Eastern British Columbia Kootenays & Monashee Cycling Tour
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Dates: |
Assembly Point:
Spokane/Colville |
Tour
Cost: $3,690 (includes all lodging, breakfasts and dinners, support van, transfers, leaders, tour maps & narratives) |
In the course of our new Eastern British Colombia cycling tour, we’ll trace a major section of the Columbia/Kootenay river network. We’ll ride along the banks of the Pend Oreille and Kettle Rivers, two of the system’s major tributaries, and the shorelines of Kootenay and Arrow Lakes, two major bodies of water formed by the Columbia and Kootenay. Columbia/Kootenay also is about mountains---the Rockies, Selkirks, Purcells, Monashees and Kettle Ranges---and we’ll climb our share in the course of this biking trip.
We assemble in Spokane and immediately van shuttle the short distance to Colville on our assembly day (day prior to tour departure). We’ll ride north from Colville on Day 1 to the Selkirks as we follow the downstream course of the Pend Oreille as it flows to its rendezvous with the Columbia. We’ll spend our first night in Metaline falls and cross the border into British Columbia early the following morning. We’re headed to Creston on this day, but not before challenging awesome Kootenay Pass (5,585’) along the way. From Kootenay’s summit, it’s downhill into Creston, where we’ll spend the evening and enjoy an incredible Italian dinner at Aldo’s next door to our lodge.
Shortly into our ride on Day 3, we’re on the beautiful eastern shoreline of Kootenay Lake. We’ll ride the lakeshore to Crawford Bay, cross the lake by ferry to Balfour, and then follow the western shoreline to Ainsworth and overnight at the Ainsworth Hot Springs Lodge.
On Day 4, we’ll ride to Kaslo and climb above Kootenary Lake into the Selkirks before descending into the beautiful Slocan Valley then head North to Nakusp on the shores of Upper Arrow Lake.
We’re almost midway through our adventure; Day 5 is absolutely incredible as we ride south along Arrow Lake then board a ferry to cross Lower Arrow. Then we’ll climb among the high snowcaps of the Monashees to Monashee Pass and then descend into the Okanagan Valley, initially in the Northeastern corner in Lumby and the next day into the heart of the Okanagan to vibrant Kelowna on the eastern shore of Okanagan Lake. A well-earned layover is planned for the next day with options for great hikes or vegetate poolside at our Lakeshore Lodge, overlooking Okanagan Lake.
Rested---we are ready to head to the vacation mecca on Okanagan Lake, Osoyoos ---the epicenter of Canada’s wine country. Along the ride are dozens of wineries to stop and enjoy. The resemblance to California’s wine country is eerie. Then we head East to Grand Forks at the confluence of the Granby and Kettle Rivers. On our final day it’s south we go to Colville crossing Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake. We’ll call it a day in Colville and van shuttle back to Spokane where our Eastern British Columbia Cycling Tour concludes.
| Day 1 | Colville, WA - Selkirks - Pend Oreille river -overnight in Metaline Falls | 50 miles |
| Day 2 | Metaline Falls - Cross in to British Columbia - Kootenay Pass - Creston | 61.8 miles |
| Day 3 | Creston - Kootenay Lake - Crawford Bay - overnight at Ainsworth Hot Springs Lodge | 64.7 miles |
| Day 4 | Ainsworth - Kootenay - Kaslo Slocan valley - Nakusp | 70.8 miles |
| Day 5 | Nakusp - Arrow Lake - Monashee Pass - Okanagan Valley - overnight in Lumby | 104 miles |
| Day 6 | Lumby - heart of Okanagan Valley - Okanagan Lake - overnight at Lakeshore Lodge | 48.8 miles |
| Day 7 | Kelowna - layover day | |
| Day 8 | Kelowna - Penticton - wine country - Okanagan Lake - overnight Osoyoos | 78 miles |
| Day 9 | Osoyoos - Granby and Kettle rivers - Grand Forks | 77.4 miles |
| Day 10 | Grand Forks - back to USA - Colville | 55 miles |
Mileage 610.5