Nelson to Creston

A beautiful ride along both arms of Kootenay Lake. The arm of the lake from Nelson is dotted with public beaches, marinas and beautiful homes and cottages. Along the way we made a stop at Kootenay Provincial Park to watch the salmon struggling to get upstream to their spawning grounds. At the end of this arm, at Balfour, we took the ferry across the lake to be able to cycle down the larger arm of the lake to Creston. The ferry is considered part of the BC highway network so the 35 minute journey is free. On the other side we stopped for lunch at a roadside stand before setting off for Creston. The road was quiet, with an occasional burst of traffic due to yet another ferry docking. Today was by far our nicest ride. Cycling along the lake all day, with a breeze and the mountains in the background was idyllic. This was also our longest ride at just over 117 km. Cycling to Creston this way was in an effort to avoid climbing through the Kootenay Pass. In the end I wonder whether we reduced the climbing as we still climbed more than 4,100 feet. I’m sure the Kootenay Pass ride would have been stunning but I was happy we made the decision to cycle around the lake.