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Many outdoor adventures await you in the West Kootenays:
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Air tours - Fly from nearby Castlegar Airport or Nelson's Norman Stibbs Airfield (pictured here) by fixed-wing aircraft or helicopter and tour the mountains, glaciers, lakes, rivers and provincial parks of the West Kootenays. High Alpine Air Services operate a fixed wing Cessna out of both airports, High Terrain Helicopters flies out of Castlegar, and Range Helicopters (with which Jean and I have flown) is based at Nelson. | |
| Annual events - Every year there are special events in the West Kootenays, including Canada Day Fireworks in Nelson, the CYSWOG'N'FUN Triathlon in Nelson, the Slocan Valley Garden Tour, the Nakusp Music Fest, the Winlaw Fair, the Castlegar Sunfest, the Hills Garlic Festival and the Kaslo Jazz Summer Music Festival, to name just a few. The August launch at Perry Siding of the Slocan River Poker Float, shown here, is just one of many fun happenings. (And we have rafts for our guests' use.) |  |
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ATV or quad tours - With hundreds of miles of old mining roads, lumber roads and abandoned railways, the Kootenays hold many options for ATV enthusiasts. Turtleback Adventures, just 20 km from our B&B on Highway 3A, offers courses and guided ATV tours in the West Kootenays back-country, such as the Columbia & Western Railway trail (pictured here). | |
Boating - Enjoy paddling in the warm waters of Upper Little Slocan Lake and River (shown here). Or take a kayaking day trip down the Slocan River. Another possibility is a canoe camping trip along the shores of Slocan Lake in Valhalla Provincial Park. For motor boat enthusiasts, there's a lot of open water in the big lakes and rivers in the West Kootenays. Check out Silver Spray Rafting, or Endless Adventure in nearby Crescent Valley, for raft and kayak tours, rentals and lessons. You can also try Smiling Otter Wilderness Adventures, north of us in Slocan City, for similar fun. For the avid sailor, the Slocan, Kootenay and Arrow Lakes offer lots of space and favourable winds. Don't own a sailboat? On Kootenay Lake, Red Sky at Night Sailing Adventures offers rentals, lessons and charter packages. Sailing packages are also offered by "Sail With Us" Sailing Tours. Last, but not least, Footsteps Eco Adventures offers a tour van that can be booked for charter, shuttles and custom trips to local paddling adventures from our doorstep. |
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Cycling - From our B&B peddle 1.6 km to the Slocan Valley Rail Trail, then take a leisurely ride along as much of its 50 km length as you wish. Or head off to one of many trailheads in the area and enjoy a day of back-country mountain biking. Alternatively, heli-bike (see Air tours, above), or use our B&B as a stop on the Silver Triangle or Kootenay Kruise road tours. And of course Castlegar can be the starting point for a bike tour of the Columbia & Western Railway Trail which connects with the Kettle Valley Railway biking trail in Midway. Should you wish to bike as part of a larger group, or avoid the hassle of transporting your bike to a trailhead, Footsteps Eco Adventures offers a tour van that can be booked for charter, shuttles and custom trips to local cycling trailheads from our doorstep. Freeride/downhill, cross-country/all-mountain, rails-to-trails, road touring and BMX -- the West Kootenays has it all! | |
| Driving tours - Whether taking in some summer sightseeing or enjoying the autumn colours such as these along the Columbia River, you'll find that the International Selkirk Loop and the Silvery Slocan Heritage Tour both offer picturesque driving routes that pass through Slocan Park. See also West Kootenay Motorcycle Tours. |  |
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Fishing - Catch-and-release fishing has returned to the Slocan River. And Slocan Lake gave up a record rainbow trout in 2007. Kokanee, rainbow trout, walleye, whitefish and more species abound in the clear waters of the West Kootenays. Action Angling Adventures offers guided river fishing tours of the Kootenays, while Mountain Valley Sports Fishing and Tours specializes in guided fly-fishing on the Columbia River. Black Antler Guide Services offers river, fly and mountain lake fishing packages, as well as wildlife viewing tours. Other fishing guides include East-Shore Charters in Riondel and Reel Adventures Fishing Charters in Nelson.. | |
| Golfing - the Valley View Golf Club, just 27 km north of our B&B, is the nearest course. As well, the Castlegar Golf Club (36 km), the Granite Point Golf Course (38 km), and the Birchbank Golf Course (47 km) are all within easy reach in the West Kootenays. |  |
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Hiking - Day hikes on numerous local trails such as Gwillim Lakes, Gimli Peak, Idaho Peak. Or backpack in to the Kokanee Glacier or on trails in Valhalla Provincial Park. See Castlegar Friends of Parks and Trails for information on Castlegar-area hiking trails. Or how about spelunking at Cody Caves Provincial Park? As well, Footsteps Eco Adventures offers a tour van that can be booked for charter, shuttles and custom trips to local trailheads from our doorstep. |
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| Hot springs - The nearest is at Ainsworth (shown here), but Halcyon and Nakusp hot springs are also not too far away. Alternatively, Footsteps Eco Adventures offers a tour van that can be booked for charter, shuttles and custom trips to these hot pools, or even wild hot springs, from our doorstep. |  |
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Museums and Galleries - Visit the ghost town of Sandon (a once rip-roaring mining town), the Nikkei Memorial Internment Centre in New Denver; museums such as the Doukhobor Discovery Centre in Castlegar (pictured here), the SS Moyie National Historic Site in Kaslo, the Nelson Museum in Nelson, the Silverton Historical Society in Silverton and the Sports Hall of Memories in Trail; galleries like the Oxygen Art Centre in Nelson, the Langham Cultural Centre in Kaslo; or choose from many other similar venues in the West Kootenays. | |
| Skiing & Snowshoeing - Cross-country ski on the Slocan Valley Rail Trail (shown here) and many other back-country ski trails. Alternatively, ski deep powder and a wide variety of downhill runs at Whitewater Winter Resort near Nelson or Red Mountain Resort near Rossland. A shuttle service is now available from Slocan Park to the ski resorts. Check out Footsteps Eco Adventures for a tour van that can be booked for charter, shuttles and custom trips to local ski resorts from our doorstep. And for the more adventurous, world class back-country heli-skiing or snow-cat skiing is readily available through Snowwater Heliskiing and Valhalla Powdercats. Or, borrow a pair of our snowshoes (or bring your own), and explore the many mountainside and woods trails around our location. |  |
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Snowmobiling - Miles and miles of unplowed mountainside mining and logging roads in the West Kootenays provide incredible snowmobiling. An example is the Pedro Creek Road (pictured here), about 14 km north of our B&B, which climbs up Slocan Ridge. For more information, see Snowmobiling in the Kootenays. |
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| Swimming - Enjoy a day at the beach or in the water in the Slocan River, in Slocan Lake, in Upper Little Slocan Lake, or at numerous other locations. (This beach on the Slocan River, near the confluence with the Kootenay River, is one of many.) |  |
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We have snowshoes available for guests' use in winter. In summer, we have rafts available as well. For groups of 4 to 8, enquire about all-inclusive package deals on hiking and flat water rafting.
For more information on activities in the West Kootenays, check out the Kootenay Experience Guide
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