Kaslo’s
Summer Jazz Festival
“Big mountains, small village”
– and great summer music.
From a floating stage anchored
at Kaslo Bay Park on Kootenay
Lake, the picturesque, Victorian-flavoured
lakeside town of Kaslo, the “Kaslo
Jazz Etc. Summer Music Festival”
presents top-flight jazz, Latin
and blues every year at the beginning
of August. The idyllic backdrop
for the family-friendly, weekend-long
outdoor program is sometimes called
the “little Switzerland
of Canada.” While in Kaslo,
festival-goers can take a walking
tour of Kaslo’s heritage
buildings, tour the SS
Moyie National Historic Site,
featuring British Columbia’s
oldest passenger sternwheeler,
or visit the Langham Museum,
a moving memorial to the 1,200
Japanese Canadians who were interned
in Kaslo during World War II.
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Take a Walk on the
Kootenay Eastshore
Head to the eastern shore of Kootenay Lake
for pleasant lakeside strolls and spectacular,
sweeping views. Try these easy, scenic trails:
Pilot Bay
Lighthouse Trail –
A short trail in Pilot Bay Provincial
Park, just 4 kilometres south of
the Kootenay Bay ferry landing. Follow the
broad path to the historic Pilot Bay lighthouse,
built in 1907. (The building is open –
climb the stairs for a lofty view of the
Lake to the North, the South and down the
West Arm almost as far as Nelson.) Visitors
are welcome to pause for a picnic, but there
are no services available.
Sawmill Bay
Trail –
Begin at the picnic area of Pilot Bay Provincial
Park, located on a thin spit that separates
Sawmill Bay (warm, shallow, and ideal for
swimming) from Pilot Bay. Plan on a full
day to hike out and back on the Pilot Peninsula,
or follow several shorter routes that go
up and over the Peninsula to meet roads
on the Crawford Bay side. The remains of
a late 19th century sawmill can be seen
at Sawmill Bay; the beach at the site has
been formed by saw dust built up over years
of operation.
Trail Tip:
Pilot Bay trails are a good choice early
in the summer season, when snow lingers
on higher-elevation trails. Pilot Bay offers
some of Kootenay Lake’s best views,
with a sightline extending all the way to
the Lake’s southern tip.
Waterfront
Trail in Riondel –
Follow this 1.5 kilometre trail along the
shoreline near Riondel, north of the Kootenay
Lake ferry landing, past several small beaches
to the site of the original Bluebell mine
concentrator. The shore path takes hikers
past stone foundations that date back to
the famous mining encampment of the 1880’s.
The Pebble
Beach Trail – About
7 kilometres north of Riondel on the Kootenay
Lake East Forest Service Road, watch for
a sign that marks the beginning of a 1 –
1 ½ hour, moderately steep hike to
a secluded pebble beach. Plan to picnic,
fish and swim, but be prepared to pack out
everything that you bring in.
North End
Hike -
At the head of Kootenay Lake, near the communities
of Argenta and Johnson’s Landing (north
of Kaslo), the wild, remote Fry
Creek Canyon Trail (4 – 14
kilometres in length) includes several side
trails down to the Lake, and a longer trail
that follows the creekbed up the Canyon.
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