What to do Kootenay area?

[RichieRich]

Area: Canal Flats / Fairmont / Invermere

Doing short trip to this area... on a fairly tight budget... looking for ideas for family-fun oriented activities. Bonus points if someone with mobility issues can do it too (they can walk a few 100 meters, and/or be piggybacked by yours truly). idea is to disconnect, not have too many people around, quiet time (for naps, reading, art, crafts, hanging out, games). Staying closer to Fairmont area.

Ideas so far:
Radium hot springs / Lussier natural springs
Invermere / Windermere beaches & parks
Invermere bakery / Huckleberries / ?
Fairmont ?
Canal flats?
Maybe Canoe outing? (Invermere)

Any other highly recommended things to do or places to eat at?

[bizaro86]

You can float down the river in Fairmont. Its pretty nice, winds through the golf course and forest. We saw a bald eagle last time. If you have tubes or rafts its free.

[Manhattanboy]

Bring a respirator!!

[undercoverbrother]

Lazy Lake

If the fire is out

It’s about 60km fro Canal Flats

Warm clear water, cliff jumping, rope swings

Sorry just re-read your post Lazy Lake isn’t the place for you it is pretty rustic and would present mobility issues

Sorry

[chedder]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

Lazy Lake

If the fire is out

It’s about 60km fro Canal Flats

Warm clear water, cliff jumping, rope swings

Sorry just re-read your post Lazy Lake isn’t the place for you it is pretty rustic and would present mobility issues

Sorry

Shouldn't be going anywhere near lazy lake right now. 41 properties have been evacuated and the fire around it is 1900 hectares in size.

[Table 5]

Just came back from a few days in Invermere/Fairmont. It was pretty hazy, but the smoke itself wasn't too bad. Seems like it changes frequently though...we even saw a few hours of blue sky.

Just an FYI that while Fairmont Hot Springs is great, it's only open to hotel guests still.

I second the winding float down the river, especially if you have your own tube or kayaks.

[topfiverecords]

First thing to do:
Check forest fire information

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by chedder

Shouldn't be going anywhere near lazy lake right now. 41 properties have been evacuated and the fire around it is 1900 hectares in size.

That’s why I said “if the fire is out”

Clearly it ain’t

[Northendzone]

Eat at pepe’s pizza in invermere

[billybob123]

Fishing is pretty good. Bass in Windermere Lake. $36 for a weekly license as a mon-resident. There is no restriction on bait so you can use just about anything to catch there.

[RichieRich]

Thanks all. Much appreciated. supposed to rain tomorrow which should help everyones situation out there as well.


Two good sites to share:
https://aqicn.org/city/british-comlu...-muriel-baxter
... you can also find Calgary or other areas and check their current levels. Sometimes a few screen refreshes will also give you a forecast of air quality which is useful.


Someone else on CP posted this awesome link to see the current active fires and forecast smoke:
https://firesmoke.ca/forecasts/current/

[blender]

Lillian Lake is good for canoeing; you can rent canoes in Radium and have them dropped off waiting for you at the lake.

Cycling the old coach road out of Radium is also enjoyable day trip. I believe you can go all the way to Invermere, but not 100% sure.

[Voodooman]

If your children have wronged you in some way, or you just feel the need to make them suffer for a day, I would highly recommend the Fort Steele heritage town down close to Cranbrook.

Think Heritage Park, but without all the glitz and glamour.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Voodooman

If your children have wronged you in some way, or you just feel the need to make them suffer for a day, I would highly recommend the Fort Steele heritage town down close to Cranbrook.

Think Heritage Park, but without all the glitz and glamour.

Oh god, we were the worst kids, and got taken there twice. The only good thing I remember is the candy sticks. Just picturing the Fort Steele sign brings back the trauma.

[MRCboicgy]

Hang out with a CP Mod?

[you&me]

It's been years since I've done either of these, so hopefully someone can chime in with a more recent take, but two of my go-to's in this area were Lussier hot springs in White Swan provincial park and Premier Lake.

The Lussier hot springs are very natural and a nice change from the petri dish that is Fairmont and Radium, though accessibility might be an issue.

Premier Lake is - as I remember it - a very quiet and small lake... the kind of place you can pack a picnic lunch to and just enjoy some peace and quiet.

IIRC, both options are free, or nearly free...

[troutman]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kootenays

The Kootenays are commonly split either into East and West, or East, Central and West. In general use amongst locals of the area, the "East/West" convention is more common as a descriptor of where someone is from or where a town is located (rather than splitting the region into "East/Central/West" subregions). That being said:

The usual East-West separator is the Purcell Mountains, a range running north/south through the region. Areas to the east of this range are deemed to be in "East Kootenay" or the "East Kootenays" while places west of this division are in "West Kootenay" or the "West Kootenays". This places Creston and points east in the East Kootenay (or East Kootenays) and Crawford Bay, Salmo and points west in the West Kootenay (or West Kootenays).

The usual East-Central-West separators are the Purcell Mountains splitting East from Central and the Selkirk Mountains splitting Central from West.

It remains unclear why both Kootenay and Kootenays are used somewhat interchangeably to describe the area. The plural form is in reference to The Kootenays, both East and West; the singular is in reference to the Kootenay Region. In practice the two terms are used interchangeably, although one indicates a geographical region and the other a legal boundary, the Kootenay Land District, which was identical with the original federal and provincial Kootenay ridings.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Oh god, we were the worst kids, and got taken there twice. The only good thing I remember is the candy sticks. Just picturing the Fort Steele sign brings back the trauma.

Hahaha.

I loved Ft Steele when I was a kid.

What does that say about me?

Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk

[blender]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

Hahaha.

I loved Ft Steele when I was a kid.

What does that say about me?

Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk

You are old at heart

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Voodooman

If your children have wronged you in some way, or you just feel the need to make them suffer for a day, I would highly recommend the Fort Steele heritage town down close to Cranbrook.

Think Heritage Park, but without all the glitz and glamour.

The only good thing about Ft Steele is there is a point where you overlook the coming together of the Kooteney (dirty river) and the Columbia (clean river), the two run side by side for a bit before they mix. Looks cool.

That is all.