Kaslo
Kaslo is a village of almost 1,000 people (2016) in the West Kootenays of British Columbia. It is sometimes called the Switzerland of the Americas.
Understand
Kaslo was designated as a sawmill site in 1889, and grew on the silver boom of the 19th century. It retains much of the history from its mining days. The town today relies mainly on the industries of forestry and tourism.
Kaslo was incorporated as a city on August 14, 1893, making it the oldest incorporated community in the Kootenays. It was an important center for shipping and silver ore mining. After the silver rush Kaslo's fortunes faded but it was re-incorporated as a village on January 1, 1959.
- 🌍 Kaslo Visitor Centre, 324 Front St, ☏ +1 250-353-2525, fax: +1 250-353-2525, ssmoyie@klhs.bc.ca. May 10-Oct 12: daily 10AM-6PM; mid Oct-mid May: closed. The visitor centre is on Kootenay Lake with views of the Purcell and Selkirk Mountains. There is a swimming beach with picnic area. The centre is wheelchair-accessible, dog-friendly and has a gift shop.
Get in
By car
- Kaslo is about 65 km north of Nelson (British Columbia) along the west side of Kootenay Lake. The easiest way to get to Kaslo is by vehicle as there is very limited public transit in this area.
By plane
By bus
- BC Transit (West Kootenay Transit System), toll-free: +1-855-993-3100. Offers Health Connections trips three days per week between Balfour and Kaslo. Also offers a route between Balfour and Nelson. Health Connections trips are open to everyone to ride, but must be reserved in advance and trips to medical appointments receive priority.
- Mountain Man Mike's Bus Service (stops at Husky Gas at 702 Nelson Ave), ☏ +1-778-382-7729, info@mountainmanmikes.ca. Operates a route between Kaslo and Vancouver, and route between Kaslo and Calgary.
- Operates two days per week between Kaslo and Vancouver with stops in Balfour, Nelson, Castlegar, Christina Lake, Grand Forks, Greenwood, Rock Creek, Osoyoos, Keremeos, Princeton, Manning Provincial Park, Hope, Chilliwack, Abbotsford, Langley, and New Westminster. Travel time to Nalso from Nelson is 1 hour, from Castlegar is 1.75 hours, from Grand Forks is 3.25 hours, from Osoyoos is 4.5 hours, from Princeton is 6.25 hours, from Hope is 8 hours, from Abbotsford is 9.25, and from Vancouver is 10.5 hours.
- Operates once per week between Calgary and Kaslo with stops in Okotoks, High River, Claresholm, Lethbridge, Fort Macleod, Pincher Creek, Sparwood, Fernie, Cranbrook, Creston, Salmo, Nelson, and Balfour. Travel time to Kaslo from Calgary is 10.75 hours, from Lethbridge is 8 hours, from Sparwood is 6 hours, from Cranbrook is 4 hours, and from Nelson is 1 hour.
Get around
Kaslo is small enough to be easily walkable and the main "shopping district" is only about a block long. Park your vehicle on a side street and wander. "Lower Kaslo", as the name suggests, is closest to Kootenay Lake and is where stores and shops can be found. "Upper Kaslo" is mainly residential with great views of the village's natural setting.
See
- 🌍 SS Moyie National Historic Site, 324 Front Street. 9AM - 5PM. A world's oldest intact passenger sternwheeler, lovingly restored by the Kootenay Lake Historical Society, now making its home on the lakeshore just a minute or two walk from downtown. $7.
- May Days and Kaslo Logger Sports. Over the third weekend in May (a holiday weekend), Kaslo celebrates May Days with the main attraction being the Logger Sports activities. It's a good display of the varied skills found in this erstwhile logging town. With the logging industry going through a sustained slowdown, these skills seem to be finding more use in the tourist business than in the woods.
- 🌍 Village Hall, 413 4th St, ☏ +1 250-353-2311. Built in 1898, it is one of only two intact wooden municipal buildings that are still in use in Canada.
- 🌍 Meadow Creek Spawning Channel (about 45 minutes north of Kaslo). At the right time of year, late August to October, the Kokanee salmon (aka Redfish) start spawning. An excellent place to see them is the Meadow Creek Spawning Channel.
Do
- 🌍 Kaslo River Trail. Hike this 3-km scenic trail loop from town along the Kaslo River and across the Kaslo River Bridge and back to town. The whole project, trail and bridge, is the legacy of a local trail group, the Kaslo Trailblazers.
- 🌍 Kaslo Jazz Etc Summer Music Festival (Kaslo Bay Park), info@kaslojazzfest.com. Includes blues, jazz, latin, folk, and world music. Held during the first weekend of August, which is a long weekend.
- Kayaking. Be aware that Kootenay Lake may look like a calm millpond at times, but can experience high winds that attack without notice, making the lake very rough and potentially dangerous. You could end up trapped on the other side of the lake, or worse.
- 🌍 Kaslo Kayaking, 315 A Ave, ☏ +1 250-353-1925. Kayak rental, lessons, and tours.
- 🌍 Mount Buchanan. Drive to the top of the mountain for a fantastic view of Kaslo, Kootenay Lake and the surrounding mountains from an old fire lookout almost a kilometer above the town. Most vehicles can handle the Mount Buchanan Forest Service Road, about 12 km west of Kaslo on Hwy 31A towards New Denver, just be aware that it is steep in places and requires some care.
Buy
Kaslo has most of the essential shops available, including a grocery store, an organic food store, a bakery, liquor store, post office, a couple of gas stations and a selection of shops selling flowers, clothes and souvenirs.
Eat
- 🌍 Treehouse Restaurant, 419 Front St, ☏ +1 250-353-2955. This seems to be where the locals often go for breakfast and such.
- 🌍 Kaslo Golf Course, 418 Pine St, ☏ +1 250-353-2262. 7AM to 8PM. The clubhouse has a good restaurant which is developing a reputation for quite decent food. The view from the restaurant, inside or from the deck, is really quite inspiring and looks out across Kootenay Lake to the Purcell Mountains.
Drink
- 🌍 Angry Hen Brewing Co., 343 Front St, ☏ +1 250-353-7446.
- 🌍 The Waypoint Restaurant and Bar, 430 Front St, ☏ +1 250-353-7714. A renovated building in the centre of town with great views from the pub and restaurant out to Kootenay Lake and the Purcell Mountains to the east.
Sleep
There is a good number of places to find overnight accommodation, including a hotel, a motel, many B&Bs and several campgrounds in the area.
- 🌍 Kaslo Hotel, 430 Front St, ☏ +1 250-353-7714, toll-free: +1-866-823-1433.
- 🌍 Kaslo Motel, 330 D Ave, ☏ +1 250-353-2431.
- 🌍 Mirror Lake Campground, Arcola Rd, ☏ +1 250-353-7102. About 4 km south of Kaslo on Mirror Lake.
- 🌍 Kaslo Municipal Campground (entrance is on the east side of intersection of A Ave and 2nd St), ☏ +1 250-353-2662. On the lakefront at the foot of A Ave in Lower Kaslo.
- 🌍 Kootenay Lake Provincial Park, Hwy 31 north of Kaslo. $15 & $10. Two campsites (🌍 Lost Ledges and 🌍 Davis Creek), 25 and 30 km respectively, north of Kaslo on Hwy 31 towards Meadow Creek.
- 🌍 Beach Gables Guesthouse Motel, 243 Front St, ☏ +1 250-353-2111. A restored heritage building across the street from Kaslo's beach on Kootenay Lake within view of the SS Moyie and a block from downtown Kaslo. $85-105.
- 🌍 Kaslo Manor Lodge, 105 Washington St N (Upper Kaslo), ☏ +1 250-353-2999. A complete restoration of an original 1896 original. Has complimentary high speed internet, cable TV and private baths. From $80.
Stay healthy
- 🌍 Kaslo Primary Health Centre, 673 A Avenue, ☏ +1 250-353-2291.
Connect
Internet access can be obtained at several locations in town:
- 🌍 Kaslo Public Library, 413 Fourth St, ☏ +1 250-353-2942. Has Internet-accessible computers available for free public use. The Library has somewhat restricted hours of operation so it's best to check their website to see when they're open first .
WiFi Hotspots
- The Kaslo Hotel (see listing under "Sleep") has free Wi-Fi access.
Go next
If you really want to get out, consider going on a challenging backcountry hike. There are many to choose from and they've been keeping lots of the locals busy for years. These aren't always easy to find and they are challenging, so you need to be prepared. Arm yourself with a copy of the trail guide Where Locals Hike in the West Kootenay, the latest copy of the Backroads Mapbook of the area, possibly a topographic map, a high clearance vehicle and some knowledge of how to conduct yourself in mountainous terrain where bears live and visit some of the truly stunning destinations available in the area. Some examples would include Monica Meadows, Macbeth Icefield trail, Whitewater Creek (not anywhere near the ski hill, despite the similar name), Fry Creek Canyon, Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park.
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