Nakusp Hot Springs in the winter.
December 25, 2023 - 7:00 AM
Interior residents looking to relax in a natural hot pool in the winter are in luck, as there are various Kootenay hot springs ideal for a weekend getaway.
AINSWORTH HOT SPRINGS
The Ktunaxa people have used this hot spring as a place for healing. Warriors often would soak in the waters after battle to ease their wounds.
The hot springs were also utilized by individuals after hunting, fishing, and gathering roots and berries, and those living with ailments including arthritis to ease pain and find relief.
In the present day, the Lower Kootenay Band wants to bring a unique First Nation hospitality experience to everyone who comes to enjoy the hot springs.
The hot springs are located on the mountainside along the shores of Kootenay Lake.
“We invite you to experience the power of nature,” the Ainsworth website said.
Public entry to the hot springs is by reservation only and limited to Wednesdays through Sundays from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. The resort is closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
The pool was developed commercially in the 1920s after the community began to decline as a mining center.
The pool and caves were completed in the 1930s, in the midst of the great depression. The pool was open 24 hours a day and a swim cost 10 cents.
The hotel was built in 1987 and was renovated in 1999, and again in 2012.
The hot springs, caves, restaurant, and hotel have since evolved into a popular vacation spot for travellers from across the globe.
The hot springs start around the Cody Caves east of the resort, the water flows through fractures in the rock, and increases to 40 Celsius per kilometre until it hits a rock layer. Hydraulic pressure forces the water up until it emerges at the resort.
The mineral water is cooled to 42 C for the horseshoe caves, and 35°C for the main lounging pool.
NAKUSP HOT SPRINGS
The Nakusp Hot Springs is another option for Interior residents, as it’s just over a three-hour drive from Kelowna, and involves a ferry to get to.
Nakusp is described as “B.C.’s best-kept secret,” on the website.
The hot springs are located in the Kuskanax Valley in the foothills of the Selkirk Mountains.
There are two hot springs fed from natural mineral springs above the pools. The hot pool is kept at 41 C in the winter, while the warm pool is kept at 38 C in the winter.
In the winter, Nakusp offers a snowy landscape in a moderate climate.
In addition to the hot springs, the resort has winter activities such as snowshoeing, cross country skiing, tobogganing, and snowmobiling.
The local Summit Ski Hill is also less than an hour's drive from the resort.
“When your daily adventures are complete, you can relax and refresh in the naturally cleanest and clearest Hot Springs anywhere,” the Nakusp website said.
After enjoying the hot springs, or a day full of winter activities, guests can spend the night in a rustic cedar chalet.
HALCYON HOT SPRINGS
Nearly a four-hour drive from Kelowna is the Halcyon Hot Springs Resort located on Upper Arrow Lake and offers views of the Monashee Mountains.
The hot water comes from underground, and contains minerals including sodium, magnesium, calcium, strontium, and lithium, which are believed to have therapeutic healing properties, the Halcyon website said.
“It is the high lithium content in our waters that makes Halcyon Hot Springs BC’s premier healing hot spring destination,” the website said. “Long known for its antidepressant properties, a variety of studies have shown that lithium has potent anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, including the capacity to regenerate pathways in the brain.”
The hot pool is kept at 40 C, the warm pool at 37 C, the seasonal mineral swimming pool at 30 C, and the cold plunge at 14 C.
The water was once bottled as a health tonic and shipped globally, and can still be bottled and drank today.
HARRISON HOT SPRINGS
These hot springs are now closed to the public and reserved for resort guest only.
RADIUM HOT SPRINGS
As with other hot springs in the region, Radium Hot Springs was popular with Indigenous peoples before Europeans discovered it in the mid-1800’s.
It was originally named, by Europeans, as Sinclair Hot Springs, after James Sinclair who led a party of mostly Métis families from the Red River through the area in 1841.
In 1890 Roland Stuart bought the land surrounding the springs for $160. In 1914 he built the first concrete pool, a log bathhouse, small store and a home for the caretaker.
The following year he renamed it Radium Hot Springs after researchers from McGill University identified trace amounts of radon in the water.
While there may be trace elements of radon, the main chemicals in the water are sulphate, calcium, bicarbonate, silica and magnesium.
In 1922, Parks Canada expropriated the hot springs and included them in the newly created Kootenay National Park.
There are two pools. The soaking pool is around 39 C while the 25-metre swimming pool is around 29 C.
FAIRMONT HOT SPRINGS
The earliest written records of Fairmont Hot Springs are from the 1800s and refer to Ktunaxa and Shuswap bands having discovered the natural hot spring.
It became the Fairmont Hot Springs Ranch until it was bought by John Hankey in the early 1900s. He built the first cabins and bath house. It has gone through a number of ownership changes since then and is currently for sale, for about $50 million.
Fairmont bills itself as Canada’s largest natural mineral hot springs. The water comes from rain and snow that seeps into the limestone ground and warms to 59 Celsius by the time it reaches a depth of about two kilometres.
The pressure from the heat forces the water back to the surface through steeply-inclined fractures which act as natural pipelines.
It’s then cooled by spring water to 39 C for the soaking pool and 32 C for the large swimming pool with 1.2 million gallons flowing through them every day.
There’s plenty of accommodation on site ranging from camping to lodges and cabins.
— This story was originally published on Dec. 22, 2022.
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