An adventure in the Kootenays along the BC Ale Trail with hot springs and cold beer
One of my favourite B.C. pastimes is a good long soak in a hot spring. Summer or winter, the hot, mineral-rich water is refreshing and invigorating, especially after a day in the mountains, whether it’s spent hiking, skiing, or even just driving around a car full of screaming children.
The Kootenays are home to six hot spring resorts and dozens more backcountry hot springs accessible only by 4×4 or hiking in. The tectonic activity that resulted in the stunning mountain vistas that stretch skyward on all sides is also responsible for the abundance of geothermal activity in the area.
This past summer, my wife and I decided to explore what the Kootenays have to offer in terms of liquid refreshment—be it liquid one soaks in or liquid one drinks—roughly following the provincial Hot Springs Route.
Naturally, this route is also home to a plethora of delicious craft breweries. The BC Ale Trail provides prospective pursuants of primo pilsners and pale ales with the Kootenay Rockies East and Kootenay Rockies West ale trails, covering dozens of award-winning breweries in the area.
As we were to discover, the only thing more refreshing than a delicious locally brewed craft beer is one you’ve had after a refreshing hot spring soak.
Canyon Hot Springs / Whitetooth Brewing Co.
Since we had our two small children in tow, we opted to focus on the hot spring resorts for this trip. Our first stop was Canyon Hot Springs, roughly in the middle of nowhere between Revelstoke and Golden, yet highly accessible given its location just off the Trans-Canada Highway.
We pulled into the expansive RV park and resort in the early evening as the sun was setting after a long but mercifully uneventful drive up from the coast. With the children starting to get restless in the back seat, a pool break was the perfect opportunity for everyone to stretch their legs and get their sillies out.
In fact, given its location roughly halfway between Vancouver and Calgary, anyone road-tripping over the Continental Divide would be well advised to stop off at Canyon Hot Springs for an hour or two to rest and recharge.
The resort itself features more than 100 RV and campsites, as well as dozens of cabins. But we were just here for the hot springs, and like at all of BC’s hot springs resorts, pool passes are available for those not staying overnight.
The pool facilities at Canyon Hot Springs feature a 55,000-litre hot pool for soaking up all that mineral goodness, and a much larger, 225,000-litre swimming pool for when it’s time to cool off. The water itself is sourced from a natural hot spring three kilometres away in Albert Canyon and piped into the resort at a piping hot 40°C.
We watched the sun set behind the Monashee Mountains to the west and with the greasy film of a long day’s drive sufficiently washed away, we continued on down the road to Golden, home of the award-winning Whitetooth Brewing Co.
Our hotel for the night was conveniently located directly behind the brewery, so the next day after checking out, and after a short jaunt around the picturesque mountain town’s many riverside walking trails, we sidled up to Whitetooth’s sunny and expansive outdoor patio for some wood fired pizza and some ice cold beer.
The Icefields Pale Ale went down a treat, with its sturdy off-sweet malt profile of cracker and toast, classic West Coast hop character, and moderate bitterness complemented by fruity ester notes. As we sat in awe of the sunbathed mountains surrounding us, it was hard to imagine a more delicious and refreshing start to the day.
Radium Hot Springs / Arrowhead Brewing
An hour down the Rocky Mountain Trench is historic Radium Hot Springs, located in Kootenay National Park, as well as the town of the same name. You know a hot spring is going to be legit when they name the whole town after it.
The hot springs here have been enjoyed for thousands of years, with evidence of the indigenous Ktunaxa people visiting the springs for millennia. It was previously known as Sinclair Hot Springs, named after the leader of the Métis community that settled in the area in the 1840s, before being renamed Radium Hot Springs in 1915 after the discovery of radon in the water. Thankfully, the radioactive radon levels are very low and completely harmless, with a half-hour soak equivalent to eating about a dozen bananas in terms of radiation exposure.
The hot springs are located in the middle of a literal canyon, with the facilities jammed into either side of Highway 93. The modern facilities were first built in 1949, and while they’ve been continuously updated to current standards, they still retain a certain vintage charm.
The pools are technically part of the national park system and the facilities could not be more top-notch. The hot pool is roughly the size of a football field, providing more than enough room for my frolicking children to frolick without frolicking into folks who were not interested in frolicking. Flanked by the steep cliffs of the Rocky Mountains on all sides, you could easily imagine bighorn sheep pondering the curious hairless apes soaking below. Sadly, we didn’t see any bighorns on our visit, but a local regular soaking beside us said they were frequent visitors.
The cold plunge pool was invigorating after a long soak in the hot pool. My seven-year-old son certainly thought so, and was inspired enough to cannonball into the frigid waters, much to the dismay of the more timid guests in the tiny, ice-cold tub. After apologizing profusely, I ushered the kids to the Olympic-sized cool pool, which was equipped with swim lanes and waterslides.
Radium Hot Springs is open year-round, and while the hot sunshine and blue skies on our visit were lovely, I couldn’t help but imagine the mountains blanketed in snow, steam rising from hot pools in the cold air. I think we’ll definitely be back in the winter. It would be a great excuse to check out some of the world-class skiing nearby, too.
After a few dozen bananas, we carried on our merry way south down the broad, expansive Columbia River valley running parallel to the majestic Rocky Mountains to the east. Fifteen minutes down the road we found ourselves at Arrowhead Brewing’s old-timey gas station-themed taproom and pulled in for a fill-up.
The Doc Tegart’s ESB was the perfect pairing with a day of hot springing. Sweet malty notes of roasted barley and toast were balanced by a healthy dose of citrusy hops to dry things out, ensuring a smooth and refreshing finish. The first one was delicious, and the second was even better!
With a plethora of reasonably priced motels to choose from, we backtracked to Radium Hot Springs for the night feeling refreshed and relaxed.
Fairmont Hot Springs / Encore Brewing
A short 30-minute drive from Radium Hot Springs is the year-round hot springs resort of Fairmont Hot Springs (which curiously has no connection to the Fairmont luxury hotel and resort chain). While the resort boasts a ski hill, three golf courses, a driving range, mini-golf, seven restaurants and bars, horseback riding, hiking trails, mountain biking, ziplines, a hotel, cabins and cottages, an RV park, and a campground (phew!), we were here for the hot springs.
With 1.2 million gallons of piping hot spring water gushing from its source daily, Fairmont Hot Springs is the largest natural mineral hot spring in Canada.
The resort features three public hot spring pools (as well as a guest-exclusive pool), with a large, shallow warm pool perfect for the kiddos, as well as a deeper diving pool and 40 C hot soaking pool, so there was an option here for everyone. While there was no cold plunge pool, there was something even better: In the middle of the hot soak pool, a man-made geyser that poured ice-cold water. We sat next the geyser in the steaming hot mineral pool while the ice-cold water ran over our heads and shoulders, staring at the gloriously blue sky above, relaxed to an extent almost unknown to parents of small children.
I asked my son what could be better than this, and he replied, “Fresh homemade donuts?” which I thought was rather specific. Turns out, he had spied a sign for the poolside snack bar advertising the delicious treats.
After a generous hours-long soak, I conceded that fresh homemade donuts did sound like a pretty good idea. And wouldn’t you know it, he was right!
An hour’s drive further south we found ourselves in Cranbrook hungry, thirsty and in want of activities to entertain the kids. Thankfully, Encore Brewing provided on all fronts.
Located in a converted bowling alley, Encore Brewing might take the gold medal for the coveted BC’s Most Fun Brewery Award, which I just invented. There’s five-pin bowling, a vintage arcade, skeeball, basketball, board games, oversized table games like Connect Four, live music and events—oh yeah, and there’s delicious beer and food, too!
The kids were entertained, leaving me and my wife to sample a flight of Encore’s lineup of hop-forward IPAs and pale ales in relative peace.
The Jam Jam Sour was our favourite, a tart and fruity raspberry kettle sour with balanced acidity and lovely juicy berry notes. At 4.7% ABV, it was one of many beers at Encore that clock in at under 5.0%, much to our delight.
Encore also features a full food menu with elevated versions of bowling alley classics like pizza, hot dogs, tacos, and sandwiches. With so many delicious options, we were a little unsure of what to order, so we just kind of got everything! We’re talking soft pretzels, chilli dogs, Szechuan pork shoulder tacos, and a large pizza with Calabrese and Genoa salami, double-smoked sausage, pepperoni and mozzarella, because why the heck not.
I regret nothing. If Encore wasn’t roughly a 12-hour drive from my front door in Victoria, I would be here every dang day.
Unfortunately, Encore was so awesome that we ended up spending WAY more time there than we intended, which meant that it would be too late for us to set up camp that night at Kootenay Lake (again, no regrets). Since the sun was already setting, we instead decided to drive to Nelson and get a hotel there.
Ainsworth Hot Springs / Nelson Brewing
I’m not sure if Nelson is the steepest town in BC, but it has to be right up there.
Once we got checked out of the hotel, we popped in to visit with some friends and let the kids have a bounce on their trampoline before going for a lovely walk around their Nelson neighbourhood of Mountain Station. The walk down to Nelson Brewing, which is literally built into the steep hillside, was easy enough. The walk back up the hill loaded with beer, however, was a workout. I really earned that Hooligan Pilsner, I told myself. Crisp and refreshing with subtle, balanced notes of cracker, spice and floral hops, it’s easy to see why nearly every establishment in town has it on tap.
As it had been nearly 24 hours since our last dip in a hot spring, we said our goodbyes and headed north out of town and up picturesque Kootenay Lake to Ainsworth Hot Springs for our mineral water fix.
While the pools at Ainsworth might be small compared to the vast facilities at Fairmont and Radium, they have something the others don’t: caves. That’s right, looping under the steep hillside is a steamy, swim-in underground cave, complete with stalactites and all sorts of dark nooks and crannies to relax in. After countless circuits of the cave loop, we had a dip in the ice-cold plunge pool to cool off and took in the view of Kootenay Lake below.
Halcyon Hot Springs / Angry Hen Brewing
Continuing up Kootenay Lake, we arrived in the historic and absolutely adorable town of Kaslo. This tiny lakeside village is home to many things: the popular Kaslo Jazz Festival; the world’s oldest surviving sternwheeler, the SS Moyie; more antique shops per capita than anywhere I’ve ever seen… But we were here for the beer!
Kaslo’s Angry Hen Brewing is the home of Vancouver craft beer legend Shirley Warne. If that name doesn’t ring a bell, it should. Shirley is responsible for teaching many of BC’s craft brewers everything they know, including Conrad Gmoser at Brassneck, Harley Smith at Longwood, Vern Lambourne at Parkside, and the late Tony Dewald of Trading Post.
Shirley’s forever home in Kaslo is a must-visit pilgrimage for craft beer lovers. We got a table on the sunny patio overlooking Kaslo’s historic “downtown” and Kootenay Lake below. Unsurprisingly, the beers were absolutely phenomenal. In particular, Up the Kriek, Shirley’s take on the classic Belgian sour, was tart, funky, complex and delightful with a balanced acidity and lovely bright cherry notes. Just a delight to sip in sunshine while taking in the beauty of the Kootenays.
As if the beers weren’t good enough, the smash burgers and Korean-style hot wings similarly didn’t disappoint, while the kids loved the housemade raspberry soda and ginger ale.
With full bellies we ventured up and over the Selkirk Mountains towards our destination for the night at the Nakusp Municipal Campground on Arrow Lake. But first, we made a detour to the scenic ghost town of Sandon. The former silver mining boom town dates back to the late 1800s, and once boasted a population of 5,000 people, making it one of the biggest towns in BC more than 125 years ago.
Today, the population is less than 10. However, a number of the original buildings remain and some have been restored by the small but dedicated group of folks that still live there. The kids enjoyed looking around the remnants of the town, including the 20-odd former Vancouver electric trolley buses that now call Sandon home. My four-year-old daughter, however, was quite disappointed that we didn’t get to see any actual ghosts (but it was nothing some ice cream couldn’t fix, thankfully).
After a scenic drive through the West Kootenays, we set up camp in Nakusp for the night before heading out in the morning for our final hot spring visit of the trip. The Nakusp area is home to a handful of hot springs, including the rustic St. Leon Creek and Halfway Hot Springs, and the Nakusp Hot Springs Resort. However, we opted for the aptly named Halcyon Hot Springs Resort perched above the shores of Arrow Lakes, right off Highway 23, pretty much in the middle of nowhere.
The resort itself was a perfect spot to spend a few hours relaxing, with a variety of pools at varying temperatures, including a lazy river and a splash park for the kids. Looking out onto the postcard-perfect mountains that surrounded us, my wife and I vowed to return in the winter when snow would completely cover the landscape.
The spring water at Halcyon is unique in that it contains trace amounts of naturally occurring lithium, which in its pharmaceutical form is a prescription mood stabilizer. So perhaps it was no surprise that with our hot spring adventure coming to close I couldn’t help but feel an immense sense of calm and peace as I looked out upon the soaring mountains and the tranquil lake below from the warm comfort of the hot springs pool.
Mind you, hot springs and cold beers in the Kootenays tend to have that effect.
