Lonely Planet Best Road Trips Canadian Rockies by Lonely Planet

Author:Lonely Planet
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781837581276
Publisher: Lonely Planet Global Limited
Published: 2023-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

GIBSONPICTURES/GETTY IMAGES ©

Nelson to Revelstoke

Heading north from Nelson to Revelstoke, there are two options, both scenic. Hwy 6 heads west for 16km before turning north at South Slocan. The road eventually runs alongside pretty Slocan Lake for about 30km before reaching New Denver, 97km from Nelson.

The most interesting route is north and east from Nelson on Hwy 3A. Head 34km northeast to Balfour, where the free Kootenay Lake Ferry connects to Kootenay Bay. The ferry’s worthwhile for its long lake vistas of blue mountains rising sharply from the water. From Kootenay Bay, Hwy 3A heads 80km south to Creston. Continuing north from the ferry at Balfour, the road becomes Hwy 31 and follows the lake 34km to Kaslo, passing cute towns. West from Kaslo to New Denver on Rte 31A is spectacular. North of there you pass Nakusp village and another free ferry before reaching Revelstoke. This is a great all-day trip.

8 Kootenay Ferries

The long Kootenay and Upper and Lower Arrow Lakes necessitate some scenic travel on inland ferries. On busy summer weekends, you may have to wait in a long line for a sailing or two before you get passage.

Kootenay Lake Ferry (250-229-215; www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/transportation/passenger-travel) sails between Balfour on the west arm of Kootenay Lake (34km northeast of Nelson) and Kootenay Bay, where you can follow Hwy 3A for the pretty 80km ride south to Creston. It is a 35-minute crossing. Departs Balfour every 50 minutes from 6:30am to 9:40pm, and Kootenay Lake from 7:10am to 10:20pm.

Needles Ferry ( 250-837-8418; every 30mins, 24hr) crosses Lower Arrow Lake between Fauquier (57km south of Nakusp) and Needles (135km east of Vernon) on Hwy 6. The trip takes five minutes. This is a good link between the Okanagan Valley and the Kootenays.

Upper Arrow Lake Ferry (250-837-8418) runs between Galena Bay (49km north of Nakusp) and Shelter Bay (49km south of Revelstoke) on Hwy 23. The trip takes 20 minutes and runs from 5am to midnight every hour from Shelter Bay and every hour between 5:30am and 12:30am from Galena Bay.

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