Visit Kaslo | Kaslo Guide 2019
Kaslo is surrounded by a vast mountain wilderness riven with rushing creeks and gorges, its centre of gravity the crystal clear depths of Kootenay Lake. Prospectors, lumbermen and speculators have come and gone and will be back; the adventurers stayed on. They’ve figured out, and perhaps you will too, that the real richness here is the freedom to be yourself, to explore. There are so many ways to do that, just read on. Have fun! Kaslo is surrounded by a vast mountain wilderness riven with rushing creeks and gorges, its centre of gravity the crystal clear depths of Kootenay Lake. Prospectors, lumbermen and speculators have come and gone and will be back; the adventurers stayed on. They’ve figured out, and perhaps you will too, that the real richness here is the freedom to be yourself, to explore. There are so many ways to do that, just read on. Have fun!
Retallack and Sandon Sandon was a booming city in the late 1800s and is an old mining town which is now a ghost city turned historic site, wedged in a steep valley less than an hour’s drive west of Kaslo. It’s a popular destination for visitors, including those on two wheels. A lot of mountain biking and hiking trails radiate from the townsite, making use of old railway beds and packhorse trails. A few people still live in Sandon, and it features a museum, and restaurant, The Prospector’s Pick (a café and general store combination), the national award winning Silversmith Generating Station (oldest continuously running operation of its kind in Canada) and the 1900 City Hall, a survivor of the boom years. This wild west boomtown was once home to 5,000 citizens, 2,300 miners and over 1,000 hotel rooms. In 1896 it became the first place in BC to have a utility where every citizen could obtain electrical service. Silversmith Power & Light, BC’s smallest regulated utility still provides 100% green, modern AC electricity to the region today. Free tours are offered daily from mid-May until mid-October. A 130 ton steam locomotive and a smaller mine locomotive are on display outdoors. The larger engine, “iron horse”, pulled freight and passengers around near impossible bluffs and through snow-choked mountain passes. The smaller locomotive was used to haul rail cars in and out of the mine tunnels. Idaho Peak, a famous alpine site and once an active forestry lookout, is accessible from mid-July until late September via a 12 km narrow, steep mountain road from Sandon. The views are unforgettable. A private shuttle van from Sandon is a great way to enjoy this treasure without damaging your car. If you were to fly like an eagle over Kaslo, what would impress you the most is the seemingly impenetrable forest that surrounds this little community on three sides. It’s no wonder that the lake was the main route for the explorers, prospectors and settlers who first came here in the late 1800s. For the original inhabitants of this area, the Ktunaxa Nation, Kootenay Lake and its tributaries defined their culture and economy. The Ktunaxas’ contribution to marine transportation was the unique design of their canoes. Both the bow and stern of these craft terminate in a point that resembles the nose of a sturgeon. In May of 1892, the population of Kaslo was about 600, mostly men, and mainly miners and prospectors living in tents or hastily built cabins. Then the first families arrived onboard steam powered sternwheelers, loaded to capacity with people and supplies. Why did they make this perilous journey? Word had gotten out. In August 1891, Andrew Jardine showed up in Ainsworth, just south of Kaslo, with a quantity of high-grade silver-lead ore. The population of Ainsworth, south of Kaslo on Kootenay Lake, was the first boom town. Kaslo would be next. K&S (Kaslo and Sandon) Railway at Payne Bluffs circa 1900. Photo: R.H. Trueman 32 Kaslo and Area Guide 2019| Kaslo BC, Canada www.visitkaslo.com
Black Diamond mine crew, Ainsworth, circa 1890s. Bygone Days In less than a year, nine miles of the Kaslo- Slocan trail had been pushed through from Kaslo to the rich ore deposits that lay between Kaslo and Sandon, hacked through the dense forests in the rugged Kaslo River Valley. The Whitewater Mine, near present day Retallack, became the second largest silver/lead/ zinc mine in the British Empire and was “lit up like Coney Island.” The town boasted several hotels, numerous brothels and casinos, and its own school. Mines continued to operate until the 1950s, after which Retallack became a virtual ghost town. You can still see the faded bunkhouses where the miners slept and ate (these are now occupied privately.) In the early 1890s, effort was made to have the Government build a wagon road from Nakusp to the head of Slocan Lake to move supplies in and the ore out, but the Government refused. The residents of Kaslo then induced the Slocan miners to transfer their pack animals from the Nakusp trail to the Kaslo Wagon Road. Soon the narrow gauge Kaslo & Slocan Railway was being pushed through terrain which is some of the most savagely hostile to railroading on the planet. A track of 45-pound rail was pounded up 3.25% grades to the 3,500 foot level at Zincton. On a fragile looking “cliff hanger” trestle, chief construction engineer W.F. Tye inched the line across Payne’s Bluff, hundreds of feet above the valley floor. Only 29 miles from Kaslo, the K&S reached Sandon on October 22nd, 1895. In 1910 a wildfire destroyed much of the rail from Rossiter Creek to Sandon. In 1912 the crippled K&S line was bought by the Canadian Pacific Railway and rebuilt to standard gauge. The reconstructed line remained busy until the Great Depression. By 1950 only one mixed freight train was running each week between Kaslo, Sandon and Nakusp. In the early years the Kaslo Transportation Co. had stages running daily to Retallack The Shovel Brigade - The Kaslo Claim, Feb 22, 1896 When the engines slip, and go slower and slower, And the wheels fly ‘round to the futile roar And steam won’t pull us a single inch more, and gives four helpless toots. Then the indispensible human bear, Wooly, unshaven, unshorn of hair, Crawls once more from his steaming lair, Grabs up his shovel, and scoots. Forty or fifty, all in a row, Wallowing down the line they go, Up to their ears in the mealy snow (seven feet deep or about.) And the engine stutters, Back! Back! Back! And they fall on the slide in a grand attack And shovel and pick and flange out the track, And dig us poor passengers out. Oh! Their Mackinaw garments are wooly and wet, Their gunny-sack leggings are smelly and yet We admire them, not for their beauty, you bet! For there’s nothing pretty about ‘em. But oh! give ‘em coffee, hot and strong Sandwiches, meaty, and wide and long, Give ‘em laurel wreaths, and a grateful song, For we’d all be dead without ‘em. Lyrics: Anonymous and beyond. Horses, wagons, stage coaches, and pack trains dug ruts as wranglers pushed and pulled their loads over the new road. By 1923, the road was handling gasoline-powered vehicles. The Wagon Road was made obsolete in the 1960s when Hwy 31A was constructed, a highway that stayed close to Kaslo River for most of its length, following the route of the old K&S railway. In 1993 the community of Kaslo and the Rails to Trails Society began the restoration of the Wagon Road as a multipurpose recreation trail, complete with interpretive signs illustrating the history of the area. Travel south from Kaslo would still be by barge or sternwheeler until finally, in 1926 a road was blasted through to Balfour. Then it was possible to drive past the Coffee Creek bluffs all the way to Nelson. During the war years (1939-1945) many Kaslo men worked in timber operations. The cottonwoods which grew to a massive size in the low-lying areas at the north end of the lake became the plywood sheeting for the barracks of Canada’s armed forces. The road north from Kaslo to the Lardeau Valley opened up in 1955 but it was pretty rugged. To get to the high school in Kaslo, Meadow Creek teenagers had to get up at 5:30 in the morning. They were billeted in Kaslo from Monday to Friday, sometimes not returning home for weeks at a time. Certainly, terrain has been a major factor in the formation of the character of all who have ever lived in and near Kaslo. It still is to this day! For more history about the area... www.visitkaslo.com/history www.visitkaslo.com Kaslo and Area Guide 2019| Kaslo BC, Canada 33
- Page 1: Official Kaslo Area Guide · argent
- Page 4 and 5: Welcome to Kaslo! Photo: Ken Hewat
- Page 6 and 7: Revelstoke Shelter Bay Upper Arrow
- Page 8 and 9: Happenings Festivals & Events JANUA
- Page 10 and 11: Kaslo May Days May 18-20 Photos: Ga
- Page 12 and 13: Lovely Wild Beach Renew your spirit
- Page 14 and 15: There are two National Historic Sit
- Page 16 and 17: Paint, felt, wood, pottery, fabric,
- Page 18 and 19: Join us for WaCanId bike ride! The
- Page 20 and 21: Searching for true self-expression?
- Page 22 and 23: Come Experience the West Kootenay a
- Page 29 and 30: Trails Photo : Alexandra Halliday M
- Page 31 and 32: The Kaslo area mountains are a hiki
- Page 33 and 34: Real Fun! Stellar Heliskiing - If J
- Page 35 and 36: 1. Lardeau River Rafting 1-855-400-
- Page 37: The North End North End of Kootenay
- Page 41 and 42: Wdbury Photo: R. Casey Jones Woodbu
- Page 43 and 44: Ainsworth Photo: Gary Schneider Ain
- Page 45 and 46: The Arrow Lakes Ferries include the
- Page 47 and 48: ROOMS AND CABINS Ainsworth Hot Spri
- Page 49 and 50: wingcreekresort.com 250.353.2475 Y
Retallack and Sandon<br />
Sandon was a booming city in the late 1800s<br />
and is an old mining town which is now a<br />
ghost city turned historic site, wedged in a<br />
steep valley less than an hour’s drive west of<br />
<strong>Kaslo</strong>. It’s a popular destination for visitors,<br />
including those on two wheels. A lot of<br />
mountain biking and hiking trails radiate<br />
from the townsite, making use of old railway<br />
beds and packhorse trails. A few people still<br />
live in Sandon, and it features a museum,<br />
and restaurant, The Prospector’s Pick (a café<br />
and general store combination), the national<br />
award winning Silversmith Generating<br />
Station (oldest continuously running operation<br />
of its kind in Canada) and the 1900<br />
City Hall, a survivor of the boom years.<br />
This wild west boomtown was once home to<br />
5,000 citizens, 2,300 miners and over 1,000<br />
hotel rooms. In 1896 it became the first place<br />
in BC to have a utility where every citizen<br />
could obtain electrical service. Silversmith<br />
Power & Light, BC’s smallest regulated utility<br />
still provides 100% green, modern AC electricity<br />
to the region today. Free tours are offered<br />
daily from mid-May until mid-October.<br />
A 130 ton steam locomotive and a smaller<br />
mine locomotive are on display outdoors.<br />
The larger engine, “iron horse”, pulled freight<br />
and passengers around near impossible bluffs<br />
and through snow-choked mountain passes.<br />
The smaller locomotive was used to haul rail<br />
cars in and out of the mine tunnels.<br />
Idaho Peak, a famous alpine site and once<br />
an active forestry lookout, is accessible from<br />
mid-July until late September via a 12 km<br />
narrow, steep mountain road from Sandon.<br />
The views are unforgettable. A private shuttle<br />
van from Sandon is a great way to enjoy<br />
this treasure without damaging your car.<br />
If you were to fly like an eagle over <strong>Kaslo</strong>, what<br />
would impress you the most is the seemingly<br />
impenetrable forest that surrounds this little<br />
community on three sides. It’s no wonder<br />
that the lake was the main route for the explorers,<br />
prospectors and settlers who first<br />
came here in the late 1800s.<br />
For the original inhabitants of this area,<br />
the Ktunaxa Nation, Kootenay Lake and its<br />
tributaries defined their culture and economy.<br />
The Ktunaxas’ contribution to marine<br />
transportation was the unique design of their<br />
canoes. Both the bow and stern of these craft<br />
terminate in a point that resembles the nose<br />
of a sturgeon.<br />
In May of 1892, the population of <strong>Kaslo</strong> was<br />
about 600, mostly men, and mainly miners<br />
and prospectors living in tents or hastily built<br />
cabins. Then the first families arrived onboard<br />
steam powered sternwheelers, loaded<br />
to capacity with people and supplies.<br />
Why did they make this perilous journey?<br />
Word had gotten out. In August 1891, Andrew<br />
Jardine showed up in Ainsworth, just<br />
south of <strong>Kaslo</strong>, with a quantity of high-grade<br />
silver-lead ore. The population of Ainsworth,<br />
south of <strong>Kaslo</strong><br />
on Kootenay Lake,<br />
was the first boom<br />
town. <strong>Kaslo</strong> would<br />
be next.<br />
K&S (<strong>Kaslo</strong> and Sandon) Railway<br />
at Payne Bluffs circa 1900.<br />
Photo: R.H. Trueman<br />
32 <strong>Kaslo</strong> and Area <strong>Guide</strong> <strong>2019</strong>| <strong>Kaslo</strong> BC, Canada<br />
www.visitkaslo.com
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