Nakusp, Kootenays, British Columbia

Several paddle steamers came into service on the lakes, transporting settlers, produce, vacationers, and just about everything else. The boats were retired from active service in the early 1950s.

Population: 1,800

Location: Nakusp is located on the eastern shore of Upper Arrow Lake at the junction of Highway 6 and Highway 23, 29 miles (46 km) northwest of New Denver and approximately 60 miles (96 km) south of Revelstoke.

• The Nakusp and District Museum features an interesting collection of 3,000 unique artifacts, antiques and photographs, including photos of the now submerged towns that dotted the Arrow Lakes before the flooding of the 1960s. Located in a building constructed in 1912 as a school, visitors can flip through pictures dating back to 1904, view period clothing, and learn about the grand time when paddlewheelers were the only way to travel the lakes. Look for the bizarre 'deformed pig', preserved for nearly one hundred years, which died shortly after birth and has 8 legs, 2 tails, 3 tongues and 3 eyes.

• Nakusp Hot Springs, Nakusp, BC

  Nakusp Hot Springs is nestled in the mountains, 12 km up a paved and well-maintained mountain road. Known as the hidden gem of the Kootenays, visitors can soak their bones in a beautiful mountain setting of trees and rushing creeks, go hiking and mountain biking, or camp beside the Kuskanax Creek.

• North of Nakusp is Halcyon Hot Springs, with its 100 years of tradition, surrounded by spectacular alpine peaks, crystal blue lakes, rivers and streams, an abundance of wildlife and a magical legend - a place of recreation and wellness.

• Summer in Nakusp is a feast of mountain and rock climbing, hiking, camping and mountain biking, with Arrow Lakes providing great canoeing, swimming and fishing possibilities.

• There's plenty to do in these parts once Old Man Winter checks in. Located smack in the middle of the Selkirk Mountains to the east and the Monashees to the west, this area is a veritable playground for skiers, snowmobilers and even ice fishermen on Box and Trout Lakes. For the day skier, there's the Summit Lake Ski Area just 20 km south of Nakusp on Hwy 6 to New Denver, and for those seeking more of a challenge, local helicopter skiing companies will whisk you and your guide high into the backcountry, where the finest virgin powder snow lies. Most communities in the area offer cross-country skiing; Barnes Creek between Fauquier and Edgewood, Wensley Creek Ski Trails closer to Nakusp, and the Upper Brouse Road area southeast of Nakusp are but a few that offer trails. Snowcat skiing and snowmobiling also await visitors who are ready for an adventure to happen. Skiing and Winter Recreation in the Kootenays.

• Golf: The 9-hole Nakusp Centennial Golf Club (2,610 yards, par 34) is located on Highway 6, just two minutes southeast of Nakusp. Golf Vacations in the BC Rockies.

• Check out a few of the natural wonders in the area, including Lone Falls, just north of Nakusp.

• The Nakusp Music Fest, held in July, is the largest classic rock festival in the interior of British Columbia. Witness the silly, August long weekend Build, Bail and Sail, where teams build a boat in three hours and then race them - there's always a sinker or two.

• Camping: Campers can find several good private campsites in Nakusp, or head to the Recreation Campsites at Box Lake, Horseshoe Lake, Wilson Lake, and many more.

• Spicer Garden, Nakusp, British Columbia

  Enjoy a half-mile paved walk on the waterfront promenade, featuring a Japanese Garden and the Spicer Garden. After you pass the public beach, the trail continues on unpaved over some more difficult terrain.

• Marvel at the historical paddlewheeler gracing the Nakusp and District Chamber of Commerce office, a romantic reminder of the area's past.

• Travel back into the history of this region, to the Ghost Town of Sandon, once the Capital of the Silvery Slocan. Located 8 km east of New Denver, Sandon was an incorporated city of 5,000 people at the height of the mining boom in 1892. Two railroads once served this Monte Carlo of Canada, with its twenty nine hotels, twenty eight saloons, an opera house, two newspapers, five men's clothing stores, a bank, and several other gambling halls, brothels, offices, stores and businesses. Now a renowned and restored historic site, Sandon lures thousands of visitors each summer.

• See the best of the area on The Okanagan and BC Rockies Circle Tour. Travel the sunny interior of British Columbia, north through the Okanagan to Sicamous, following Highway 1 into the mountains of the BC Rockies. From Golden, head south through the Columbia Valley to Creston, and west through Boundary Country and the Southern Okanagan to complete the loop. Circle Tours in BC.