Kootenay Historical Passages

Kootenays – 5 Day Tour – October 01 – 05, 2012

A passage of time…..join us for this historical adventure of the central Kootenays. This special tour includes a city tour of Nelson, Tour of Revelstoke Dam, Hotsprings, Boomtowns and many other surprises!

Come soothe your soul and energize your spirit!

Tour inclusions:

• Fully escorted by a professional tour director
• Transportation by fully equipped motorcoach
• 4 nights accommodation
• 2 breakfasts, 1 lunch at halcyon hotsprings
• Tour and BBQ at 3 Valley Gap
• Admission at Ainsworth Hotsprings & Halcyon Hotsprings
• Historical tour of Nelson
• Sandon historical stop
• Baggage handling (1 suitcase/person) New Denver exempt

Day 1 – October 1 Okanagan to Nelson

Welcome aboard for our journey into the past! Enjoy this first day filled with historical information as we make our way through Boundary Country and its communities of the past, including Rock Creek, Greenwood and Grand Forks. In Nelson we are met with a VERY interesting Historical City Tour and our two night stay at the HUME (Heritage) HOTEL. Nelson, a small city with a BIG personality, presents a strong cultural scene mixing old Nelson families, urban refugees, Vietnam draft dodgers and hippies. This offbeat Victorian town also boasts hundreds of well preserved heritage buildings, a crazy number of good restaurants and sidewalk cafes. Browse many of its unique boutique style stores, they reflect the diversity of this community. Your evening is at leisure.

Day 2 – Oct.. 2 – Nelson and Ainsworth Hotsprings – Breakfast

Start your day right with a hot breakfast included with your stay. The morning is yours to explore Nelson’s unique shops filled with local artisans’ goods. A visit to the Touchstone Museum of History and Art is a must for all history buffs. It is right across the street from our hotel! Board the coach for our first hotsprings visit at Ainsworth Hotsprings. This hot spring offers three odorless pools, 150 Ft. horseshoe cave, main lounging pool, and a stream-fed cold plunge. The perfecct place to relax and enjoy some of West Kootenays majestic scenery. Dinner is yours to enjoy, visit one of Nelson’s fine restaurants.

Day 3 – Oct. 3 – Nelson to New Denver- Breakfast

This morning we depart for New Denver. Enjoy the vistas as we follow Kootenay Lake towards Kaslo. While most communities in the area find their origins in the mining boom, Kaslo is historically a logging town. Originally named Kane’s Landing after the brothers Kane whom with George Buchanan staked a lumber claims in 1889. As we make our way towards our evenings stay in New Denver, our journey there would not be complete without a visit to historic Sandon, once known as the Monte Carlo of North America. Our visit to the Silver City in the clouds includes an informative tour & museum visit. Our stay in New Denver is not complete without a mini tour of this historical town and its somewhat dark history of a WWII Japanese/Canadian Internment camp. Enjoy the Valhalla Inn and the ambience of the Kootenays.

Day 4 – Oct. 4- New Denver to 3 Valley Gap – Lunch & Dinner

We will start our morning a little slower with a 9:30am departure. Enroute to 3 Valley Gap we will have a scenic drive along Arrow Lake and the surroundings of the Selkirk Mountains. Enjoy your second hot springs visit at Halcyon Hotsprings with lunch included! A nice leisurely drive and Galena Bay ferry ride will bring us to our last night stay at Three Valley Gap, situation in “Eagle Pass”. Our get together this evening will include a ghost town tour and delectable BBQ. Gordon & Ethel Bell opened a seven room motel, a seven seat coffee shop and a small museum in 1960. Today 3 Valley Gap houses 200 rooms and an impressive ghost town, filled with 20 historical buildings moved from other parts of the province.

Day 5 Oct. 5- 3 Valley to Okanagan

Our last day together starts with a visit to the Revelstoke Dam. After lunch in Revelstoke, we will make our way to Craigellachie, site of the Last Spike. This 15 minute leg stretch, located several kilometers to the west of Eagle Pass was named after the town on the River Spey in Moray, Scotland, the ancestral home of Sir George Stephen, the first president of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Dutchmen Dairy ice cream in Sicamous anyone. …YES nothing better than ice cream to bring you home.

SEE YOU ON OUR NEXT SIGHTSEEING ADVENTURE!

**Itinerary & casino packages subject to change without notice**

Sunwest tours reserves the right to withdraw all or part of any tour should condition warrant.

Toll Free – 1-800-667-3877