studios, Gray Creek | Nelson |
| 4 | → Kimberley | Drive east, the Bavarian Platzl, St Eugene, Lussier Hot Springs | Kimberley |
| 5 | Fernie → home | Fernie’s historic downtown, the Elk Valley, drive out | — |
Nelson has more restored Victorian buildings than almost any town its size in Canada, stacked up a hillside above the west arm of Kootenay Lake. Baker Street is the whole downtown: coffee roasters, bookshops, galleries and a genuinely good food scene.
North along the lake to Ainsworth Hot Springs, where the mineral water runs through a horseshoe cave you wade into, then on to tiny Kaslo and the beached sternwheeler SS Moyie, the oldest intact passenger sternwheeler in the world.
The Balfour–Kootenay Bay crossing is a free 35-minute sailing across the lake. On the far side, the artisan studios of Crawford Bay — a working broom-maker, blacksmith and glass-blower in a row.
Over to the Columbia Valley: the Bavarian-themed Platzl at Kimberley, the St Eugene resort in a restored residential-school building now run by the Ktunaxa Nation, and the wild rock pools of Lussier Hot Springs.
Finish in Fernie, ringed by the Lizard Range, with a brick heritage downtown and some of the best mountain biking and powder in the province.
We turn routes like this into a full day-by-day planner — flights, hotels, tours and maps in one file. Grab the downloadable Canada · British Columbia itinerary or have us build a custom version for your dates.
