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Snow-laden hemlocks overhang a brook. (Photo © Karen Johanson, Siren Photography) |
Halfway Hot Springs
The hot spring: A woodland setting, with comfortable soaking boxes and decks made of salvaged wood. There's a camping area nearby and an outhouse. The water comes out of a pipe at much too hot a temperature to soak in. You can control the flow, and add river water or snow to cool it down if necessary. There should be a bucket nearby. Elevation: 2,000 feet.
The skiing: Six miles each way, through the woods up an old logging road in the Selkirk Mountains. Western red cedar and western hemlock forest—pine siskins, mountain caribou, devils club can be found here. Snowmobiles also use this road, but it's not groomed for either skimobiles or skiers.
Location: In the West Kootenays, south-central British Columbia, set in the Selkirk Mountains north of Nakusp, on the east side of Upper Arrow Lake.
How to get there: Take Highway 23 from Nakusp. Go north about 15 miles. Just before the Halfway River bridge, on the right (east) side of the road is a logging road, which is not usually plowed in the winter. Park safely. Ski up it about six miles to the path to the hot spring. There may be a sign telling you you're in the right place—or there may not. There's a steep descent at the hot spring—you'll probably want to kick off your skis and walk down.
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