Whiteswan hot springs… near Kimberley, Fairmont or Invermere, depending on your orientation. It is lovely when the nicely build natural surrounding can make you feel like you can have the best of both worlds.
The location is in 17km from the main highway – a bit of a rough road but doable. It was busy when we were there – I think there is no telling when it might be busy but it was a beautifully overcast day… perfect for hot springing.
Once I slipped in it was just the perfect temperature for an outdoor, alpine setting like that. Though it was busy we just plunked ourselves right in the middle.
Great surrounding – I think that the river may be more enter-able when the water is lower. A great short soak.
On that sam trip we stopped in at Naksup. Though I had spent a bit of time in the interior of BC I had never actually been to this hot spring spot. It was lovely.
I loved the retro feel to the whole thing. It just felt so comfortable.
A nice hike behind the hot springs was a great little bit of exercise. This bridge was quite high up an hung over the raging torrent of that spring alpine river.
The short walk straight gets you to some nice waterfall views. But if you go up on the right you will find the old source of the hot spring. I didn’t look into the whol history, but these structures were just so cool – to see them out in the middle of nowhere. Loved it.
The pool however, was main source of relaxation. Though it is small it was not too busy and the whole feeling just felt right.
The humming birds are fiercely buzzing and there’s some totally non-evasive, non-spa-cheesey music. The floaties were a nice addition.
Part of the retro appeal to me was the circular shape to the whole buidling and the consistency throughout, save a few moder angles.
If you are thinking about exploring hot springs in Canada you just can’t beat interior BC. Ainsworth and Halcyon and others will follow at some point I’m sure.
