Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
All the information you'll need on Nelson and the Kootenays is available at
Nelson
Visitor Centre
(225 Hall St., 250/352-3433 or 877/663-5706,
www.discovernelson.com
,
8:30am-6pm daily in summer, 8:30am-4:30pm Mon.-Fri. the rest of the year).
Otter Books
(398 Baker St., 250/352-3434, 9:30am-5:30 Mon.-Sat., 11am-4pm Sun.)
has an excellent selection of books about the Kootenays ranging from ghost town guides
to the history of the Kettle River Railway. Cavernous
Packrat Annie's
(411 Kootenay St.,
250/354-4722, 9am-5:30pm Mon.-Fri., 9am-5pm Sat., 10am-3pm Sun.) sells used books
and CDs, and offers good people-watching opportunities.
Kootenay Hospital
is east of downtown (3 View St., 250/352-3111). The
post office
is
at 514 Vernon Street.
Although roads radiate out from Nelson in all directions, it's a long way to other major cen-
ters. Closest is Spokane, in Washington State, which is 237 kilometers (148 miles) to the
south. Driving in from the Okanagan Valley takes around four hours from Kelowna (338
km/211 miles) and at least seven or eight from Vancouver (660 km/410 miles). Continuing
eastward, allow three hours for the 221-kilometer (138-mile) mountain drive to Cranbrook.
Long-distance bus transportation is provided by
Greyhound.
The depot is at the
Chahko-Mika Mall (1112 Lakeside Dr., 250/352-3939). From Vancouver, buses come into
Nelson via Castlegar, then continue east to Cranbrook.
For details of local bus transportation, call the
Nelson Transit System
(250/352-8201).
Heading first north, then east from Nelson, Highway 3A follows a narrow arm of Kootenay
Lake before coming to the main, 100-kilometer-long (62-mile-long) body of water at
Balfour. From there, you have a choice of routes. You can cross Kootenay Lake by ferry
and follow the east shore of the lake down to Creston, or you can continue north up the west
shore of the lake, passing through Ainsworth Hot Springs and Kaslo before arcing back
west to Slocan Valley and Arrow Lake.
Search WWH ::
Custom Search