Idaho Peak Van Shuttle

John Matthews from Silverton has stepped up to the plate to offer a shuttle service up Idaho Peak this summer. We are stoked. See his website at http://idahopeakshuttle.ca/

I am hoping to be on every single shuttle ride either hiking, taking photos, paragliding, mountain biking or getting some more history on the area.

Selkirk Loop posts top 10 things to do in New Denver

New Denver is located within the International Selkirk Loop which promotes the communities of the southern selkirks as a destination. Check out the site for more information about other communities in the West Kootenays and below in the United States.

1. Mining ghost town of Sandon
2. Drive to Idaho Peak
3. Hike or Bike Galena Trail
4. Rosebery Provincial Park
5. Water taxi to Valhalla Provincial Park
6. Nikkei Memorial Internment Centre
7. Wilson Creek Falls
8. Silverton Outdoor Mining Museum & Interpretive Centre
9. Mori Lakeside Trail & Kohan Reflection Garden
10. Cycle the Slocan Valley Rail Trail

Best Shorts Walks around New Denver

These walks or hikes are about than an hour each way. They are all "must do" trails.

1. Idaho Peak.
Incredible alpine walk to the old fire lookout overlooking the Slocan Lake above New Denver, Silverton and Sandon. Open from late July/early August until the first snow in the mountains. Plan on at least an hour drive each way, 2 hours for the walk and visit the Sandon Museum for another hour on your way.

2. Molly Hughes Cabin
Old mine trail follows Slocan lakeshore departing from Bigelow Bay in New Denver. Pleasant walk about 20 meters above the lakeshore for about 30 minutes. Great views of Lake and Valhalla mountains from vicinity of Molly Hughes Cabin. Beach accessible at end of walk. Easily accessible for a quick morning or evening walk.

3. Bannock Point Trail
A beautiful walk through the forests above Slocan Lake and ending after 40 minutes or so on a steep rocky bluff 200m overlooking the Slocan Lake. 2km south of Silverton an unmarked dirt road turns right and goes downhill to the gravel pit. Below the gravel pit there is Forestry signs and display maps of the trail and camping area at popular Bannock Pt.

4. Galena Trail
This might be the most famous trail in New Denver and popular with all ages for hiking, running and biking. Drive to the top of the Galena trail at the junction of Hwy 31a and Sandon Rd. Walk the wide and well maintained Galena Trail about 2km to the well photographed Cable Car crossing. Ride the cable car and return to your car. A more adventurous return trip involves a short steep hike through the  ruins of the Alamo Mine at the cable car site to the old Sandon Rd and continuing left back to the car.

5. New Denver - Mori Trail, Bellevue St and Carpenter Creek.
Everyone walks around New Denver looking at the shops, houses and the views of the Valhallas, Slocan Lake and Idaho Peak. A nice loop can be made by parking on 6th Ave ( Main St ) and walking Kildare St to Bellevue and dropping onto the Mori Lakeside Trail and then back up again whenever the mood takes you. Continue along the lakeshore until blocked by Carpenter Creek and follow the trail along the creek and return to your car.

6. Wilson Creek Falls
Hidden in the thick forest and canyons crashes this 30 meter waterfall. A large volume of water is always flowing down the Wilson Creek sending lots of mist into air keeping the area cool even on the hottest days. Follow East Wilson Creek FSR 10km and stopping before the bridge over Wilson Ck. The road is signposted on the right and gets a bit rougher and steeper to the trailhead 1 km away. Plan on 45 minutes each way.

7. Nemo Creek or Wee Sandy Creek Waterfalls
You need a boat for these ones as they are located on the other side of the Slocan Lake in the Valhalla Provincial Park. 30-40 minutes in a canoe or 10-20 minutes in a motor boat will get you there. The walks are as short as 5 minutes. Wee Sandy is a rocky beach perfect for skipping stones and Nemo Creek is a beautiful sandy beach. A 30 minute loop at Nemo gets to the upper falls which is well worth it. A 20 minute trail at Wee Sandy on the south end of the beach gets to a scenic overlook.

Slocan Lake Golf Club

Many people in the area live here because of the Slocan Lake Golf Club. Many people visit the Slocan Lake to play golf at this relaxed 18 hole course. Majestic views of the Valhalla Mountains frame most of the fairways. The course is fairly flat with a few waterholes and sandtraps to throw a curve in your game. The back nine are variations of the first nine holes. Golf carts and clubs are available for rent. Check out the restaurant at the Clubhouse.

Bigelow Bay

Bigelow Bay from the helmet cam on my paraglider

One of the best beaches in New Denver. The other beaches include - Centennial Park ( Campground ), Becker Beach ( off Becker Lane at the bottom of 6th Ave, past the Visitors Center ), and Carpenter Creek beach ( in front of Sweet Dreams Guesthouse and Oldham's Cabins ). There are numerous other small rocky beaches all along Bellevue St in New Denver, following signs for the Mori Trail. Bigelow Bay is accessed on the north side of Carpenter creek by following Kildare St north until it turns into one lane with only half the lane paved and ends in a small parking lot. The trail to Molly Hughes Cabin and the beach below the Slocan Lake Golf Course start from this parking lot.

Kohan Reflection Gardens

Located at the south end of New Denver adjacent to the Municipal Campground, Centennial Park and the boat launch. Created and maintained by volunteers this beautiful garden reflects some of the Japanese history in New Denver. Surrounded by the mountains and bordered by the Slocan Lake this one block garden rejoices in the beauty surrounding with beautiful plants, trees and landscaping that change throughout the four seasons. Worth a visit of 10-20 minutes every time in New Denver.
Perfect place for a wedding - see http://kootenayweddings.blogspot.ca/

Mori LakeShore Walk

With the lake levels high and a little two year old who loves to throw rocks I've been walking the Mori Lakeshore walk very frequently this spring. There are so many combinations of this lovely trail located right within New Denver that it can be done as a half day hike or just a quick jaunt down to a beach.

There are a series of marked and unmarked access points all along the foreshore from Bellevue St on the north end of town. Some of the trails are quite steep or have steep stairs although the trail access closer to Carpenter creek are very easy. The trail essentially walks along the shore of the lake within the town of New Denver. For a longer walk continue up the creek to cross the bridge and walk back down the creek and continue to the marine, campground, dock, Kohan Garden and perhaps visit the Nikkei Memorial Center on your way back.

Nikkei Internment Memorial Center

The Nikkei Internment Memorial Centre (NIMC) in New Denver is the only interpretive centre in Canada dedicated to the history of the uprooting and internment of over 22,000 Canadians of Japanese heritage. The Centre consists of five buildings, three of which are the old original huts or shacks that were built in 1942 to accommodate the displaced citizens. Inside two of the huts you will see the furnishings and stoves that were actually used by the occupants. At times two families occupied one hut, one family on either side of a common kitchen. Toilet facilities, rows of outhouses, are also preserved. The large central hall displays pictures , texts and equipment of tents, desks, boxes and other luggage used in their journey to the various campsites from the coast. There are a few citizens still living in New Denver from those originally resettled here in 1942

New Denver May Days Parade

The winning entry - from Nikkei Internment Center. Beautiful and simple. The weather was perfect.