Navigation

Nelson, British Columbia, Canada travel information

News

Nelson BC is located in the West Kootenays region of BritishColumbia, Canada. If you look at a map of British Columbia, theKootenays are located in the southeast area of the province.Nelson is approximately midway between Vancouver and Calgary. Ifyou are coming from the US, Nelson is approximately a three-hourscenic drive from Spokane, Washington (including time for theborder crossing). The city of Nelson was established on the southern shores ofKootenay Lake in the late 1800's. Commerce originally centeredaround mining, forestry and trade. In the early 1980's, the mainsawmill in town closed down and the economy of the citysuffered. Since then, Nelson has become more diversified, andalong with forestry the area is now well known for it's arts,culture, tourism, and outdoors opportunities. If you are planning a visit to Nelson, there are a number ofhotels and motels to choose from. The main hotels include thePrestige Inn, the Hume Hotel, the Best Western, the New Grandhotel, and the Alpine motel. If you would like to stay rightdowntown, your best bets are the Hume, New Grand, or BestWestern. These three hotels all have their own restaurants. ThePrestige Inn is located right on the shore of Kootenay Lake, ifyou like to be near the water. If you are traveling by RV, thereis a Walmart at the main mall in town. RV's can often be seenspending the night in the Walmart parking lot. The main street in Nelson is called Baker Street. Here you willfind a diversified assortment of stores and cafes to browse,including fine coffee houses, restaurants, outdoor outfitters,ski and snowboard stores, bike stores, gifts, arts and crafts,and bookstores. If you're a coffee lover, a stay in Nelsonwouldn't be complete without a taste of locally made Oso Negrocoffee. If biking is your thing, you'll have to make a stop atthe Sacred Ride bike shop at the west end of Baker Street. Thereare three major banks on Baker if you need to access cash.Looking to buy property or a house in Nelson? There are threereal estate storefronts on Baker Street where you


travel,,Flights,,vacation package

can perusephotos of Nelson and area realty. Need some ideas of things to do in Nelson? You could spend sometime down at Lakeside Park. There is a sandy beach for swimmingor sun tanning, lots of grassy areas for picnics, a children'splayground, and soccer and baseball fields. There is also aheritage streetcar ride that travels between Lakeside Park andthe Prestige Inn. You can go swimming indoors at the Aquaticcenter, which has a full pool, kids pool, sauna, steam room andhot pool. The Aquatic center is located in the newly constructedrecreation center, which hosts Nelson's new hockey arena. Outside of Nelson, you can travel up highway 31 to Ainsworth HotSprings (approximately 45 km north) for a day in the naturalwarm spring waters and caves. The hot springs are directlyadjacent to a hotel and restaurant. You can also take thelongest free ferry ride at Balfour (35 km north of Nelson)across Kootenay Lake to Crawford Bay. If you prefer mountainbiking, park off-highway at the start of any forest road andspend a day exploring on the mountains. Wildlife you may seeinclude deer, elk, moose, cougar and black bears. The highwayturn off to the Whitewater ski hill is 10 km south of Nelson. Ifyou park at the highway turn off, you will find the NelsonNordic ski club cross-country ski trails. Other towns you maywant to visit within an easy day's drive include Kaslo, Ymir,Salmo, Castlegar, Trail, Rossland, and Slocan City. Travel to Nelson continues to increase, and most of it comesthrough 'word of mouth' advertising. Some who thought they werecoming for a visit ended up relocating here, saying they havenever seen any other place quite like Nelson. So whether you'relooking for some relaxation, an adventure, or a chance to berevitalized, the odds are you will find it in Nelson. About the author: Robert Borhi is a freelance writer and owner of SkiNelson.com, awebsite where you can find more information and links forNelson, BC. If you would like more information on Nelson and thesurrounding area, please visit http://www.SkiNelson.com

Written by: Robert Borhi

XML error: mismatched tag at line 20