Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
5
Fort Steele Heritage Town, in the heart of the mountains.
© Fort Steele Heritage Town / Bob Holm
Creston Valley
Wildlife Area
quent arrival of the Canadian Pacifi c
Railway in 1898 made the community
the region's main trading area, and it
remains the main service centre for the
East Kootenays.
The Creston Valley Wildlife Area is
certainly worth stopping at. The inter-
nationally acclaimed conservation area
is a 7,000ha fertile wetland, with yel-
low-headed blackbirds, western paint-
ed turtles and spotted frogs. More than
265 species of nesting and migratory
birds can be viewed here, and an ex-
cellent one-hour guided canoe tour of
the marshes is also offered.
Fort Steele Heritage Town
is a
wonderful reconstructed boomtown
with 58 buildings, about 10km north
of Cranbrook. The original commun-
ity emerged with the gold rush; strife
with the local Kootenay First Nation led
the North-West Mounted Police to send
Inspector Sam Steele, who built the bar-
racks that became known as Fort Steele.
The decision to take the railroad through
Cranbrook instead of Fort Steele in 1898
sealed the town's fate, and by the end of
World War II the population had dwin-
dled to just 50.
Cranbrook
Conveniently located between
the Okanagan Valley and Calgary,
Cranbrook is situated on the plains be-
tween the Purcell and Rocky Mountains.
The discovery of gold and the subse-
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