Visit Kaslo | Kaslo Guide 2019

The North End
North End of Kootenay Lake
Forty km (25 miles) north of Kaslo is the
beautiful Lardeau Valley which embraces
the communities of Lardeau, Cooper Creek,
Meadow Creek, Howser, Argenta and Johnsons
Landing. The rich valley farmland is
the result of the ebb and flow over thousands
of years by the Duncan and Lardeau Rivers
through the flats at the head of the lake.
The area was first settled at the turn of the
last century when a flood of prospectors invaded
the area. In 1912, the first of several
homesteading families arrived to eke out a
living by farming and logging on the bench
land. Starting in the 1950s the area saw an
increase of people who were looking for a
way to build a principled and sustainable
community or just to get back to nature.
The north end of the lake includes five biogeoclimatic
zones, from low-lying wet valleys
with towering cedar and cottonwoods
to the scree on the peaks dribbling down
into spectacular alpine meadows. Wildlife
includes deer, moose, elk, black and grizzly
bears, mountain caribou, wolverine, wolves
and mountain goats. The streams contain
cutthroat and rainbow trout, Dolly Varden
(bull trout) and mountain whitefish.
Lardeau Valley Museum
A little north of the Meadow Creek town
centre, just past the Lardeau Valley Community
Hall, is a small museum. It is filled
with homey items that were treasured or else
were used daily in years past. Also on display
is a complete set of early 20th century
dentistry equipment. The foot/treadle-powered
dentist drill will give you the chills.
Open during July and August or by appointment,
email museum.lvhs@gmail.com. If
the museum is not open it’s worth stopping
anyway. There is still lots to see as you roam
about the grounds. The history lessons become
hands-on at the Lardeau Valley Harvest
Festival every year as some of the old
equipment is still functional.
Meadow Creek Spawning Channel
From late August to early October, the flashing
bright red of thousands upon thousands
of spawning kokanee is a sight to behold.
The Meadow Creek spawning channel was
constructed in 1967 with BC Hydro funds and
was the world’s largest at the time. The channel
supports a total of 250,000 spawning kokanee.
Ten to fifteen million fry are produced annually
with mean egg-to-fry survival rate of 45%.
The spawning channel is open to the public
unless there is unusually high bear activity.
There are walkways and an interpretive site
for visitors. It is located 4 km north of Meadow
Creek off Hwy 31.
Duncan Dam
Kootenay Lake was dammed in 1967. The
Duncan Dam, a 40 metre earthfill dam with
no power generation facilities, was the first
of the three Columbia River Treaty dams to
be built in the Canadian section of the Columbia
River Basin. It controls the flow of the
Duncan River, the tributary that provides
about 13% of the water flowing into Kootenay
Lake.
Fry Creek
As the dam neared completion, the valley
bottom was cleared of large trees, the original
residents of the community of Howser
displaced, and some farms and orchards
were flooded. When the water began to
rise and fill the new reservoir, the original
Duncan Lake increased in size from 25 km
to 45 km in length.
You can visit the dam. Follow the signs
on Hwy 31 north of Meadow Creek to
Duncan Dam – or do the armchair version!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoOTEZFr-
JGA
Gerrard Rainbow Trout
Would you like to see the largest species of
rainbow trout in the world? If so, take a day
off and head up the lake!
Gerrard was once a settlement on the Lardeau
River although it’s only a few cabins
and a bridge today. For local folks, a trip
upriver to picnic and view the spawning
Gerrard is a popular Mother’s Day tradition.
From the viewing platform, the huge fish
can easily be mistaken for logs in the river.
Then you see that they are moving, slowly,
upstream. Not logs!
Due to overfishing, the Lardeau River has
been closed to fishing rainbows since the
1940s. But this closure has worked in favour
of the fish. Back in the 1950s the Gerrard run
was down to less than 150 fish. Today, thanks
to fishing regulations and the addition of
nutrients to the north arm of Kootenay Lake
by the Fish & Wildlife Compensation Program
and the Ministry of Environment, the
Gerrard run is over 1,000 fish in a year.
To reach the viewing platform from Meadow
Creek, stay on Hwy 31 (well-maintained
gravel road) until you cross the bridge over
the Lardeau River near the outlet of Trout
Lake (approx 45 minutes from Meadow
Creek). The viewing platform and parking
area is to the right of the road after the
bridge.
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