Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The town of Christina Lake is spread around the southern end of the lake, where
the best beach is protected from development by a small day-use area. The best-value
motel is the New Horizon Motel (2037 Hwy. 3, 250/447-9312 or 888/859-0159,
www.newhorizonmotel.com , $105-195 s or d), along the highway at the eastern edge of
town. Rooms are spacious and comfortable, and a light breakfast is included in the rates.
Signposted at the north end of the lake is Gladstone Provincial Park, where you need re-
servations to ensure a site at Texas Creek Campground (519/826-6850 or 800/689-9025,
www.discovercamping.ca , May-mid-Sept., $21).
ROSSLAND
Clinging to the slopes of an extinct volcanic crater deep in the tree-covered Monashee
Mountains, Rossland (pop. 4,000) was once a Gold-Rush boomtown known as “The Golden
City.” The precious yellow metal was discovered on 1,580-meter (5,180-foot) Red Moun-
tain by Joe Moris in 1890. Moris, like thousands of other prospectors unaware of the nearby
wealth, had been traveling eastward on the Dewdney Trail to goldfields farther away. He
nevertheless staked five claims on Red Mountain, the richest of which, Le Roi, later sold
for $3 million. When word got out, thousands of diggers rushed in, and the township of
Rossland was born. The town's population peaked at 7,000 in 1897. At that time, the city
boasted four newspapers, 40 saloons, and daily rail service south to Spokane. By 1929, the
mountain had yielded six million tons of ore worth $165 million. Today, tourism supplies
the bulk of Rossland's gold; the town serves as a hidden haven for mountain bike enthusi-
asts and adventurous skiers and boarders.
Sights
Downtown Rossland is a picturesque place full of historic buildings and old-fashioned
street lamps. On the west side of downtown is the Rossland Museum (Hwy. 3B and
Columbia Ave., 250/362-7722, 10am-4pm daily mid-May-mid-Oct., adult $10, senior $8,
child $3). At the entrance of the Le Roi mine, the museum catalogs the area's lustrous geo-
logical and human history. The museum also holds the Western Canada Ski Hall of Fame,
which honors such luminaries as Olaus Jeldness—instigator of the local ski craze—and
champion skier Nancy Greene, a local heroine who won a gold medal in the 1968 Olympics.
Mountain Biking
Each spring, Rossland comes alive with pedal power as mountain bike enthusiasts take ad-
vantage of the maze of old logging and mining trails surrounding the city. Now known as
the “Mountain Bike Capital of Canada,” Rossland has hosted both the Canadian and North
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