THE KOOTENAYS - British Columbia: Including the Alaska Highway - page 426

Because of the park's remote location, it's vital to pick up information on road and
hiking-trail conditions at the visitor center in Nelson. In years of high snowfall, some hiking
trails are impassable until late July.
World's Longest Free Ferry Ride
Back in the 1890s, stern-wheelers plied Kootenay Lake, dropping off prospectors and sup-
plies at isolated mining camps and settlements along its shores. But completion of the rail-
way in the early 1900s quickly put most of the stern-wheelers out of action. Today one
public ferry remains, and it's now the “world's longest free ferry ride.” The 45-minute trip
across Kootenay Lake from Balfour to Kootenay Bay offers majestic lake and mountain
scenery and makes a good route to Creston and points east. It departs every 60 to 90 minutes
from 6:30am-9:30pm.
Ainsworth Hot Springs
Overlooking Kootenay Lake from a hillside 17 kilometers north of Balfour, the Ainsworth
Hot Springs (Hwy. 31, 250/229-4212, 10am-9:30pm daily, adult $11.50, senior $10.50,
child $9.50) were discovered in the early 1800s by First Nations people who found that
the hot, odorless water helped heal their wounds and ease their aches and pains. Today the
springs have been commercialized and include a main outdoor pool, a hot tub, a steam bath,
and a cold plunge pool.
If you want a bit more pampering, stay at Ainsworth Hot Springs Resort (250/
229-4212 or 800/668-1171, www.hotnaturally.com , $154-249 s or d), which features exer-
cise and massage rooms, wireless Internet, a lounge, and a restaurant overlooking the main
pool and beautiful Kootenay Lake. Although room rates start at $154, you pay from $194
for a lake view.
KASLO
Tree-lined streets graced by elegant late-19th-century architecture, lake and mountain views
from almost every street, and the world's oldest passenger stern-wheeler tied up at the wharf
make Kaslo (pop. 1,000), 70 kilometers (44 miles) north of Nelson, a worthwhile stop.
Another of the Kootenays' great boomtowns, Kaslo began as a sawmill community in
1889. But nearby silver strikes in 1893 quickly turned the town into a bustling city of 3,000
and an important commercial hub; a railway brought silver down from Sandon to Kaslo,
where it was loaded onto steamers and shipped out to Creston and the outside world. The
town's 1898 city hall is one of only two wooden buildings in the country that are still the
seats of local government.